For me, we’re a family. Meadowlark Hills is home.
Outdoor Encounters
October 3, 2024
Blog
Presenting sponsor Central National Bank and Meadowlark Memory Program collaborated again this year with Rockin K’s for a day of amazing food, drink, conversation, and music. Rockin K’s will donate 10% of the day’s sales to support the program. On Friday, June 9, people from the community learned about dementia and how the Meadowlark Memory Program supports those diagnosed and their care partners (including spouses, children, siblings, and friends).
I often hear someone say “What can I do?” when the topic swings around to the climate crisis we are facing. Some who utter these words are deadly serious in their intent. Others, not yet fully onboard to battle what we are facing, probably will fall back to the rationalization often used come election time: “What good will one little vote do?” and “Why bother?” We must remember that each of the tens of millions of votes counted in the last election began with a single lone effort—and democracy was better for it.
After an absence in 2022, Art Mingle, the primary fundraiser for Meadowlark Memory Program, returned to Meadowlark Foundation’s opportunities calendar this spring. Prairie Star Restaurant and Event Venue was lively with the sounds of music, conversation, and laughter during a 5th event on April 28.
Art Mingle: Wonder & Whimsy attracted about 140 guests and volunteers, several of whom had not seen the event venue and/or had not been to a prior Art Mingle.
Hip! Hip! HOORAY!! The 11th annual Grow Green Match Day, hosted April 21 by Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, was Meadowlark Foundation’s best ever in terms of the number of contributions received. According to the Leaderboard at growgreenmanhattan.com, 88 friends of Meadowlark contributed a whopping $51,667 to benefit our Nursing Scholarship Program.
For the past four months, this column has considered a problem of serious international scope: climate change. But other undesirable changes are afoot, e.g., the problem of unnatural, invasive, “exotic” species. This problem, though not as immediately dangerous to human welfare as is climate change, always is with us. In one sense, the problem is worldwide because the ancestral home of an invasive species into, say, eastern Kansas may come from about anywhere in the world. The extent of invasiveness depends upon the capability of the new species to survive in its new home.
Art you ready to Mingle? In addition to fabulous food, live music, and an ARTFul Memories exhibit, Art Mingle: Wonder & Whimsy features tempting live and silent auction items, as well as a raffle prize. The event committee began preparations last fall and look forward to a fun and successful evening next Friday, April 28, to benefit Meadowlark Memory Program.
Kristin Goering
Kristin Goering of Fairway, Kan., was inspired to pursue art from a young age. She received her Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in printmaking from Bethel College in 1992. Her early career was spent as a freelance artist and illustrator with the Mennonite Press and Hearth Publishing in Newton, Kan. Her stylized brushstrokes and an intensified palette move beyond simple representationalism, conveying an inherent energy that extends the viewer’s concept of the natural world.
The following statement appears on Goering’s website:
Meadowlark Foundation has enthusiastically accepted an invitation to grow our “green” by participating in the 11th annual Grow Green Match Day on Friday, April 21. On that day, donations made through the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation to participating nonprofit agencies will receive a 50% match! Meadowlark Foundation is joining 93 other local organizations in urging our donors to participate.
April is a time for growth and change. Those bulbs resting underground all winter are now popping up leaves and flowers of fresh life through the soil. It’s a time where something that we can’t see changing is evolving into something beautiful. This is why it is fitting that April is National Parkinson’s Awareness Month. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of Parkinson’s may feel like that flower bulb in the winter when they are diagnosed, and they may not understand they can still experience growth, independence, and beauty.
After a hiatus in 2022, Meadowlark Foundation’s art-related fundraiser returns this spring. Mark your calendars for Friday, April 28! Meadowlark staff have joined with several Manhattan community members to present Art Mingle: Wonder & Whimsy, which benefits the Meadowlark Memory Program. The fun begins at 6 p.m. at Prairie Star Restaurant and Event Venue.