Milestones & Achievement

Rainbows held the Annual Meetings and Holiday Reception last week in the beautiful Omni Business Center –  After Hours Lounge. It was a joyous time of dedicated individuals coming together in support of common passion for helping children with special needs and their families. The group joined 2016 Board Chair Dr. Josh Umbehr in celebrating several milestones from 2016 including raising more than $1 million in support of operations for the first time in the agency’s history. The group also took the time to acknowledge the fundraising events and their continued success due to many in the room that night as well as present some significant awards.

Other 2016 milestones include:

• Rainbows celebrated 44 years of serving children with special needs, birth through age 21, and their families
• 3,500 children were served
• Rainbows’ website was updated to a mobile-responsive site
• Rainbows United Charitable Foundation transitioned leadership from Grant Stannard to Steve Cox.
• The Charitable Foundation set an Endowment goal of $3 million and established a Friends of the Heart Endowment to recognize the work of these amazing volunteers
• Thanks to our finance team, Rainbows paid down $700,000 on the mortgage load and lowered the interest rate on current debt
• We had more than 579 volunteers who put in 7,162 hours of service
• Each of our fundraising events raised significant amounts:
  • 41^th Annual Blarney Breakfast raised $54,000
  • Rainbows’ GLOW Run|Walk proceeds were more than $16,400
  • The 11^th Annual Fashion Passion raised $380,000
• The Peter Hampel Luau raised $44,000 for children with special needs. 
• The CJ Memorial Golf Tournament donated $8,500 to Rainbows
• 44 grants were submitted with a 73% approval rate.
• Completed implementation of new KRONOS payroll and Human Resources systems
• Case Records processed 1,420 physician scripts for services
• Butler County Infant/Toddler Services was honored for Non-Profit Excellence by Andover Chamber of Commerce
• Sedgwick County Infant/Toddler Services averaged 100 early intervention referrals per month
• Kansas Health Foundation Recognition Grant provided more than 5,000 board books to infants and toddlers
• Selected employees participated in various Kansas Leadership Center training opportunities
• Rainbows was honored by the Better Business Bureau with the Integrity Award in September and we celebrated with the staff who made it possible
• Rainbows applied for and was awarded $200,000 in Kansas Community Tax Credits

It is certainly an inspiration to see both volunteers and staff honored for their efforts with the agency’s founder in the room. The event honored long-time volunteer Jo Walters with the Linda Weir Enegren Legacy Society award, the highest honor Rainbows can bestow on any donor or volunteer.  “Jo has dedicated a large part of her time, energy and resources toward helping Rainbows be successful in serving youth with disabilities,” said Dr. Josh Umbehr.

Board members also recognized Gavin Peters with Gavin Peters Photography for his on-going support and generosity through revealing the masterpiece of each and every Rainbows’ child through stunning photography and dedicated service. If you’ve seen the new mobile-friendly Rainbows’ website or any printed materials, you’ve seen Gavin’s ability to wait patiently for just the right smile or emotion between individuals in the shots.

In addition, the PRISM Award, created to honor a Rainbows’ staff member for exemplary service, was presented to Leslie Stevens, LCMFT, Mental Health Specialist. Leslie was honored for her unique ability to keep things positive and her impact of living out the agency’s Guiding Principles daily.
This is the fourth year that a Prism Award winner has been selected. The Prism Award was so named because of the uniqueness and many facets of a prism.  A prism reflects light and turns it into a rainbow.  It signifies creating masterpieces and enduring beauty. 

Rainbows’ Prism Award winner for 2016 sets an admirable example of service and leadership. Her impact in living out our Guiding Principles include demonstrating leadership in our industry; achieving success through teamwork, partnership and collaboration; and treating others with dignity, respect and compassion.  The winner is nominated and voted on by the program coordinators.

Leslie has been a Mental Health Department team member for 8 years. She has a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Friends University. She is currently the lead Mental Health Specialist at one of our partner sites, The Opportunity Project.

Leslie is unique in her ability to keep things positive. Even in the toughest circumstances, when the outlook is dire, Leslie can reframe the situation to keep the conversation positive and productive. She does not speak negatively about others. She actively listens and effectively communicates. She can express frustration without bringing others down.

Leslie serves as a mentor to new staff on the Mental Health team. She is dependable in collecting program measures and outcomes for the Early Childhood Block Grant, and has organized the CLASS assessments every fall and spring. She is an advocate for evidence-based models in mental health.

The evening wrapped up with official business lead by incoming Chair Gail Johnson, who set the following priorities for 2017.

1. Strategic planning session to move Rainbows through the next 3 – 5 years
2. Continue work on Succession Planning
3. Sell tax credits, raise the additional funds for the technology project and then launch the project by hiring a project manager;
4. Assess the needs of the Kids’ Point facility and how to best leverage the use of both Kids’ Cove and Kids’ Point;
5. Navigate the rocky waters of Kansas’ 2017 Legislative Session.

So much to look forward to in 2017.