The Care Catalog is an online, crowdfunding campaign to support nonprofit work in and around the communities of Westmoreland, St. George, Onaga, and St. Marys during the holiday season. This annual campaign is meant to connect donors to nonprofits who are looking for end-of-year funding to reach their project or program goals in the following areas: Basic Human Needs, Community, Education, Healthcare and Senior Citizens.
Scroll down for a list of all projects and options to donate.
How Does the Care Catalog Work?
- Shop the list of program requests and give to one or more nonprofits easily
- Click the donate button to support the nonprofit(s) of your choosing. Donations can be made via PayPal or check.
- Your donation is tax deductible!
- We absorb the credit card fees, so 100% of your donation directly supports the nonprofits!
- Minimum online donation is $10.00
- Total donations are listed below and will be updated daily
- Still have questions? Email Susie Kufahl, CCF Director, at skufahl@ccfks.org
Thanks to these sponsors covering credit card fees and advertising,
100% of your donations will go to the projects! We greatly appreciate our anonymous sponsor and these sponsors:
Onaga USD 322 Caring Closet
I am reaching out to you today on behalf of the
USD 322 Caring Closet, a vital initiative that aims to provide children, preschool through 12th grade, and families in our community with the most fundamental necessities of life. In low socioeconomic status households, many children lack access to proper clothes, shoes, hygiene items, extra school supplies, laundry detergent, and other basic essentials.
This situation not only affects their self-esteem
but also hinders their ability to succeed in school. Thanks to generous donors from our school and community, the Caring Closet has been a beacon of hope for these children, offering them a chance to lead more comfortable and dignified lives.
However, to continue this mission, we need continued support. Your generous donations will enable us to keep the daily functioning of these households going, ensuring that no child goes to school in tattered shoes or faces the embarrassment of inadequate hygiene. Together, we can and do make a meaningful impact on the lives of these children, helping to empower them to reach their full potential.
Please consider contributing to the USD 322 Caring Closet and be a part of our mission to provide these essential resources to those who need them most. Your support can make all the difference in the world for these students. Thank you!
Requested: $10,000
Funded: $4,407.99
Pottawatomie County Fairgrounds Handicapped Accessibility
The Pottawatomie County Fair Association would like to improve our fairgrounds by increasing the handicapped accessibility there. This will be done by pouring cement sidewalks and ramps so that everyone may enjoy the County Fair, livestock shows, and other community events.
Your donation for this project will be
greatly appreciated. We intend to have this project completed for 2024.
Thanks,
Pottawatomie County Fair Association
Requested: $10,000
Funded: $2,626.08
Onaga Cemetery Markers for Remembrance
There are 453 unmarked graves in the Onaga Cemetery! The members of the Onaga Cemetery Board would like to see each grave get a marker. (The cemetery was surveyed with ground penetrating radar last year which located these graves.)
The cost of this project is estimated to be between $8,500 and $10,000. The Onaga Cemetery Board is asking for $5,000. This amount, in combination with donations already received of approximately $3,000, would put us well on the way to achieving our goal
of every resident of our cemetery being recognized whether we know their name or not. (The marker
will contain the name and birth and death dates if known. If their name is unknown the marker will read ‘Unknown’, ‘Child’ or ‘Baby’)
Thank you!
Requested: $5,000
Funded: $2,782.62
Onaga Historical Society Falkenstien Windmill Repairs
A three-legged windmill was donated to the Onaga Historical Society by Hal and Anne Falkenstien from their farm south of Onaga. The windmill was moved and erected on the Museum property in 2005 by Jimmy Koelzer and team. The windmill dates to 1910 and was made by Aermotor out of Chicago. Water was of vital importance to the early settlers in the area, making the windmill a significant symbol of the early days of settlement for the Museum.
Over the past 18 years the spokes holding the fan to the windmill head began to weaken. The fan
had begun to squeal constantly in a high-pitched screeching bringing complaints from townspeople. To solve the screeching problem, the fan was chained down and could no longer turn. As the years went by, the spokes continued to rust and the chain caused more tension to the rods holding the blades in place.
This summer strong winds escalated the damage
to the fan blades causing the entire fan to tip precariously. For safety’s sake, the fan blades had to be taken down from the top of the windmill. This project is to repair and replace the fan blades to the top of the windmill connecting them to the head allowing them to rotate once again. The Historical Society has researched and identified a company from Iowa that is best qualified to do the repairs. The September 2023 quote for their work is $6,000.
