WENDY SKELLENGER
Hutchinson Community Foundation
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Community Foundation has awarded a total of $53,644 in competitive grants from the Fund for Reno County so far this year.
Established in 1990, the Fund for Reno County serves as a permanent resource for the changing needs of Reno County. Grants represent an innovative approach or collaboration, a new efficiency, a critical need that requires funding or an opportunity that needs a bit of local support to leverage resources for the community.
Proposals for the grants are accepted year-round, with awards decided in January, March, May, July, September and November.
The following organizations have received grants:
City of Pretty Prairie, $3,850: This project aims to open the eyes of the younger generation to the performing arts, as the city has recognized a hunger for activities beyond sports. A traveling performing company will host a series of interactive and educational workshops that will culminate in a public performance this summer.
Earth Matters, $3,600: Earth Matters seeks to improve environmental awareness and encourage youth to counter the effects of pollution by reducing, reusing and recycling. This volunteer organization will begin its work by collaborating with fourth- and fifth-grade students who are members of the Torch Club – the student leadership group of Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson. Along with a set curriculum, students will learn about the Reno County Landfill and the science used in the local waste system and the TECH recycling center, Fair Price Clothing, and Builders Bargains to see how reusing takes place locally. Earth Matters hopes to take students who have completed the program into classrooms and community organizations to share their commitment to environmentally conscious choices.
Episcopal Social Services (Milestone Clubhouse), $13,046: Funding will support Milestone Clubhouse’s goal of increasing transportation for its members, who are adults with a severe and persistent mental illness. Many people with social anxiety have a difficult time with public transportation, so Milestone makes transportation to the clubhouse for services and meals, to employment, and to medical appointments available to club members.
Hutch Rec, $8,500 per year for two years: Funding will support establishing a tenants’ association. Hutch Rec learned of the potential need for and benefits of such an association through its work with residents participating in the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative. The organization will explore and develop an association with the goal of creating a system that is fair to tenants and landlords and provides education on tenant-landlord rights and responsibilities.
Hutchinson Recreation Foundation, $12,114: Since 2023, the Hutch Refugee Project has partnered with the International Rescue Committee and numerous local churches, organizations and businesses to create an inclusive community where refugee families are not just surviving but thriving with access to the resources and opportunities they need to build stable, independent lives in Hutchinson. This funding supports continued refugee family integration in the community through funding for summer child care at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hutchinson and YMCA memberships, as well as cultural competency training for volunteers and service providers.
Partridge Public Library, $1,500: The construction of a new Partridge Public Library will bring a new building to the town and an opportunity to add new services. This funding will support the installation of five sensory panels designed to promote brain growth, physical development and social interaction for young learners.
Streetlight Ministries Inc. $2,584: Streetlight Ministries Inc. is working to minimize food insecurities in the Arlington and USD 310 areas of Reno County and has given over 9,200 food boxes from the Arlington Community Center since 2015. With this grant, the walk-in cooler and freezer will be upgraded to address ongoing maintenance issues and prevent unnecessary food loss.
Wisdom in Motion, $8,450: Wisdom in Motion works with youth through individual mentorship, group meetings, educational support, and family access to financial education. Its goal is to guide at-risk youth out of a school-to-prison pipeline and help them envision and achieve the best version of themselves. Wisdom in Motions seeks to increase minority youth representation in mentoring and other programming by intentionally recruiting and training mentors who are minorities themselves.
Hutchinson Community Foundation’s mission is to inspire philanthropy, leadership and collaboration to strengthen Reno County. Since 1989, the foundation has granted more than $104 million to organizations.
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