Sunflower Foundation

10/12/2026

Kansas Public Radio's Community Spotlight program recently featured the Topeka Literacy Council, a nonprofit that helps adults learn to read and write and also teaches English as a second language, with the goal of helping individuals improve their economic standing.

Topeka Literacy Council, which strives to educate the community on the importance of literacy and its effects on society, provides free one-on-one tutoring, offers GED preparation assistance, and also teaches basic math skills.

KPR visited with Lorraine Donovan, a member of the Topeka Literacy Counil board of directors. Listen to their conversation: https://kansaspublicradio.org/community-spotlight/2026-09-01/kpr-community-spotlight-topeka-literacy-council

Sunflower Foundation is a proud supporter of KPR’s Community Spotlight program, which each month highlights the work of a community nonprofit organization in the KPR listening area.

Learn more about Topeka Literacy Council: https://www.topekaliteracy.org/
Learn more about KRP's Community Spotlight program: https://kansaspublicradio.org/community-spotlight

The Topeka Literacy Council is a nonprofit organization of volunteers who help adults learn to read and write to improve their economic standing and self esteem. Our tutoring service is free, one-to-one and confidential. We also teach English as a second language, GED preparation, and basic math ski...

10/06/2026

It was encouraging to see presentations and discussions on Food is Medicine and its role in behavioral health at the recent Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Inc. Annual Conference in Wichita.

Marianna Wetherill, a member of the Evaluation Advisory Team (EAT) for Sunflower Foundation’s Kansas Food is Medicine Initiative (KFIMI), led the presentation 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥: 𝘖𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦. The session focused on advancing Food is Medicine as a viable strategy in behavioral health treatment and whole-person care.

Traci Pole, co-founder of the nonprofit Wellfedminds, led the session 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘊𝘉𝘏𝘊 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦, which focused on implementing a Food is Medicine approach into the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model.

As we continue to support the advancement of Food is Medicine strategies across Kansas, it’s exciting to see the topic of Food is Medicine as it relates to behavioral health being addressed!

10/05/2026

Members of our Sunflower Foundation team were excited to attend the 2026 Community Care Network of Kansas Annual Conference in Manhattan recently to help CCNK celebrate its 35th anniversary.

To mark the occasion, Brandon Skidmore, Sunflower Foundation president & CEO, joined four other foundation leaders in Kansas for a panel discussion on how the philanthropic sector can support the work CCNK and its members do to make care accessible and affordable for Kansans.

Philanthropic leaders who joined Brandon on the panel included: David Jordan, United Methodist Health Ministry Fund; Lindsay Wilke, Kansas Health Foundation; Kael Martin, Health Forward Foundation; and Amy Hampton, Patterson Family Foundation.

10/05/2026

Kelli Mark, Sunflower’s director of Healthy Communities, was out and about recently participating in the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative (KHFI) Advisory Board meeting in Leon, after which she joined the 2026 Kansas Rural Grocery Tour, organized by the K-State Extension - Rural Grocery Initiative (RGI).

Kelli and fellow advisory board members joined other key stakeholders on a tour that included stops at Bluestem Mercantile in Leon, Batson's Drug Store and Family Market in Howard, and Salt Creek Market, part of The Salt Creek Farm in Eureka. At each stop, store owners shared stories about their store’s history and their experiences as rural grocers, as well as insights into how their stores contribute to community vitality and improve food access.

Kelli and Elizabeth Burger, Sunflower’s senior vice president of programs and strategy, are members of the advisory board for KHFI, a healthy food financing initiative that supports healthy food retail projects in low-resource and underserved areas of Kansas.

RGI, part of K-State Extension, strives to sustain locally owned rural grocery stores by serving as the lead food access organization for KHFI. RGI conducts program outreach, provides technical assistance, and reviews the eligibility of potential KHFI projects.

Check out some of the photos from the tour, and learn more about KHFI and RGI:
https://kansashealthyfood.org/
https://www.ruralgrocery.org/

09/30/2026

Kansas Public Radio's Community Spotlight program recently featured NAVO, a nonprofit arts organization in Overland Park with a mission to enrich communities in the Midwest through the power of the arts.

