The Kansas Health Foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans.

Communities across the state are gearing up for a new effort to educate their residents on the dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke.

The first phase of this Kansas project, The Secondhand Smoke Community Campaign, worked directly with six communities – Manhattan, Salina, Emporia, Wyandotte County, Reno County and Norton – to tailor awareness campaigns targeted to each one of them. That approach sparked such positive feedback that the Kansas Health Foundation board recently approved a $1 million expansion to broaden the program’s educational outreach to more areas of our state.

Here’s a taste of what some of the communities have done to raise awareness about this serious health risk. Salina used billboards plus radio and newspaper ads to spread the word that secondhand smoke is poisonous. Manhattan got a group of college students involved and made community presentations about the dangers of secondhand smoke.

The Reno County Tobacco Use Prevention Coalition has about 30 adult members and 75 youth members today, and more businesses in the area are now aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke, says Jessica Hoskinson of the coalition. A variety of groups have been using the Foundation’s media campaign in their activities and events. For example, a popular local diner had people wear their "Secondhand Smoke is Poisonous" T-shirts there one Saturday to support clean indoor air. Some of the local health providers are excited about using the posters and related materials in their offices. And youth groups have used the materials at dances and in games for schools.

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disability in the United States, and more than 3,900 Kansans lose their lives to tobacco-related illnesses every year. Smokers aren’t the only ones who suffer the consequences. Secondhand smoke contains at least 250 known toxins, and at least one-fifth of those toxins can cause cancer. A 2006 surgeon general’s report revealed that exposure to secondhand smoke can increase a person’s risk of heart disease by 30 percent and raise the risk of lung cancer by 30 percent.

The Kansas Health Foundation remains committed to directing resources toward educating Kansans about secondhand smoke. Sadly, about 22 million children in the United States – almost 60 percent of kids between the ages of 3 and 11 – are exposed to secondhand smoke, and that exposure can cause respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and other health problems, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Foundation is now visiting with communities across Kansas to determine their needs, readiness and interest levels in joining the new phase of this project. To read more about our secondhand smoke campaign, click HERE.

Physical activity doesn't have to be boring. Students from Wichita’s Woodland Health & Wellness Magnet Elementary School learned that lesson the fun way when their friends at the Kansas Health Foundation rented a moonwalk obstacle course for them at Riverside Park and let the good times roll.

Communication Officer Chase Willhite gave the kids instructions and got them cheering loudly. "Are you ready to have some fun?" he shouted. "YAY!" they hollered. The kids took a couple of trial runs through the course, and then they split into two teams and were off to the races. Students came tumbling, rolling and giggling through the moonwalk, then sprinted back in hopes of being the winning team. Their teammates in line were springing up off the ground, their fists pumping in the air with anticipated victory.

"I want that much energy. Where do I sign up?" Vice President for Communication Chris Power said.

Foundation staffers gave encouragement and high-fives to the kids. "You can do it, Owen! Come on, Owen! Run, Owen, RUN!" Communication Associate Valerie Black urged. "I know you can go fast, fast, fast! Go! Great job!" President Steve Coen cheered. "That was fun. I flipped over the last part," 9-year-old Micaela Saenz said.

But the Foundation provides more than fun and games for Woodland. In 2003, the Foundation started that partnership. Today, the Foundation sends staff to read with students each week. It also buys warm jackets and some books for each child.

Coen and Vice President for Programs Mary K. Campuzano tutor 3rd graders in Melody Waltermire’s class. "The kids love when Mr. Coen and Mrs. Campuzano come," Waltermire said. "They say, 'Oh, can I read today? Can I read today?' The Kansas Health Foundation helps our school an awful lot. They don’t have to do this, but it’s a great asset for our school."

Her eyes sparkled with pride as she talked about how the tutoring improves the kids’ skills. "They try so hard, and their reading levels have really gone up," she said. "For the majority of the class, they’re right on target, and that’s wonderful."

After serving on the Kansas Health Foundation board for seven years, the Rev. Cheryl Bell is answering the call of a new challenge.

