Building Vibrant Communities with a Positive Future!
Nora Rhoades- Family and Youth Development Agent
The Kansas PRIDE Program is a partnership of K-State Research and Extension, the Kansas Department of Commerce, and Kansas PRIDE, Inc.
Kansas PRIDE is dedicated to serving communities across the state to encourage and assist local government and volunteers in making their community a better place to live and work.
Through the Kansas PRIDE program, local communities identify what they would like to preserve, create, or improve for their future. Then, working with the resources of K-State Research & Extension and the Kansas Department of Commerce, community volunteers pull together to create their ideal community future.
The Kansas PRIDE Program is a partnership of K-State Research and Extension, the Kansas Department of Commerce, and Kansas PRIDE, Inc.
Kansas PRIDE is dedicated to serving communities across the state to encourage and assist local government and volunteers in making their community a better place to live and work.
Through the Kansas PRIDE program, local communities identify what they would like to preserve, create, or improve for their future. Then, working with the resources of K-State Research & Extension and the Kansas Department of Commerce, community volunteers pull together to create their ideal community future.
Make a Positive First Impression
Do you ever wonder what a visitor thinks about your community? Does it appear attractive and
inviting? Will they want to come back and spend more time?
First Impressions is a program that can help answer these questions. With First Impressions, communities of similar size and characteristics are matched together. Exchange visits are made to each community. Through an outsider’s view, you may discover strengths taken for granted or characteristics local citizens have become complacent about.
Results from the visits are shared during a town hall type meeting. Photos are used to reinforce comments made by the visiting team. Following the meeting, communities identify or prioritize opportunities and select work projects.
16 communities in NW Kansas have participated in First Impressions. Eight more are in the process of forming teams and preparing to conduct exchange visits. In the Post Rock District, Downs, Smith Center, Lincoln, Natoma, and Lebanon are benefiting from engagement in the program.
The immediate impacts of First Impressions are the call to action and engagement of community volunteers, the development of improved communication between residents and community organizations, and the increased awareness of the community’s attributes. As communities implement projects, impacts will become more significant when citizen engagement is increased, communities become more inviting, and youth are involved in the development and implementation of projects.
For more information or to participate please contact K-State Research and Extension. The Northwest Kansas contact is Nadine Sigle, NW KS K-State Research and Extension Community Vitality - nsigle@ksu.edu (785-346-6256).
The Kansas PRIDE Community Toolkit is for Kansas PRIDE Communities at all levels, whether your group is new, reorganizing, restructuring, or getting back into gear. The toolkit can be offered as a regional workshop update, or it can be broken down into modules for short presentations at local meetings. The toolkit modules include:inviting? Will they want to come back and spend more time?
First Impressions is a program that can help answer these questions. With First Impressions, communities of similar size and characteristics are matched together. Exchange visits are made to each community. Through an outsider’s view, you may discover strengths taken for granted or characteristics local citizens have become complacent about.
Results from the visits are shared during a town hall type meeting. Photos are used to reinforce comments made by the visiting team. Following the meeting, communities identify or prioritize opportunities and select work projects.
16 communities in NW Kansas have participated in First Impressions. Eight more are in the process of forming teams and preparing to conduct exchange visits. In the Post Rock District, Downs, Smith Center, Lincoln, Natoma, and Lebanon are benefiting from engagement in the program.
The immediate impacts of First Impressions are the call to action and engagement of community volunteers, the development of improved communication between residents and community organizations, and the increased awareness of the community’s attributes. As communities implement projects, impacts will become more significant when citizen engagement is increased, communities become more inviting, and youth are involved in the development and implementation of projects.
For more information or to participate please contact K-State Research and Extension. The Northwest Kansas contact is Nadine Sigle, NW KS K-State Research and Extension Community Vitality - nsigle@ksu.edu (785-346-6256).
The Kansas PRIDE Community Toolkit
- Money Matters – fundraising myths, approaches to fundraising, fundraising in a recession, developing a plan, tracking your dollars, 501 c 3 or community foundation approach, grant proposal tips
- Staying on Target – vision and mission of your organization, communicating your objectives, strategies, creating an action plan and elevator speech
- Achieving Success through Volunteers – motivations behind volunteering, recruitment, and reviewing the ISOTURE model
- Benchmarking Your Success – promotion of your work, celebrating your success!
To learn more about Kansas PRIDE and the Community Toolkit visit http://kansasprideprogram.k-state.edu/ or email PRIDE@ksu.edu
