Dear Colleagues,

 

As we started to reflect on our work in 2013, a mural in downtown Lawrence caught our attention. The colorful mural designed and painted by elementary school students proclaims, “Everything connects to everything else!” 

 

How true! We see new connections everyday … cities connecting the built environment to healthy living, health providers integrating mental health and primary care, and nonprofit leaders finding common ground in their advocacy efforts. 

 

In our 2013 annual report you will see examples of connections in the work we supported. 

 

We awarded our first Integrated Care grants during this period resulting in 12 projects involving 29 providers across Kansas. The vision and commitment of these providers to tackle the traditional primary care and behavioral health silos is the beginning of needed system change. 

 

We enhanced our Sunflower Trails program offering more incentives and options for communities and schools to build trails that get people outside and active. We also learned that being outdoors makes you smarter as well as healthier. 

 

We continued our long-term investment in building a network of health advocates. In addition to our bi-annual Advocacy Fellowship program, we are bringing together advocates from across the state – creating opportunities for networking and shared advocacy. The more diverse our voice, the more likely it will be heard. 

 

We hope this year’s annual report reflects the importance of connections. It does take a village (or a Kansas community) to create a stronger, healthier Kansas. 

 

As always, we are honored and grateful to share the vision of so many active nonprofit organizations across our state, and look forward to continuing to make those connections in meaningful ways in the years to come.

 

We hope you will take time to review the report and learn more about our work and our partners.