Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
LightMHK on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 269
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We share how Light MHK removes barriers to mental health care with grants for direct treatment, provider innovation, and awareness, and we invite the community to The Light Within masquerade to fund this work. Stories, specifics, and a clear call to action replace stigma with access and connection.
• purpose of Light MHK and the regions we serve
• three grant types and how they work
• examples including pediatric resources for timely support
• why stigma reduction matters and how we speak openly
• details for The Light Within masquerade fundraiser
• ticket options, auctions, raffle, and dress code
• meaning of LIGHT MHK and our statewide vision
• board leadership and community partnerships
Visit lightmhk.com, scroll to The Light Within, and get your tickets
Welcome And Guest Introduction
SPEAKER_01Philanthropy 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 news radio KMAN. And we return. We'll see if we can muster enough strength here out of uh the uh the vocal uh uh utilities that I have to muster through here. And we bring in Deanna Nitschke, and you are no stranger to the program. Welcome back.
SPEAKER_02I know. Thank you, Dave. I've been on here several times.
SPEAKER_01I know you've done a number of different things and are doing a number of different things.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And um, you know, I I think a lot of people, gosh, how many different organizations do you work with?
SPEAKER_02I've I only work with with Light MHK right now. Okay, you know, I've done a lot of volunteer work for some other organizations, American Cancer Society. You know, I did a big gala from them years ago. And uh I think that's kind of how I got the job that I do now.
SPEAKER_01Well, we're thankful for you to be able to do all the things that you do.
What Light MHK Does
SPEAKER_02Yes, thank you.
SPEAKER_01So let's uh for those of uh our listenership that's not familiar with Light MHK, give us a little 30-second elevator speech about what you do.
The Three Grant Programs
SPEAKER_02Okay, so what Light MHK does is our purpose is to remove barriers to mental health care in the Manhattan, Wamigo, Junction City region. And we do that by providing resources to uh mental health providers, professionals, and organizations. Uh, we give three different types of grants out to those organizations and providers. Uh, for the providers, I guess the most popular one is our care grant. That's for direct patient care. Those are for um individuals that maybe don't have insurance, uh, have really high deductibles, have high cost uh treatment, or don't have the family support. Uh the second one we have is called our strategic grant, and that's for um mental health providers, professionals to help with. If somebody's bringing like innovative therapy uh to the community, uh maybe they're getting play therapy for their um their patients um supplies. For example, uh we gave a grant to pediatric associates, and one of the things that they did were uh they were like playbooks, study books for the kids. So when a uh when a physician sees a child that he feels or she feels that they need a little help, a little mental health care, but maybe can't get them in right away, this is just another avenue to help with that treatment until they're able to get in to see somebody.
SPEAKER_01That's a great example of what you're doing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And the third one is for uh mental health providers and organizations, and that's called our um awareness grant. So any organization they maybe is going to promote uh mental health awareness, uh suicide prevention, uh, you know, erasing the stigma of mental health care or mental health um uh sickness, or um I think that you need to think of mental health as um like an illness like cancer. If somebody has cancer, you know, they're not embarrassed to go to a doctor and seek help. If you have uh mental health challenges, you should be able to go and seek help without uh feeling feeling bad about yourself.
SPEAKER_01There's been such as stigmatism associated with mental health over the years. And you may know that I've had challenges. And, you know, I I try to be very verbal about this and share the stories because I want people to know that anybody can deal with, can have a mental health challenge.
SPEAKER_02Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01And they can conquer it.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And it's it's great to be able to see a success story. Yes, it is. Even though, you know, I don't think it ever goes away. It's like that, you know, once you get cancer, there's always that threat that it may come back. There's, you know, all kinds of things. But with mental health, there's ways now, and we understand it better. And the fact that we've been able to talk more about it.
SPEAKER_02Yes, be more open about it.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. So many of us have been writing to do that. So so you have a big event coming up, and this is uh, I would suppose a chief fundraising activity for you.
Tackling Stigma And Lived Experience
SPEAKER_02Yes, this is our inaugural event. We've never had anything like this before. This is gonna be our major fundraiser uh for Light MHK. It's called it's a masquerade ball. It's gonna be at the K-State Alumni Center. It's called The Light Within, a Phantom's Ball for Change.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So tell me what you're doing.
SPEAKER_02So um, well, I think what people should expect when they walk in. I mean, the moment you walk in, you're gonna be immersed with mystery and elegance. Think of dramatic lighting, masked guest, beautiful music.
SPEAKER_01Phantom of the opera, live.
SPEAKER_02Yes, that's the theme is Phantom of the Opera. And to me, it's gonna be more than a galley, it's gonna be an experience. You know, and you know, behind all the lighting and the glamour, there's the real purpose is gonna be, you know, coming together to shine light on mental health and create a meaningful change.
SPEAKER_01This is gonna be January 31st.
SPEAKER_02January 31st.
SPEAKER_01Who can come?
Announcing The Masquerade Gala
SPEAKER_02Anybody can come. Anybody can come. Anybody can come. Um, if you're interested in finding a little bit more about Light MHK uh and the gala, just visit our website, lightmhk.com. There's a link on there to the uh the light within gala, and it gives you more details about what we're gonna be doing, uh, what tickets are available. Uh, I'm just putting up uh we've got the live auction items on there. So there's some previews. We've got some great um silent auction. Uh the silent auction is gonna open January 19th, so you can start bidding on items right away.
