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FUND DESCRIPTIONS

4th of July Fireworks Fund
Wamego’s July 4th fireworks display is a long-standing tradition. Trained and licensed community pyrotechnic volunteers donate time and energy to plan, order, and shoot the show. This 12 to 15 member group, referred to as the Pyro Crew, routinely volunteers more than 500 hours of personal time to prepare for the annual display. The show consists of more than 25,000 shells and delivers 30 minutes of sky-saturating, heart-pounding action. The show brings loyal visitors from near and far into the community each year to witness the spectacle that has become uniquely Wamego. Major funding for the show comes from a host of grassroots business and individual sponsors. The financial generosity of the community allows this fireworks display to maintain its high-quality standards and remain the crown jewel of Wamego’s annual Independence Day Celebration.

Family Life Education Center Fund
Created initially to respond to the family needs within our community, the Family Life Education Center has established a fund within the Foundation that will help pay for worthwhile programs and training sessions for local families, such as car seat safety check points, infant wellness programs, and many more. Click here to donate to this fund.

First National Bank Employee Donor Advisied Fund
Employees at First National Bank, Wamego, established the FNB Employee Donor Advised fund in April 2010. As an endowed fund, the principal will remain in the fund forever, while additional contributions to the fund and interest earnings will be available for the employees to make grants to local charitable purposes.

The fund allows FNB employees to collectively support the community in ways that they could not do individually. By combining the gifts from all the employees, they are able to create a significant amount of dollars each month that can be directed toward charitable causes in the communities FNB serves. [more...]
Click here to donate to this fund.

Friends of the Park Endowment Fund
The same citizens who saw a need for playground equipment in the park also saw a need for a fund that would maintain the upkeep of that equipment within the city park. The Endowed Fund was established to ensure that those maintenance needs will be met throughout the years to come. The earnings from this fund will go toward the upkeep of the city park and its equipment in the future. Click here to donate to this fund.

Friends of the Park Equipment Fund
Realizing that our city park is a focal point for this community, a group of concerned citizens formed the Friends of the Park organization and established a fund within Wamego Community Foundation to finance the replacement of much needed playground equipment and amenities in the city park. This fund is used to purchase such things as playground equipment, decorative brick for walkways in the park, and many other equipment items. Click here to donate to this fund.

Leadership Wamego Children's Fund
In November 2005, with a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, the Leadership Wamego Children's Fund was established. Wamego Community Foundation will soon be initiating its first Leadership Wamego program class focused on improving the health and well-being of children living in the area served by the program. Click here to donate to this fund.

Leadership Wamego Fund
Also established in November 2005 with a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation, the fund will help supplement costs associated with the new Leadership Wamego program, which the Wamego Community Foundation plans to rollout in 2009. Click here to donate to this fund.

Lew Schumacher Memorial Youth Fishing Clinic Fund
When: April 2011 (date TBD)
Where: Wamego City Park Pond
Time: 10-11 a.m. — Fishing Educational Clinic--learning the basics
11-12 p.m. — Fishing
Fee: Free! Each child will also receive a free rod and reel.
Age: 6-18 year olds

Sponsored in part by the Wamego Parks and Recreation and Kansas Wildlife and Parks. For more information, contact the Wamego Parks and Recreation Department at 785-456-8810 or recreation@wamego.org.

About the Lew Schumacher Memorial Youth Fishing Clinic
Lewis "Lew" Schumacher (1921-2009) was born and grew up in the Wamego area. He spent eight years in the U.S. Navy and, following his discharge, he and his wife, Pat, returned to Wamego, where he worked in the Wamego Post Office until his retirement. He was an avid fisherman and loved nothing more than teaching his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren how to fish.

After Lew's passing, his family established the Lew Schumacher Memorial Youth Fishing Clinic Fund with the Wamego Community Foundation, which will provide funds so that children can experience the joy of catching a fish at the well-stocked pond in Wamego City Park. The fishing clinic will provide each participating child with a rod and reel and the basics of fishing. Click here to donate to this Fund

Messiah Fund
Believing that the local community would benefit from an annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, a group of talented local individuals came together to form a fund within Wamego Community Foundation that annually would fund this performance. This organization has benefited from grants through the Kansas Arts Council and other contributions made through the Foundation to subsidize the cost of this annual production. Click here to donate to this fund.

