Community Foundation of Ellis

With the Community Foundation of Ellis’ “Giving Back to Ellis” campaign coming to a close, the Foundation would like to thank our entire community for your support. You’ve already given over $35,000 to make our community an even better place to live than it already is, and our town’s generosity is already making a difference in our community. Because of your overwhelming support, here are a few new and exciting things that are happening through the Community Foundation of Ellis.

This year, your support of the Foundation will have started two new programs that provide food for children in our community, one of which is being funded by donations you’ve given. For many students, school lunches provide steady meals through the week, but weekends and summer breaks lack the consistency of nutrition that kids need.

The Community Foundation of Ellis is striving to meet that need. One of the programs, Food4Kids Backpacks, has been helping our town beat hunger since February. Funded and run by the Kansas Food Bank, this program provides two meals each Friday for any grade-school student who needs a little food to help them through the weekend. Our second program kicks off this summer.

Starting June 1, Food4Kids: Summer will provide kids in Ellis with food that’s in when school is out. For many kids in Ellis, summer’s a time when the lack of school lunches creates a real need for help, so we’re aiming to provide 45 children ages 2-18 with six meals per week to meet the need. This initiative is being funded by the Foundation, and so it depends on our community’s support. All of this is in addition to the excellent work of the Ellis Food Box, which has provided food to 124 families this year to help beat hunger in Ellis. Through your continuing support, we’re going to make a difference in our community.

Beyond meeting our community’s need for food, your gifts to the Foundation are helping our community grow by supporting all kinds of established and budding organizations in our community. This year, we’ve been able to increase the number of grants awarded from 7 to 10, giving nearly $4,900 back to organizations in Ellis.

This year’s grant recipients include Ellis United Methodist Church’s 5th Quarter, the Nutrition Center, The Ellis Public Library, the Senior Advisory Board, St. Mary’s Preschool, Ellis Soccer Club, the Ellis Columbian Board, the Ellis Baptist Church Youth Group, the Polar Express Committee, and Ellis Girl Scout Troop #10020. Congratulations to all of this year’s grant winners!

Once again, the Community Foundation of Ellis would like to thank our entire community for your support. Our food programs and grants depend on your donations.

If you’d like to find out how you can make a difference in our community through the Foundation, visit our website at www.ellisfoundation.net or contact the Ellis Alliance office at (785) 726-2660.