Over its more than decade of life, the Smoky Hills Charitable Foundation has distributed more than $1,020,000 in grant and scholarship money to 682 individuals and organizations.

Those dollars have come from the revenue generated by donations from a variety of supporters, including the Logan-based Dane G. Hansen Foundation, which provides financial assistance to communities and programs in northwest Kansas.

In 2019, Smoky Hills awarded $244,230 in grants, according to the foundation’s annual report.

Recipients included:

• The Wilson Community Foundation — $10,000 to begin the development of an arts and culture area in Wilson’s historic downtown district, celebrating Czech culture and tourism.

• Holyrood Booster Club — $5,452 for restoration of the Holyrood Santa Fe Depot which includes meeting rooms and will be used as a museum.

• City of Kanopolis— $3,053 to purchase an expression swing for City Park. The swing allows for a child and an adult to swing at the same time, creating an intergenerational play experience.

• City of Ellsworth — $13,328 Splash park improvement project. Elementary students in the community voted on the features they wanted to see in the park.

The grants are sustained by the income produced by the foundation’s endowed funds.

Other Smoky Hills funds are:

• Donor Advised — Enables donors to recommend grants to the charitable organizations or programs of their choice.

• Designated — Provides annual support for specific charities selected by the donor: Geneseo Public Library, Gladys M. Wagner Memorial, Kansas Health Foundation Operating Fund for Smoky Hills and Miss Czech Slovak Kansas Pageant.

• Field of Interest — Enables donors to support a designated cause or geographic area: Dane G. Hansen Community Grant Fund - Smoky Hills, Ellsworth County Cancer Fund, Joyce Nagel Health, Education & Recreation Fund, Kansas Health Foundation Fund for Smoky Hills, Smoky Hills Healthy Living Fund, USD 112 Central Plains Fund, USD 327 Student Benefit Fund, Wilson Forever Fund.

Said secretary Rita Whitmer, who has served on the board for four years: “It is one of the most meaningful organizations I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of. Being born and raised in Ellsworth County, my roots run deep here. Not only has Ellsworth County been home to me and my children, it will also be considered home to their children as well. So, its important to me to make a difference in a rural community my family will call home for years to come. With each donation, every donor becomes a vital part of this foundation! It’s an awesome feeling when you see a project completed and know that you had a part of making that project happen.”

More information on the Smoky Hills Charitable Foundation — an affiliate of the Greater Salina Community Foundation, is available at www.smokyhillscf.org.

In addition to Whitmer, Smoky Hills board members are: Bill Evans, chairman, Roger Pearson, vice chairman, Angela Bunch, Gary Everett, Sharon Folk, Judy Gebhardt, Amber Peschka, Don Siemsen and Devin Weis.