Newton will soon be home for Bell as she moves from Wichita to pastor Trinity Heights United Methodist Church there. "I really am excited about getting to know the people of Newton," she says.

But she’s not leaving her interest in the long-term health of Kansas behind. "One of the things that the Health Foundation did for me was to help expand my concept and experience with looking long-term," she says. "In ministry, we deal with short-term needs and issues. They stretched my imagination and stretched me as far as planning and helping to position especially the investments of the Foundation toward the future. That was good for me."

She’ll take the Foundation’s goals with her to Newton. "The mission of the Foundation is the hope that the health of all Kansans will be better and get better, and I really think that the Health Foundation, in its work, will help make that happen," Bell says. "You’ve got to have a high goal, so I’m going to carry that with me as I go to my new church and my new community. I believe it can happen."

An electrical engineering job at Boeing brought Bell to Kansas in 1985, but once she moved here, God revealed a new call for her. Bell decided to attend seminary and serve the United Methodist Church full-time.

Chairman Ron Holt says Bell helped the Foundation board to see things in different ways. "Being an engineer by training and trade in her first career, she was always looking inside, evaluating, analyzing the situation and the proposals," Holt says. "She certainly had a very analytical side as well as a community outreach and community caring side, and that’s pretty unique to be able to mesh those two. … I think she certainly was a wonderful addition to the board. She brought a lot of head and heart to the discussion, and that made a real difference many, many, many times and improved our decision-making."

Bell treasures her time on the Foundation board. "It expanded my horizons, and it’s just been a great experience," she says. "One that I will remember for a lifetime."

The Rev. Gary Brooks aims to model excellence in health and ministry – and he practices what he preaches about wellness. He’ll bring his own health journey and leadership skills to the table as the Kansas Health Foundation’s newest board member.

About four years ago, Brooks set out to lose 40 pounds after a doctor said his blood pressure was rising. He knew that he couldn’t lose weight without support, so he enlisted First United Methodist Church in Great Bend to keep him on track with healthy habits. "I stood up to the congregation and used it as part of a sermon," Brooks says. "I told them, ‘I can’t do it by myself. I need you to be accountability partners for me.’"

Church members took his call for help seriously. The next week, the church held a funeral dinner featuring a table filled with sweet treats. But when Brooks got up and started walking toward those temptations, ladies from the church "marched out of the kitchen and they barricaded that table from me," Brooks says. "I didn’t get any dessert that day."

His family – three daughters, a grandson plus a wife who’s a registered nurse – fuels his passion for children’s health.

"Our children need our help," Brooks says. "We are the only ones who can be advocates for them until they can take that on themselves. Whatever we can provide in our culture to make children healthier, we need to do that."

So when the opportunity arose to join the Foundation board, Brooks jumped at the chance. "It’s a way that I can continue my own personal journey, my accountability to my own health, and offer myself in leadership to improve the overall health of others," Brooks says.

In addition to serving on the Foundation board, Brooks will be the new Wichita East District Superintendent of the United Methodist Church.

Brooks loves the scenery and the people of Kansas. "I’ve ridden my bicycle across the state seven or eight times on Bike Across Kansas," he says. "It helps me appreciate the wonder of the state and the beauty of what God has given us here in Kansas. Whoever said Kansas is flat has never ridden a bicycle across it."

The Kansas Health Foundation proudly announces that our 2006-2007 annual report has been honored with a 2009 Silver Award for excellence in communications by the Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program.

Sponsored by the Council on Foundations, this awards program recognizes effective communications efforts to increase the public awareness of foundations and corporate giving programs.

"Through efforts like yours, the field of philanthropy earns the public’s trust and respect," Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, wrote. "The work you submitted demonstrates the Kansas Health Foundation’s commitment to public accountability and effective communications and serves as a model of excellence for other grant makers." The Foundation received this award in May during the Council on Foundations’ 60th Annual Conference in Atlanta.

Entries to this awards program included annual or biennial reports, newsletters, special reports, public policy campaigns and Web sites. This year, 199 entries were submitted to the awards program.

To read the Foundation’s award-winning report, click HERE.

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