SPEAKER_00That's next week.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00You ready for this?
SPEAKER_02I am you're three weeks away. I know, I know. I a little pressure, a little pressure. I was at probably uh past midnight last night, kind of tweaking the wording and making sure that I've got everything on there. It's it's not completely done, but uh I've got a really good feeling about it. Ticket sales are great. Um, all of our VIP tables are sold out. We've got a few um individual VIP tickets available. We've got uh general admission uh tables still available, tables of eight, and individual GA admission also.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Well, if somebody wants to buy a ticket, just go online.
SPEAKER_02Just go online, visit lightmhk.com, and like I said, scroll down, you'll see the light within, uh save the date. You just click on that and it's gonna take you straight to uh the event page.
SPEAKER_01Now, in the name Light MHK, you know, obviously it refers to Manhattan. Yes, but you help in uh organizations outside.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and actually, light MHK does not mean Manhattan. I think that everybody thinks that it does because you know MHK is the airport code, but what it means light um is um to love, invest, give, hope, treat. And MHK is mental health for Kansas.
SPEAKER_01Oh, look at you with a nice spin on that. I know. Well played. Well played. You got some key players. I know you're involved in this, but you've got some other people that are really going to back for the event.
Tickets, Auctions, And Access Details
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we've got uh we've got some great board members. You know, our chair is Beth St. Amond, and our um co-chair is uh, or I should say vice chair is Doll Dolly Guter. We've got, you know, Cheryl Grice is on our board, uh, Jamie Elliott. Um, we've got a bunch of great Brenda Hoefler, um, she's our treasurer. So uh we've got a lot of great, great board members.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. When I walk in the door on January 31, and I I say that euphemistically because I can't, but I'm just trying to set the stage.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01When I walk in, what am I going to see?
SPEAKER_02Let's see. Well, I said it earlier if you were listening to the.
SPEAKER_01I was listening, but you know, and okay, let me rephrase that.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01What do you want my takeaway to be?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so I guess I think the takeaway I want you to leave is, you know, when you leave, you know, after the last dance, after I hope everyone is inspired, uh, they're connected, and they're a little enchanted, you know, that they know who Light MHK is. Uh, that what we do by what we do is remove barriers for mental health care in our community. You know, and of course, I hope that everybody has a great time and they're gonna mark their calendars for next year. Because like I said, this is gonna be an annual event. And next year, you know, you'll just have to see what kind of mischief we're up to.
SPEAKER_01Do you have a band?
SPEAKER_02We do. Um, we have a local band. I have a sorry, I have a hard time saying OA, OA? Yep. So a local band they're gonna be performing. Yes, yes. I've never seen AO, that's what it is. I've never seen them. I know that it's Jeremy Platt's in there, Hannah Pease is in there. Uh, I know both of them personally, but I've never seen the band, so I'm really excited. Yeah, I've never seen the band, but I'm really excited.
SPEAKER_01I've heard them a number of times, and it's always a fun, fun time. Yeah, they're a great time, great, great time.
Light MHK Name And Board Support
SPEAKER_02And some of the things we're gonna have, you know, we're gonna have not only the live auction, the silent auction, we're gonna have a raffle. We're gonna have, I've got this great raffle. Uh, it's limited to like a hundred tickets, and there's gonna be two winners, and we're having a whole beef that is donated by JH Ranch in Lynn, Kansas. So each winner is gonna go home with a half a beef. Well, not that night, but it'll be it'll be delivered to him.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna have to buy a new freezer.
SPEAKER_02I know, right? I was gonna give, say, oh, you know, just one winner will have just one whole beef, but everyone's going, do you know how much meat that's gonna be? Most people don't have that much room. Yeah, that's a lot of meat.
SPEAKER_01That's a lot of beef. Anything else you want touch base on, Deanna?
SPEAKER_02Um, well, you know, I think people have been asking me, you know, well, what's the dress code? Well, it's black tie attire. Okay. Um, you know, masks are encouraged. Uh, if you don't have a mask, that's okay. If you want to wear a suit, that's okay. But you know, how many times do you get a chance to really dress up and wear that long gown and that tuxedo and and come in there kind of mysteriously and with a mask on and nobody really knows who you are right away. Uh, but you know, later in the evening, you know, we'll all remove the mask. We're gonna have that dance, and uh, I think it's just gonna be a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_01Sounds like fun. Lightmhk.com is the website where you can find out more. Good luck with your event. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate you doing this work on behalf of those that uh are facing challenges in our world today.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you for having me, Dave.
Note: Next Guests Teased
What Guests Will Experience
SPEAKER_01You bet. Deanna Nitschke is her name. She's with Light MHK. Mike Rezkal is going to be joining us next. He's with Pawnee Mental Health. They've got a big anniversary this year and some of the neat things that are happening. So we'll be visiting with Mike in just a couple of moments, and then uh Jana will be joining us here for the latter segment to bring us up to date on some of the things that are happening in the community. This is the GMCF Community Hour. We do this every Monday morning at 10 here on News Radio K M A N.