A $100,000 grant to help fund a program to teach people to become leaders in their communities, and help those individuals complete community projects, has been received by the Plainville Community Foundation (PCF) courtesy of the Kansas Health Foundation.

The six-county Solomon Valley Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area is the actual recipient of the grant, but the funds have been deposited in the PCF because of the Rooks County Vision Leadership program that is conducted by Rooks County Economic Development. The Rooks County program, called Vision, is now in its second year and has had 22 county residents complete the training.

The Vision Leadership program is the result of the Kansas Health Foundation training received by Economic Development Director Roger Hrabe over a two-year period. Hrabe, in turn, has helped other individuals and counties begin leadership programs in their communities.

"Nearly 8 years ago, the Kansas Health Foundation conducted a listening tour around the state to find out what communities needed to prosper and to make them a healthier place to live" according to Hrabe. "What they found was that the overwhelming need that was identified was the development of leadership". This led the Foundation to develop a program, based on the principal of servant leadership, which would train leaders to train other leaders. At this point, over 65 communities around the state are involved in the program.

The skill-based leadership program teaches participants how to build groups that work and how to take committees or groups and bring them to a point where they can make things happen. "Most of the work in our communities is done through groups or committees, and making these groups function better can only help our communities perform better also," Hrabe stated.

"The Foundation Board is very excited that Roger and the Kansas Health Foundation have selected our organization to deposit the funds, stated Charlie Ramsay, President of the Plainville Community Foundation Board of Directors. "This is exactly the reason we came together and formed this organization."

The Plainville Community Foundation was set up a few years ago by a group of local leaders wanting to preserve our rural way of life. The group became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization recognized by the IRS in order to provide a means for other citizens to contribute monies to the Foundation either for specific projects or for the Foundation Board to do as they see fit. One project PCF has initiated is the fundraising efforts for Phase 1 of the Park Improvement Plan which is the purchase of new playground equipment. Other areas of focus for the Foundation include but are not limited to: Housing, Recreation, Economic Development, Healthcare, Infrastructure and Physical Image of our community.

For more information on how you can become a contributor to the Plainville Community Foundation, contact Charles Ramsay, or Kelli Hansen.