The Historical Society would also like to erect a small, all-weather sign by the windmill explaining its history and recognizing the donation from
the Falkenstien family. The sign is projected to cost $500 and will be done by a sign company in Manhattan, Kansas.
Funds collected through this on-line catalog will be specifically used for repairing the windmill so it can continue to be an important historical part of the Museum Complex. Full repair and restoration by the Iowa company is desired and would require the full $6000. The type and extent of the repairs and signage otherwise will depend upon the amount
of the contributions. Thank you for considering our project!
Requested: $6,500
Funded: $2,069.23
HRHS Havensville Community Center Freezer and Pump Upgrades
The HRHS building (a former high school and
grade school) is currently being utilized as a community center for local meals, the Havensville Independence Day celebration, Breakfast with Santa, and the famous Havensville Living History Day. In many ways, this building houses the heart of our community. The building is nearing 90 years old. As buildings get older, things need to be replaced.
HRHS is requesting $2,000 to replace a broken refrigerator, water pressure booster tank, and pressure tank. These items are extremely important for hosting events.
Through donations and grants, HRHS was recently able to replace the broken flooring in the hallway and replaced it with epoxy flooring. They were also able to replace the broken windows in the old bus barn, making that space more usable. According to one of the volunteers, some of those windows had been broken for 20 years. Your donations have helped HRHS create a nicer and cleaner space
for all! We hope you can help us with this current important request!
Requested: $2,000
Funded: $1,377.42
Caring Community Foundation Make an Impact! Community Fund
There is a simple, convenient way to make a monetary gift to the Caring Community Foundation without dipping into your checking or savings account. If you are over 70 1⁄2, you can transfer any amount up to $100,000 from your IRA to the CCF this year without paying any federal income tax. Simply let your IRA custodian know of your intent to make a transfer to us. You will feel good and your community will be better off. It can be that easy to make the world a better place.
The Caring Community Foundation is a
501(c)(3) public charity serving Pottawatomie, Marshall, Nemaha and Jackson Kansas Counties. We have invested 35 funds growing to meet the charitable needs of local communities. We award grants and scholarships annually and help fundraise
for non-profit organizations. We create funds for your charitable purposes and we depend upon our community fund so that we can always be an available resource for you.
Out of every dollar donated to the CCF, 99 cents is applied to current community needs or invested for future community needs. We rely upon the generosity of those connected to our communities to maintain this efficiency. Whether by check, IRA transfer, planned giving, or cash, please donate to the community fund. You won’t always be here, but this year, ten years from now, and one hundred years from now, donations to the permanent community fund will improve life in our local NE Kansas communities. Thank you!
Requested: You!
Funded: $17,603.98
St Marys Jayhawkers 4H
In 4H, kids build life skills by learning hands-on projects in areas like science, health, agriculture, and civic engagement. This helps them grow
in confidence, independence, resilience, and compassion. Adult mentors lead learning based on the kids’ interests. Children in Jayhawkers 4H want to learn about flower gardening and horticulture. We need curriculum and supplies to provide guidance, tools and encouragement so that the kids can “take the wheel” and drive the learning that takes place.
Our club has chosen Gardening and Growing Curriculum from Purdue Extension to guide our horticultural adventure. We will also need to purchase flowers, seeds, seedling starter trays and other materials for our garden bed at St. Marys City Park (Riverside Park).
This project will help our inquisitive, capable youth become community minded and that could influence our community for many years to come. With your donation, our park will be more beautiful and our children more capable. Won’t you help us?
Requested: $500
Funded: $97.71
St Marys Historical Society Security Lighting
For years we have talked about our exterior lighting, recognizing that it provides inadequate security
and safety.
Our project is to add additional lighting to the exterior of the buildings so that the sides of all the buildings and all the windows and doors are always lit during the dark hours.
We are having more evening events and we need to provide better lighting for our walkways for
the safety of our guests and to decrease liability concerns. We want to deter vandalism, and though lighting may not stop break-ins or vandalism, it should be a deterrent to those who are considering those types of behaviors.
We are having itemized estimates made for all these lighting needs. Because of our layout and
the irrigation system already in place, as well as poor access to power in some areas, we know that the project will be a bit tricky and probably more expensive than we can afford at one time. We are prepared to work on this project in phases if needed.
