Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
No Stone Unturned Foundation on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 206
No Stone Unturned Foundation has moved into their new facility on Tuttle Creek Boulevard in Manhattan, allowing them to start pulling children off waiting lists and expand their pediatric therapy services. Their holistic care model has gained such recognition that therapy organizations from across Kansas are visiting to learn about their approach.
• Topped the Grow Green Match Day leaderboard with over $133,000 from 122 gifts, averaging more than $1,000 per donation
• Preparing for the 17th annual Wildcats for No Stone Unturned fundraiser on July 11-12
• Event includes two days of golf at Manhattan Country Club and a gala at Hilton Garden Inn
• Auction items include luxury trips to Telluride, Tuscany, and an exclusive hunting experience with private jet service
• Nearly 60 former K-State football players attended last year, making it both a reunion and a fundraiser
• Outdoor Bank serves as the title sponsor, drawn to the organization's impact on both children and parents
• The foundation started 17 years ago when the Wofford family envisioned a holistic care center for children
Visit nostoneunturned.org or call to schedule a tour of the new facility and learn more about their services.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour as heard on NewsRadio KMAN. We are back and we are going to be joining our next segment on the GMCF Community Hour via Zoom. We have three guests that are joining us here on behalf of no Stone Unturned Foundation, so we have the executive director here, kelly Keough. Good morning. We have three guests that are joining us here on behalf of no Stone Unturned Foundation, so we have the executive director here, kelly Keough.
Speaker 2:Good morning.
Speaker 1:Good morning, thank you for having us. Yes, and we have also members of the board and they've got all kinds of different associations with no Stone Unturned. Curry Sexton is here. Welcome to the show, mr Sexton, number 14.
Speaker 3:Dave, thanks for having us.
Speaker 1:And also Jared Cochran is joining us. Hello Jared.
Speaker 4:Hello Dave, how are you today?
Speaker 1:I am great and getting better, and you're going to help me even improve that. So, boy, do we have a lot to talk about? Kelly? Let's start talking about that beautiful new building you have up on um, on total creek boulevard. That is just gorgeous oh, thanks so much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're pretty proud of it. We we took long enough to design it, by goodness. So, um, yeah, it's, it's awesome. We moved in back in aug of last year and I mean, the kiddos are eating it up, to say the least, and it's really. It's had a profound effect on both our families and we've already started pulling kids off the waiting list, which is amazing. Amazing. Hiring has picked up and we've been doing a lot of tours, actually from other, you know, pediatric therapy organizations across the state, from Wichita to Kansas City, and just kind of coming hearing about what we built and coming to get ideas for something that they want to build or talk to us about our model, and you know why we do things the way we do, so it's been pretty phenomenal.
Speaker 1:You know I'm looking and I'm sure you are well aware, on the Grow Green Match Day leaderboard.
Speaker 2:You had a pretty good day last week.
Speaker 1:You had a really good day last week as you are on the top of the leaderboard with over $133,000. Now we don't have all the final numbers in yet, so that could change, but when you have the significant amount of number there. But one of the things that I noticed here is that you had, out of that $133,000, 122 gifts. That means on average that's like $1,100. It's over $1,000 per gift and boy. That says remarkable things about you that people would give to that extent to know Stone Unturned, because what you're doing is obviously changing lives.
Speaker 2:Thank you. You know, we have a lot of donors who really respect GMCF and that day, and so they really choose that day in particular to give gifts to us, and so I think it speaks a lot to what Grow Green means to people in this community. But, yeah, we are very blessed, that's for sure.
Speaker 1:No kidding. Well, you have your annual fundraiser Wildcats for no Stone Unturned. It's coming up here in July the 11th and 12th and it's a couple of days that you're going to be spending, split between the Manhattan Country Club at the Hilton Garden Inn and Curry. This is a big, big weekend for you guys, so give us a little bit of perspective on what all is involved.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, it's an incredible two-day event that just seems to get better and better year over year, and so I think actually.