Founded by conductor/violist Shah Sadikov and violinist Véronique Mathieu, NAVO is dedicated to inspiring underserved communities and working in partnership with local charities.

KPR visited with Mathieu, the organization's artistic director. Listen to their conversation: https://kansaspublicradio.org/community-spotlight/2026-08-01/kpr-community-spotlight-navo

Sunflower Foundation is a proud supporter of KPR’s Community Spotlight program, which each month highlights the work of a community nonprofit organization in the KPR listening area.

Learn more about NAVO: https://www.navoarts.com/
Learn more about KRP's Community Spotlight program: https://kansaspublicradio.org/community-spotlight

Founded by conductor/violist Shah Sadikov and violinist Véronique Mathieu, NAVO is a non-profit arts organization whose primary mission is to foster artistic excellence. Our goal is to enrich the lives of communities in the Midwest through the power of the arts.

09/25/2026

It was invigorating to see all the young people on our campus earlier this week at DCCCA’s Kansas Youth Leadership Workshop, which offered middle and high school students from around the region the opportunity to expand their leadership skills, identify prevention-related concerns in their schools and communities, and begin working on action plans to address those issues.

Students listened to a lively and engaging presentation from John Calvert, a national keynote speaker and former school resource officer who is passionate about school safety. His message focused on the importance of building positive relationships.

The day’s activities also included a screening of the documentary 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑈𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒: 𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑉𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐷𝑟𝑢𝑔𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑜ℎ𝑜𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑔𝑒, which delves into teen decision-making and practical solutions for keeping teens safe in a changing world.

During the month of September, DCCCA offered three free regional youth leadership workshops, including at sites in Wichita and Garden City. Wednesday’s workshop at the Sunflower Nonprofit Center in Topeka attracted students from Topeka and the northeast Kansas region.

We appreciate DCCCA bringing this very important event to our campus!

09/23/2026

We are so glad Kelli Mark, director of Healthy Communities here at Sunflower Foundation, was able to join the fine folks with the Kansas Horse Council, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks, and Kansas Trails Inc., on Tuesday as participants in the Sunflower Stretch, Kansas’s segment of the American Discovery Trail 250 relay.

The ADT250 is marking the nation’s 250th birthday with a coast-to-coast, non-motorized relay where participants are carrying a baton containing a copy of the Declaration of Independence from one side of the country to the other.

The Sunflower Stretch, which started in western Kansas at Coolidge on Sept. 15 and will cross the Kansas/Missouri state line at Leawood on Thursday, came through Council Grove on Tuesday morning. Participants started in Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park and traveled 11 miles down the trail to Bushong, enjoying the scenic Kansas prairie along the way.

While many participants made the short trek on horseback, Kelli rode in a high-wheel wagon pulled by a team of Percherons!

Learn more about the ADT250 and the Sunflower Stretch at: https://kstrails.org/events/sunflower-stretch/

09/23/2026

Kansas Public Radio's Community Spotlight program recently featured RCIL (Resource Center for Independent Living, Inc.), a nonprofit in Osage City committed to providing services to individuals with disabilities, their families and their communities.

RCIL, which serves the communities of Osage City, Emporia, Iola, El Dorado and Topeka, strives to empower persons with disabilities to control their lives and live independently.

KPR visited with Deone Wilson, executive director of RCIL. Listen to their conversation: https://kansaspublicradio.org/community-spotlight/2026-07-01/kpr-community-spotlight-resource-center-for-independent-living-inc

Sunflower Foundation is a proud supporter of KPR’s Community Spotlight program, which each month highlights the work of a community nonprofit organization in the KPR listening area.

Learn more about RCIL: https://rcilinc.org/
Learn more about KRP's Community Spotlight program: https://kansaspublicradio.org/community-spotlight

Resource Center for Independent Living, Inc. (RCIL) is committed to working with individuals, families, and communities to promote independent living and individual choice to persons with disabilities.

09/07/2026