Any donations made will be added to our funds to do as much as possible and as soon as possible to increase the security of our museum complex and to provide safety for our guests. We thank you for considering our project!
Requested: $3,000
Funded: $3,630.10
This project is fully funded!
Mr. and Mrs. John Annan’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library for Onaga Children
John and Marge Annan were delightful people, devoted to family and very active in the Onaga community. Among many talents and contributions, John was a barber, a great storyteller, reader and conversationalist. Marge was a beloved childcare provider and librarian. They were loving parents. Their children are establishing a permanent fund in their memory: a Dolly Parton Imagination Library program for all young children who live within the Onaga zip code 66521. They are donating $5000 to initiate the fund, we are asking for another $5000 here to endow it and ensure this ongoing children’s literacy resource forever.
The Imagination Library fosters a love of reading and learning in preschool children by mailing them a free, age-appropriate book each month until they turn five years old, regardless of the family’s income.
This program is being established through the Caring Community Foundation with assistance from the Dollywood Foundation, the Kansas Children’s Cabinet, local donors and volunteers.
The Dollywood Foundation supports the program by providing the book selection, procurement, and fulfillment processes. Local funders and State partners cover the at-cost book and mailing
expenses and local promotional costs for children registered in the coverage area (zip code 66521). We register children and mail books to all children monthly, so expenses are ongoing and donations continually needed. Building this endowed fund will cover those ongoing expenses and provide sustainable support for early childhood literacy in Onaga, now and well into the future. $10,000 will establish an endowment to accomplish this!
Requested: $5,000
Funded: $5,032.77
This project is fully funded!
St. Marys Grade School USD 321 Playground Fence
The St Marys Grade School K – 6th playground needs a fence! A fence is necessary and needed
for so many reasons! Security – children need to be kept safe and secure from many outside influences: traffic, the occasional roaming dog, trespassers with ill intent. Also, some students with special needs could have more freedom with secure fence borders.
Children are the reason we’re here, they are our most precious and highest priority. The school has many people dedicated to giving our children the best education, but schools also have important needs that do not have an easy funding path.
We are very lucky to have a community member who is leading the way to help St. Marys Grade School get a fence to secure our playground! Kevin Gray, CEO and owner of Custom Woods, here in St. Marys, has pledged $5000 to match up to $5000 donated to the fence project!
Thanks to previous donations through the Care Catalog and the Booster Club, we have approximately $8,000 now. A successful match project here will bring us another $10,000 and put us within reach of safeguarding our children’s playground with a fence.
We are so excited to have this opportunity extended to us! Please participate. All donations are welcome and can be sent to the Caring Community Foundation or paid online with PayPal through the Care Catalog. Our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Gray and all of our donors!
Requested: $5,000
Funded: $5,003
This project is fully funded!
St. Marys Jr/Sr High USD 321 Outdoor Classroom
Students, teachers, parents and community members are pursuing their dream of creating an outdoor classroom for St. Marys Jr/Sr High. Here, students will be able to connect with the natural world around them, learning from nature while also completing their other studies.
Research proves that outdoor education can
play a significant role in intellectual, behavioral,
and emotional development. Studies indicate
that learners who study outdoors often develop problem- solving skills and a sense of creativity, confidence, and empathy towards other individuals. Scientists have proven that outdoor education is not only fun but it also aids students in concentrating better on their studies. For instance, students
would be more engaged in their studies if they were taught a subject such as Biology, outdoors. Other disciplines, such as literature, could also be taught outdoors.
Nature brings the best out of the students. Outdoor education enhances student engagement and makes students more motivated. It’s an area that reduces stress and leads to better communication.
In the interest of meeting our goal of “taking education outside” sooner, we are adopting two
stages of development of the classroom. We may add a pagoda sometime in the future, but for now we want to get going with stage one, which will be 10 – 15 picnic tables and benches to seat 30 students at one time.
Our partners for this project are the St. Marys Booster Club and you, through this Care Catalog! Last year we raised $535 through the Care Catalog, but we hope we can do a lot better this year.
Our project budget is $3675 for 15 picnic tables/ foldable benches.
We have $535; we are asking for $2000 here, and we hope to be gifted $1675 from the Booster Club.
We hope you will help us! Thank you!
