Civic Health Hero - What an Honor

When my sister asked me to share the community service I perform with her, I had no clue that a few months later I would be honored with the recognition of a Civic Health Hero by the Kansas Health Foundation.

The Kansas Health Foundation focuses on the four impact areas of access to affordable health care, healthy behaviors, civic and community engagement and educational attainment. Click here to read the wonderful article that was published in the Joplin Globe newspaper.

Frontenac Homecoming

In the southeast corner of Kansas, with a population of just over 3,400, Frontenac has a rich history. Frontenac was established as a coal mining town in 1886 in the Cherokee-Crawford Coal Fields. The town was populated primarily by immigrant families from eastern and southeastern Europe, predominantly Sicilian, Italian, and Slavic people from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On the night of November 9, 1888, Frontenac had the worst mining disaster in Kansas history, when a coal dust explosion killed 44 miners. 

In 1986, a group of community members held the first Frontenac Homecoming to celebrate Frontenac's 100th anniversary. As the community changed, the committee dissolved but has returned with a new generation in 2016. To learn about the activities of Frontenac Homecoming 2018, please find Frontenac Homecoming on Facebook here.

Family Growth through Friendship

Pittburg Mother to Mother Ministry provides opportunities for individuals of different racial/ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds to gather in friendship.

By offering support and mentoring with family struggles or simply sharing life experiences, people learn from each other. These new friendships empower participants to nurture healthy families and to grow as both individuals and members of society.

To learn more about this wonderful organization click here.

SEK History

As a child growing up and attending school in Southeast Kansas, every school year, my class would visit the Crawford County Historical Museum. The Crawford County Historical Museum is a non-profit organization and has one of the largest collection of artifacts and historical displays in the area. Located just off of the Hwy 69 Bypass, the museum holds many memories for the community members of Southeast Kansas. 

To read more about the museum, click here for an article written by PSU student and Collegio Copy Editor Brianna Price.

The museum has opened its doors to the community by allowing meetings to be held in their Education Room. To reach a broader audience, the museum has begun hosting Sip & Paint Fundraisers as well. I have attended four (4) of the painting events and two I have taught. 

On May 6, 2018, the Crawford County Historical Museum is hosting a Sip, Paint & Laugh event. I will be guiding the attendees through a painting of Dandelions at Dawn. A fun spring themed picture.

Paint It All Pink

The Mount Carmel Foundation presents...Paint It All Pink on May 11, 2018. The fight against breast cancer is not just in October. Remember the women in your life during May and as we approach Mother's Day, support cancer awareness.

Together we can:

• Celebrate breast cancer survivors

• Support breast cancer awareness

• Spread the word about the importance of mammograms and early detection.

The Foundation hosts shirt and plant sales, giveaways and more. All proceeds go to the Mount Carmel Foundation benefitting the patients of the Via Christi Cancer Center.

The Mount Carmel Foundations secures and extends financial assistance to the operation, maintenance, facilities and services of Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, and contributes to healthcare and maintenance of the people of southeast Kansas and the surrounding region.

To learn more about what the foundation is, what it does, and where the funds raised go, like the foundation on Facebook, here.

Friends of the Library

The Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library hosted their Annual Meeting and Program on Monday, April 2, 2018. 

Dagmar Snodgrass presented: Dagie's Story: From War Torn Germany to Freedom in America.

The audience was silent as Dagie spun her childhood in Berlin and how a piece of chocolate from an American Candy Bomber gave her hope. She spoke of her family, how she met her husband, and how she and her children came to America. It was a different German perspective of WWII that history books don't always tell.


The Friends of the Pittsburg Public Library (FoPPL) ensures that the library is able to keep the many great, public programs as well as allowing special purchases of equipment and titles for the collection by raising funds during the semi-annual book sales and membership fees. FoPPL hope to facilitate lifelong learning opportunities for Pittsburg Public Library patrons.

Invisible Illnesses Become Visible

As National President of my philanthropic sorority, Phi Tau Omega, I have the honor of selecting a National Platform that all chapters recognize. As a Multiple Sclerosis Warrior for almost 18 years, I have selected Invisible Illnesses.

Invisible Illness or Disability is an umbrella term that captures a whole spectrum of hidden disabilities or challenges that are primarily neurological in nature.

Invisible Disabilities are certain kinds of disabilities that are not immediately apparent to others. It is estimated that 10% of people in the U.S. have a medical condition which could be considered a type of invisible disability. 96% of people with chronic medical conditions live with a condition that is invisible. These people do not use a cane or any assistive device and act as if they didn’t have a medical condition. About 25% of them have some type of activity limitation, ranging from mild to severe; the remaining 75% are not disabled by their chronic conditions. Although the disability creates a challenge for the person who has it, the reality of the disability can be difficult for others to recognize or acknowledge. Others may not understand the cause of the problem if they cannot see evidence of it in a visible way.

Invisible Illnesses include, but are not limited to: Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Depression, Mental Illness, Diabetes, Digestive Disorders, Migraines, Heart Conditions, Infertility, Lupus and Lyme Disease.