09/30/2025
Elevated Minds, Full Hearts. It’s the end of our Elevate Era (formerly known as Circles). We’ve been worried this day would come, given funding challenges, for some time now. Tonight was the last Monday night to walk through those familiar and welcoming doors at Grace United Methodist Church, which has been so instrumental and gracious in supporting us and giving us a space to meet, week after week, year after year. Thank you to the leaders, members, and everyone at Grace for helping us. We have so much to be thankful for. We were small, but mighty and spanned over 10 years. 8 of those years, Laurie and I have been involved, it’s been 10 for Kelly! We are thankful to all of you: our board members, volunteers, supporters, cheerleaders, and our participants who took a chance on bettering their situations - personally, financially, socially, and jumped in, community-driven. Even if we had only made a difference in one life, it was worth the ride! We are also so thankful for the grants & donations over the years from Power of the Purse, Legacy Regional Community Foundation, United Way of the Plains, the Winfield Soroptimist Club, and the generous private donors, other local churches, realtor groups, banks, countless hours of thankless work by our volunteers, and collaborations we shared with the other wonderful Cowley County nonprofits.
Saturday I ran into one of our male participants from about 4 years ago. He was back in town & so good to get a quick hug. The Leaders (aka participants) stay with you in your mind and heart. We have had some amazing people ~ Leaders and Allies! Two little ones were born into our group. One family leaves tonight for another state, please send them good travel vibes. It was only fitting that the last person to walk out with me was one I affectionately call the “poster child” for Elevate, achieving successes that included a significant raise, the purchase of a home, and a mortgage that has since been paid off. Elevated Minds, Full Hearts. Thank You All. 💚