Requested: $2,000
Funded: $0
St. Mary’s Academy and College Well House Transformation to Reading Room
This old well house structure is in public view near the Community HealthCare System Clinic in St. Marys. Unfortunately, because of its dilapidated condition, it is unsightly and could be dangerous if children or young adults (i.e., teenagers) tried
to climb on the roof to access the interior of the wellhouse. The building needs windows and door replaced, and is structurally sound, except for the roof. Repairing this structure and transforming it into a reading room will enhance the community and solve the concerns about visuals and safety.
The project consists of replacing the windows, door and roof of the well house with materials purchased from suppliers and using the maintenance staff of the Academy & College for all labor. Anticipated total project costs are $10,000. $5,000 will be provided by St. Mary’s Academy and College, $1,250 has been secured by a grant from the Caring Community Foundation; this request is for $3,750. The project will start and be completed in 2024.
Thank you!
This photograph says it all.
Requested: $3,750
Funded: $0
Onaga USD 322 FFA Jackets
The goal for this project is to purchase more FFA Official Dress. Our chapter is growing very rapidly, which we are very proud of, but we do not have enough FFA Official Dress for the members. Official Dress is needed for some Career Development Events, National Convention, State Convention, and some Conferences.
It is our intention to represent our chapter by looking the “part” in FFA Official Dress. Because our chapter hasn’t received any new and/or updated Official Dress within the past several years, our members feel somewhat left out because they don’t look the same as others with the new attire.
Our chapter is in need of the FFA attires, because our chapter wants to look uniform when we attend public events. After feedback, the officer team came together and made the final decision to apply for
this assistance due to the lack of official dress. We believe that if we get more FFA attire, our chapter will come together and be the best we have ever been! Thanks for your help!
Amount requested:
Set of 15 FFA jackets …………………………$850.00
8 Women’s scarfs ………………………………$104.00
7 Men’s ties ……………………………………..$ 112.00
Total:………………..$1066.00
Requested: $1,066
Funded: $550
USD 322 Concession Stand Improvements
The concession stand at USD 322 Onaga Schools is in desperate need of some upgrades. Having
a successful concession stand is vital to our school groups as many use this as one of their main fundraising endeavors for the year. With your donations we would be able to upgrade some existing equipment and add in some new to offer more variety to our customers and increase our overall revenue for school programs.
Right now, we don’t have a popcorn machine for the concession stand. We borrow the one from FFA and its bigger so it has to be kept outside the concession
stand, which is problematic. There is also no pretzel warmer down at the football field concession stand, which means they have to rely on a microwave and do one pretzel at a time. We would love to add funnel cakes to our menu to add another option
for customers!
Getting a popcorn machine, pretzel warmer and funnel cake machine will cost us $1700. We hope you will help us!
Requested: $1,700
Funded: $1,700
This project is fully funded!
Onaga USD 322 Weight Room Improvements
Over the past several years, Onaga students have been in the process of raising money for upgrades to the weight room. Currently our weight room is a little undersized for the number of students who want to take weight-lifting classes. Many of our weight racks are outdated and take up much more space than modern racks.
Last year we were able to purchase two new racks with funds raised by students through various fundraising activities. These new racks take up less space and we are able to store our weight plates on these racks, as well. This allowed us to create more space in the weight room by getting rid of a few of the old weight trees that used to house our plates. We currently have three older weight racks that we would like to replace, which will allow us to create more space in the weight-room and allow classes to use the space more efficiently. The two new racks we were able to purchase last year have created much excitement throughout our school and have gained the interest of more and more weight lifters looking to stay fit for sports or just keep themselves in shape.
Weightlifting is a great way for kids to stay healthy and keep them engaged in school. Being able to upgrade the rest of our equipment will allow our program to grow even more. The space created
will allow the weight program to flourish for years to come. With your donations we would like to replace at least one of the old racks we currently have.
Each rack cost about $2000 a piece. So, with every $2000 a new rack would be purchased. If enough money was not raised, we would supplement whatever we get with another fundraiser, such as
a lift-a-thon. Thank you for your time and we look forward to your help with our weights program as it moves forward in the future.
Requested: $6,000
Funded: $6,000
This project is fully funded!
Onaga High School USD 322 Outdoor Classroom Curriculum
This is a request to purchase supplemental curriculum materials for the Horticulture, Natural Resources, and Biology classes at Onaga High School. With the addition of the outdoor classroom and the continued efforts to improve the outdoor classroom trails, there has been an increased interest in plants and their interaction with the environment.