Pottawatomie County Caring Hearts Humane Society
In February 2010 , the Pottawatomie County Caring Hearts Humane Society (PCCHHS) established a fund with the Wamego Community Foundation to raise charitable donations that will be used to build a new, permanent shelter for the pets in their care.

Smoke from a nearby brush fire in October 2009, and more recent drifting snow and below-zero temperatures, forced the society to board the dogs temporarily in Manhattan. They plan to erect a 25x48-foot Quonset-type structure at the animal shelter compound, which is located east on Valley Street near the wastewater treatment plant. Although the new structure will be fire and wind resistant and will be constructed on a concrete slab, which will allow PCCHHS to move the kennels inside during adverse weather conditions, it is considered a temporary solution. Their goal is to raise enough funds to purchase their own land and build a more permanent structure for the pets in their care. Click here to donate to this Fund.

About the Pottawatomie County Caring Hearts Humane Society
PCCHHS was founded in June 2005 by a group of citizens who were concerned for the welfare of homeless pets in the Wamego area. Since then, the organization has grown to more than 50 members from all over Pottawatomie County. PCCHHS is an all volunteer, non-profit organization working with many other local shelters and humane societies for the welfare of animals.

Their mission is to ensure that all dogs impounded receive proper medical care and are treated in a humane manner. They promote the adoption and fostering of dogs and cats who are homeless and/or not claimed by their owners. PCCHHS provides and organizes volunteer services at the Wamego City Pound, such as helping to clean the kennel area, exercise the dogs daily, and assist prospective adoptive families.

In the past, the dogs at the Wamego City Pound were kept for 10 days and euthanized (the pound is located by the Water Treatment Plant and is not very visible, so many dogs were destroyed without anyone knowing they were there). In March 2005, PCHHS started placing ads with pictures of the dogs in the local papers and promoting adoptions. PCCHHS now adopts the unclaimed dogs from the pound and finds them new homes or places them in foster homes. They have them vaccinated, neutered or spayed, and advertise them on http://www.petfinder.com. Prospective homes are screened before the dogs are adopted out, with only a small fee charged to the new families to help cover vet expenses. Since March 2005, no dogs have been destroyed at the pound.

For more information about PCCHHS, please visit http://www.pottcountyhs.petfinder.com or call (785) 313-3194.

Pottawatomie Recycling Committee Fund
Since fall of 2003, a group of concerned citizens representing the communities of Wamego, St. George, Westmoreland, Onaga, and St. Marys formed the Pottawatomie Recycling Committee (PRC). The mission of the PRC is to raise sufficient funds to pay for the transportation and related expenses of the recycling trailers in each of these towns to the distribution site northeast of Seneca. Through PRC public awareness activities, the quantities of recyclables in each of these towns have substantially increased, creating a need for additional fund raising to support this growth. Several communities in the county have requested a recycling trailer for their recycling efforts; therefore, another goal of the PRC is to accumulate funds for the purchase of additional trailers. As funds increase, the PRC will be involved in more extensive public awareness activities related to the preservation of the Pottawatomie environment. The major fund raising events are the newspaper drives held in late October and late April. Simply stated, the Pottawatomie Recycling Committee is proudly serving the environmental needs of the county. Click here to donate to this fund.

USD 320 Foundation Fund
The USD 320 Foundation Fund was established in November 2009 to raise funds to support and enhance quality education for students, faculty, and staff of USD 320, including but not limited to scholarships, teacher grants, classroom materials and supplies, facility maintenance and improvements, athletics, academic programming, extracurricular activities, technology, professional development, and other educational needs. Click here to donate to this fund.

Vision Oz Fund (aka Yellow Brick Road)
The Vision Oz Fund was established in November 2009 to raise funds that will be used to help increase the awareness, enhancement, and further development of Oz-related attractions and assets in Wamego.

The first fundraiser is underway and includes selling personalized yellow engraved bricks to become part of the permanent walkway (aka "The Yellow Brick Road") in downtown Wamego. Click here for a printable brick order form or click here to order online. For more information, e-mail yellowbrickroad@wamego.net

Walter P. Chrysler House Project
The Wamego Chamber of Commerce created this fund in December 2003 to raise funds for the relocation and current restoration of the birthplace of Walter P. Chrysler. The Chrysler house not only will maintain its historic presence in our town but also will serve as a unique visitor’s center in its new location at the intersection of Hwy 24 and Hwy 99. Click here to donate to this fund.