Speaker 3:Kelly's first year as our executive director 2020, is we decided to take it from one day in a golf to two days of golf, and so now it spans. There are basically three big, big components to the weekend. There's golf on Friday really fun golf scramble out at Manhattan country club. And then, you know, a big game on Friday night at the Hilton garden and it's always well attended and it always is a really exciting event. And then it's capped off on Saturday by another four-man scramble four-person scramble out at Manhattan Country Club, and so really, really fun event. We get a lot of people to come in from all over the country, a lot of local people who support us.
Speaker 3:Golf is already almost sold out at this point, and so if you're interested in attending this year's event, whether as a sponsor or individual participant, please get signed up as soon as possible. We anticipate the golf will be sold out here sometime over the next two to three weeks and then, as far as the gala goes, we're looking forward to another really exciting event. This year We've got some really exciting and unique auction items luxury trips to places like Telluride, winter Park, colorado, and even Tuscany, italy, as well as an exclusive hunting experience with private jet service to a hunting launch somewhere in remote Texas, and then, finally, we've got a customized purple golf cart that will be raffled off at this year's event. So a lot of really exciting things happening. The event grows and gets better year over year, as I said, and so if you're interested in participating and getting involved or attending the event, please let us know as soon as possible so we can get you there and so you can enjoy yourselves in supporting a great cause.
Speaker 1:I bet one of the great things, and maybe for you in particular, is that this is almost kind of like a K-State reunion for a lot of athletes.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, that's that's why I got involved initially, you know, when I came out of school 10, 10 plus years ago. Uh, this, this was a de facto former player reunion.
Speaker 3:And so that that drew me to it initially, and then, ultimately, it was won over by the cause and the people involved with the cause, and so, uh, this has been something.
Speaker 3:You know, this is kind of the primary, the primary non nonprofit that that I support, that me and my wife support, and we've been able to loop a lot of my former teammates and other former football players from across different generations back into this event To where, yes, it has become a true reunion year over year and we get a lot of former football players and former athletes of other sports back.
Speaker 3:I think last year we had somewhere around 60 former football players back for the event. So really exciting time for those people to reconnect but also understand that it isn't intended to be a former football player reunion necessarily, but it becomes that way, or has become that way, because former football players have been huge supporters of this event for a very long time. And so I think it's important that we recognize that, though we are getting back together and spending time around one another, that we're doing it for this purpose and for this cause, and I think those who do come back and attend the event realize that that's the primary, that's the primary factor for this weekend. That's the primary factor for this weekend.
Speaker 1:We're going to bring Jared into the conversation, because last year, and continuing again this year, a new title sponsor came into play and that's Outdoor Bank. And, jared, you are the Senior VP in Charge of Development for Outdoor Bank, so can you give me, jared, a little background on what it was about.
Speaker 4:No Stone Unturned that prompted you and Outdoor Bank to get involved in this event. Sure, you know one of the things that when I talked to Kelly about coming on your show and talking about this, jill and I my wife and I we moved back from Kansas City about three years ago and I'd been fortunate enough to play in that tournament oh, a half dozen times or so over the years. So I was aware of it, but not intimately aware of it. So when I got back, I knew some people that were already on the board, like Coach Clark and Michael Hodges and Andy Carson and Curry.
Speaker 4:And so we started getting just a little bit more involved and personally, on a personal level, and they asked me to be on the board. So I, you know, started going to events and learning a lot about it. What really was impactful is once I started seeing what the uniqueness of this facility and this organization was impacting not only kids in the community but actually parents, because we're all, you know, a lot of us out there are parents and we all know that hopeless feeling when you can't help your kids. And it was amazing to go to that facility and actually see that in action. And really probably as big an impact on me, you know, was the parents and the hope that they had treating all these different things that no son in turn supports in one facility. And, you know, seeing that was really impactful on me.
Speaker 4:So it was a really easy transition when I took this information to the owners of the bank and to our employees, who obviously you know people it's very easy to support kids in the community and we wanted to do that, and so when that opportunity opened up, we jumped at the chance and it was a real easy sell to our owners and to the people within our organization to be able to, and be honored to be the title sponsor for this event, and it's been great. I've enjoyed it on a personal level. The people at the bank are enjoying it and they are getting personally involved, and that's really what it's all about. We just want the community to support it, and you know it's a cool organization that reaches out not just to Manhattan but to surrounding communities We've got 11 banks across the state and so it's just a real natural fit for us and we're honored to do and excited for this year too.
