Mentor Kansas has been selected to receive a $25,000 Impact and Capacity Grant through the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF), a philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans.

A total of 86 Kansas nonprofits were awarded Impact and Capacity Grants, totaling nearly $2 million. These grants were awarded to the selected organizations for health improvement projects and organizational capacity building. Each selected nonprofit must address at least one of KHF’s four impact areas – access to care, healthy behaviors, educational achievement or civic/community engagement.

Mentor Kansas will use these funds to build its capacity to provide training, support and technical assistance on improving youth mentoring program practices, thereby increasing the quality and quantity of safe and effective mentoring relationships available to at-risk youth in Kansas.

Mentor Kansas will contract with the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute, Center for Organizational Development and Collaboration (WSU CODC), on the development of a strategic plan that will include a targeted stakeholder needs assessment and a detailed network building strategy that will enable Mentor Kansas to build meaningful connections with the mentoring network.

With the help of WSU CODC, Mentor Kansas will improve outreach, communication and marketing efforts in order to encourage more participation in the resources that are available, and also inspire more collaboration and organizational building within the mentoring network. This will provide more youth in Kansas, at risk of educational and health inequities, with personal growth, development, and social and economic opportunities.

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Mentor Kansas, a program of the Kansas Volunteer Commission housed within the Kansas State Department of Education, is a statewide mentoring partnership that connects more than 150 mentoring programs with one another. Mentor Kansas’ mission is to increase the quality and quantity of youth mentoring relationships and to inspire more Kansans to be mentors.

The Kansas Health Foundation is a philanthropy based in Wichita, but statewide in its focus. With a dedicated mission to improve the health of all Kansans, KHF envisions a culture in which every Kansan can make healthy choices where they live, work and play. During its 30-year history, KHF has provided more than $500 million in grants to Kansas communities and organizations, and looks forward to working toward its mission and vision for many years to come. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation, visit www.kansashealth.org.