Wam-Sag-Man Trail Fund
A recreational trail has long been an ambition of many outdoor enthusiasts in Pottawatomie County. Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation established the “Old Military Road Recreational Trail Fund” (later renamed the Wam-Sag-Man Trail Fund) with the Wamego Community Foundation in May 2005. This fund will provide for the creation of a new recreational trail connecting Wamego, St. George, and the Manhattan Linear Trail. The net proceeds from a series of bicycle rallies continue to be placed in this fund, including the March “Cabin Fever Challenge” and the October “Yellow Brick Road Ride” rallies, as well as contributions from private donors and several grants. For more information~ Click here to donate to this fund.

Wamego City Park Train Enhancement Project Fund
The miniature train was built in 1947 by Ottaway Amusement Company of Wichita; it was purchased for $5,000 in 1955 by Wamego citizens Neil Balderson and Harold Stewart, who presented the train to the City of Wamego. Located in the City Park, the train has been an integral part of community celebrations and has been enjoyed by generations of children for more than 50 years.

Sadly, the “Tulip Blossom Special” suffered the ravages of time. Studies showed that it was not feasible to repair and maintain the train due to its age, lack of available parts, and safety issues. In July 2007, the “Save the Train Fund” was established (later renamed the "Wamego City Park Train Enhancement Project Fund") to raise funds to preserve and permanently display the train, as well as to build a new electric train. A small group of volunteers raised funds and hundreds of volunteers provided the labor to build a new depot-style shelter house, restrooms, and permanent display area for the original train, which was completed in summer 2009.

Funds are still needed to finish building the new children's train, complete with new, longer tracks.

Click here to donate to this fund.

Click here to view a complete list of volunteers and in-kind donations.

Click here for the donor recognition list.

Wamego Community Endowment Fund
This fund was created to fulfill charitable needs in the Wamego community and surrounding area by offering grants to worthwhile non-profit organizations that apply. To be considered for a grant, these organizations must be beneficial to residents of the Wamego community. Click here to donate to this fund.

Wamego Community Foundation Administrative Fund
As with any worthwhile organization, Wamego Community Foundation has operating costs associated with its day-to-day operations. To offset these costs, the Administrative Fund was established. Several local businesses and individuals have supported Wamego Community Foundation through contributions to the Administrative Fund. Continued support through this fund is needed and much appreciated. Click here to donate to this fund.

Wamego Public Library Endowment Fund
The library board established this fund to address the needs of the library in future years. The earnings from this endowed fund will be available to the library to help maintain the existing library building and provide long-term solutions to building or operating needs. Click here to donate to this fund.

Wamego Recreation Complex Fund
Recognizing the need for a fully-equipped recreation complex within our community to benefit all area residents, the City of Wamego established this fund to provide a means by which local residents could give to make this a reality. The fund helped build a state-of-the-art recreation complex, complete with baseball, softball, and soccer fields, and will continue to provide for other recreational needs within the community. Click here to donate to this fund.

Wamego River Access Fund
The Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation created this fund in 2005 with an initial donation of $500. Money donated to this fund helped with the construction and maintenance of a new public boat and canoe landing near the Highway 99 bridge in Wamego on the Kansas River. The landing consists of a convenient ramp to launch and retrieve boats and canoes and also features a pleasant picnic area with tables, restrooms, and parking.

Boy Scouts, canoeists, kayakers, fishermen, and hunters are among the increasing numbers of people using the Kansas River for year-round recreation. The long term plan is for the Kansas River to become more accessible from Junction City to the Missouri River at Kansas City. A new river access landing was built by the community of St. George in 2004, and others are working to build new landings further down river. As time progresses, it is hoped that there will be a public access river landing every five to 10 miles along the Kansas River. Click here to donate to this fund.

Wamego Telephone Company, Inc. Fund
The Wamego Telephone Company Inc., established in 1912 to serve the communications needs of the citizens of this area, has chosen to give back to the community in a number of ways. Through the Wamego Telephone Company Fund, many charities are supported each year. In addition, the Fund provides five scholarships to deserving senior students in the areas that the Telephone Company serves, including Wamego High School, Rock Creek High School, Alma High School, St. Marys High School, and St. Marys Academy. For more information