Along with those efforts, we are also revamping
the greenhouse and the horticulture curriculum to meet student interests and needs. The outdoor classroom, biology, horticulture, plant sciences, and soil sciences can all be improved with the addition of these materials.
Amount Requested:
From One Less Thing Ag Curriculum and Supplements:
Plant Science, Complete Curriculum ……….. $850.00
Plant Anatomy Posters, Set of 4 ……………….. $25.00
Floral Design ID Senior, ID Pix Cards………..$225.00
Floral Design Tools ID, ID Pix Cards……………$75.00
Horticulture Disorders ID, ID Pix Cards……….$75.00
Horticulture Tools ID, ID Pix Cards …………….$75.00
Nursery Landscape ID Senior, ID Pix Cards.$225.00
From TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) Curriculum: Biology Curriculum – Full Year Bundle ……… $360.00
We will be very grateful for your donations!
Total Request: …….. $1,910.00
Requested: $1,910
Funded: $366.81
Rock Creek USD 323 Senior English Book Club Project
Book Clubs are an integral way to increase excitement toward reading and to increase collaboration amongst students about the books they are reading. This new way of approaching literature has proven very successful. Book Clubs are formed based on student choice and meet once a week during English class. Clubs collaborate on their books and discuss plot, characters, analysis of writing, author research, and then end with a group project.
I will be purchasing novels on various subjects and genres from fiction to nonfiction in order to supplement our current ELA (English Language Arts) library. Since only seniors, including those in regular Senior English and those in AP Language
(Introductory college level), will be utilizing book clubs twice a year, there may be 4-5 different novels chosen in one class, and there are 7 different Senior English classes. Therefore, a myriad of choices
from which to choose needs to be available for
all seniors. In order to add to the success of book clubs, allowing for student choice is imperative. The more books available as options each year allows for me as the ELA teacher to use the ones that best fit my students.
Teaching reading is sometimes a challenge, but teaching a love of reading is sometimes even harder, and book clubs have a way of making required reading a little more fun.
Requested: $500
Funded: $300
Rock Creek USD 323 Mental Health Services
It is estimated that nearly sixteen percent of children will experience mental health struggles before their eighteenth birthday. The events of 2020 shined a light on the need for increased mental health support and availability.
Here at the Rock Creek School district, we have partnered with community mental health providers to facilitate student access to services within our buildings. Students in our district can now receive therapy and/or case management services at all four of our schools.
Having a licensed mental health provider inside the schools means that students miss less class time,
and parents aren’t missing time at work to transport children to and from appointments. Currently, federal grant money is used to supplement our program costs, but each year we fall short of being able to cover one-hundred percent of each student’s mental health care.
Any money donated to our program would go directly towards copays and deductibles, meaning the financial burden would be lifted from students and families who struggle the most.
Requested: $5,000
Funded: $2,001.10
Wellsprings’ Dechairo Memory Unit Courtyard Improvements
Our project is to improve the courtyard outside
the Dechairo Memory Care Unit of our care facility. Many of the residents use the courtyard area for relaxation and other planned outdoor activities, but since we lost our shade tree in a windstorm, we have no shade. Our limited seating also needs to be expanded.
We are hoping to install a wheelchair entry gazebo structure (approximately 10 X 12 feet) with a concrete floor and wheelchair accessible flower planters along with additional seating. Maybe include an ornamental tree in the center. Volunteers can help with the preparation of the area, including leveling and removing plants where space is needed.
We greatly appreciate the assistance from the Care Catalog in the past two years – we have received $3,915 toward our $10,000 project– thank you! We would be sincerely grateful for further generosity.
Research has shown that being outside is good
for the body and mind. It improves mood, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. The Journal
of Aging and Health found that adults over 70
who spent time outdoors experienced fewer sleep difficulties, complained less about aches and pains, and enjoyed improved mobility and ability to perform daily activities.
Our residents enjoy being in the sun during cooler times of year, but a shaded area is needed. This will increase the amount of time they can spend outdoors. Wheelchair accessible planters will provide activity and enjoyment as they provide something beautiful to care for. Your donations will help us add happiness to our residents’ days!
Requested: $6,085
Funded: $1,003.03
Thank you for participating and adding your support to these local non-profits! Each has its own unique story and purpose. All are grateful for your donations.