Speaker 1:All right, that's Jared Cochran. He is the Senior VP for Development at Outdoor Bank and on the board there of no Stone Unturned. Let's turn back to Kelly. Let's talk about Wildcats or no Stone Unturned. A little bit about what's all on tap. I know Curry touched base with a lot of things, but there's obviously some new developments that are always pretty exciting to put into play that are always pretty exciting to put into play.
Speaker 2:You know we've kind of found a format that seems to work for us, that people like you know kind of this gala sandwich between two days of golf. Really, I mean, the main thing is it just keeps growing, which is really phenomenal for us, and we keep getting new. You know newer and newer auction items brought forward to us. You know this year Curry talked about you know we had a former player who has attended our event every year. He's a former player from the, I think, early 90s who you know wants to donate a private jet picking you up wherever, you know, wherever it is you might live, and taking you down to this five-star outfitter's lodge in Texas and where they do hunting excursions and you know, staying there and, you know, private chef and all of that kind of stuff. I mean that's just a crazy thing to just come out of the blue.
Speaker 2:And it all has happened organically. You know Jared has a friend who heard about who we were and wants to donate his house and telluride to our you know gorgeous chalet and telluride, ski in, ski out. And it all happens organically through people who attend the events, not even necessarily through solicitation efforts, and so the golf cart is a really exciting new development for the raffle and we're doing you know, we're constantly trying to improve our golf tournaments and what we offer. We offer a pretty nice swag bag at those. So each year we're trying to add kind of new items that are of value, valuable items, and so we've done that again this year, and new competitions and stuff that type of stuff. So it should be a really good time.
Speaker 1:You know I'm looking at the website and I didn't realize this. You've been at this for 17 years with this event. That is remarkable.
Speaker 2:I know it's it's. It's hard to believe it was and you think about literally the first one. This was before we even had a center. This was when the Wolfordds conceptualized this idea of what if we built this holistic care center, and what would it take? Well, we need to start a foundation. Well, how do we start a foundation? Well, gosh, I don't know. Well, I miss my former teammates from my days playing at K-State. Why don't I call them up and we'll all meet in Manhattan, we'll play golf, we'll go out to dinner and we'll you know everybody, bring your checkbooks and your cash and let's start a foundation together. And that's how it started. That was the first Wildcats for Nostone.
Speaker 1:Well, once again, more information available on the event is at the website, nostoneunturnedorg. Not only that, I would encourage our listeners today, Kelly, to just go through the website, because there's so much information on there about the services that you offer and how it's not just great for the kids but, as Curry said, you know what a great relief it is for the parents and doing some great things, not just within our community but even those that are outside coming in for the special treatment that you provide. So congratulations on all the work and good luck with the event in July.
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks so much. Yeah, and come out for a tour. Just give me a call and we love showing people the new building.
Speaker 1:Oh, I bet you do. I bet you do. And that's on Tullow Creek Boulevard, just around the bend as you get up toward the dam.
Speaker 2:Is that exact good enough Across?
Speaker 1:from the bait shack there. I hadn't thought about that, but Crestview Church used to be in that location, so, hey, this was awesome. Curry Sexton, thanks for joining us and good luck as you get to chair the event, and I know that that's going to be a lot of fun for you as a former player.
Speaker 3:Thanks, dave. Yeah, I can't take too much credit for that. Kelly just straps me with that title, but there are a lot of people who do a lot more for this event than me, so I can't take credit for that. And the event largely does run itself. At this point it's become a pretty good event that we just turn over year over year. So at this point it's become a pretty good event that we just turn over year over year. So, looking forward to it, dave, appreciate your help, your support as always.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and Jared Cochran with Outdoor Bank. Congratulations on your sponsorship and thanks and continue. Good wishes to the effort.
Speaker 4:Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thanks for having us on and giving us time today.
Speaker 1:Kelly Keel, always a delight to have you on my friend and good luck and continue the good work that you do at no Stone Unturned.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much. Feelings mutual. We will be back. Have a great day, Dave.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'm planning on it. It's just got a lot better, thanks to you guys. Vern is going to be stepping in next and we're going to get some updates on some activities here in the community as well as a preview of next week's show on the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio K.