Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
UFM on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 305
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We sit down with Dr. Alaya Mestrovich C. from UFM to break down what’s new in their summer catalog and why community education still matters in Manhattan. We also dig into inclusive ceramics, practical AI training, and a new after-school option designed for working families.
• what UFM is and how it serves Manhattan, the region, and Kansas
• new ceramics classes and how the studio supports neurodiverse learners, veterans, and people with disabilities
• summer catalog highlights across art, sports, life skills, history, cooking, and beekeeping
• professional development options including how to use AI in the workplace
• how UFM gathers class ideas and fills community gaps without competing with partners
• the updated partnership work with Kansas State University
• Lou Douglas Lecture details featuring Dr. Kerry Magro and a focus on autism resources
• Project Excel and customized Saturday programming for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities
• how to find or request a catalog and where to sign up online
Go online to tryUFM.org. We hope people will sign up early because space will be limited.
Sponsor And Segment Setup
SPEAKER_00Philanthropy 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. We are back with the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. Dr. Alaya Mestrovich C. Did I get all of it right?
SPEAKER_01I did. That was really good.
SPEAKER_00You know, that's a lot of pressure.
SPEAKER_01I know. It's just so many things.
SPEAKER_00Especially when it's not all written out in front of me.
SPEAKER_01Wow.
SPEAKER_00You are you know, it's got Dr. C.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really?
SPEAKER_00It does. It does. Welcome back.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Because you've always told me it rhymes with Mariah.
SPEAKER_01Papaya.
SPEAKER_00Papaya.
SPEAKER_01Mariah, too. I mean, whatever works.
SPEAKER_00Excuse me. I forgot about papaya. Papaya seems more tasty.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean, it's a it's a fun fruit.
SPEAKER_00It is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I like to be fun.
SPEAKER_00You are with UFM. You are the executive director. Welcome back.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00You've got a lot of things going on.
SPEAKER_01A lot of new things. Yes. We we just had our uh summer program, uh community class program roll out. Uh so we've got a lot of fun um classes for the summer. We've also got a new after school program this fall um that will um hopefully meet some working family needs with the the bus schedule that is um we have some trouble with the bus schedule with USD 383.
SPEAKER_00So everybody has bus schedule problems.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So so we're trying to meet that community need and help out um after school and have kids in our after school program.
SPEAKER_00So you know, before we get going too far, and sorry, I got something in my throat and I don't know what, but that's okay. I'm gonna muster through this.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
What UFM Does For Manhattan
SPEAKER_00Power through it. Power through it. Let's give everybody first a little rundown about what UFM is and what you do.
SPEAKER_01So UFM is a creative educational nonprofit in Manhattan, and we serve Manhattan and the surrounding area and also the state of Kansas. We've been around since 1968, and it's a place where everybody can teach and everybody can learn. So we offer community enrichment and personal development classes across the lifespan.
SPEAKER_00Okay. And you always have something new in the works.
Ceramics Studio And Inclusive Access
SPEAKER_01We do, and that's thanks to Jake, our education program administrator. He does everything that's new. So um, one really new thing that is happening is ceramics. We have a bunch of new ceramics classes. So ceramics for um garden pottery. Uh, we have one this summer called the Dirty Hands Date Night. Um, um, how to make a charcuterie platter, pottery for plant lovers, and even building a fairy house.
SPEAKER_00A fairy house.
SPEAKER_01Yes, for the garden.
SPEAKER_00Yes. I've never heard of a fairy house.
SPEAKER_01Well, it can be fun to put little fairy houses in your garden, just kind of make it make it fun.
SPEAKER_00Have a little tinkerbell over here and Peter Pan over on the other side.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Um, one thing that we love about our solar ceramic studio is it really supports um neurodiverse people, so people with autism and ADHD. Um, and also we um support veterans um and people that may have medical or physical disabilities. So we provide accommodations to them and the general population as well, but it can be very um therapeutic and it can be really fun um because of the instructors we have and their their sensitivity towards those things.
SPEAKER_00I know that it's uh typically a combination. Or, you know, you talked about Jake, you know, of staff creating things, but you also have people in the community coming to you and say, hey, what do you think about this as a program? Can we do this?
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's exactly what happened with solar ceramics. We had instructors in our community that um wanted to uh create a studio, and uh, and so we we developed that together. We got some funding, and um, and now we are up and running, and they have open studio time during the week and also beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Um, my son um actually takes classes there too. He's homeschooled and uh loves it. Um, and so we we have a small homeschooling population as well.
SPEAKER_00Anybody can take this course.
SPEAKER_01Anybody, yes.
SPEAKER_00You don't have to be on the spectrum. Anyone that wants to dive into this possibility. Sounds like it's pretty good therapy, though.
SPEAKER_01It is, it's a great way to um maintain focus and just um, you know, be with your your ceramics and your pot in community with other people. Um it's also a great team building exercise. We just had a staff retreat at UFM where we um spent the afternoon making pottery together to celebrate the spring catalog and the beginning of the summer catalog.
SPEAKER_00What'd you make?
SPEAKER_01I made a mug without without a handle. The handle was too complicated.
SPEAKER_00How can you have a mug without a handle?
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, it's like a tea, you know, like a tea.
SPEAKER_00I was thinking wine.
SPEAKER_01I mean, you can totally do that. Okay, that would work too. A big one.
SPEAKER_00Some days it isn't big enough.
SPEAKER_01Yes. Or or a bowl, you know. Right.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh. Yeah, a bowl. Yeah. Yeah. That's the nice way to do it. Yeah. Well, yeah, sometimes my mind, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, on a Monday and lack of sleep. That's always a problem. That's okay. But you have, you know, and and and this is one of the things, you know, when you get your catalog together, I think it's just great reading to sit down and just to go through and oh wow, this would be so cool, you know. And it was almost like, you know, remember growing up with a Christmas catalog and you would circle the gifts that you wanted, all those things. And you could do that with UFM catalog and then just jump into what you want to sign up for.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a that's a I like that. That's very nostalgic. Um, yeah.
Summer Catalog Highlights Across Topics
SPEAKER_00I'm old, so I can do that.
SPEAKER_01Well, we also have other art classes this summer, um, aerosol art, techniques, and urban expression, um, how to make a short screenwriting workshop, uh, nature art. We've got sports and recreation, uh, fantasy football, that's a new one. Really? Mm-hmm. A beginner-friendly course if you've ever wanted to learn how to do that, skate school. And then we've got life changes, history, and cooking. We've got a really robust catalog this summer for anybody that really wants to dive in and do something in community. Um, from Triggered to Transformed, so how to deal with burnout through faith, the art of grief, and even a beginner makeup class to build self-esteem and focus on um your qualities from the inside out. Uh, history, a history of the United States Marine Corps from 1775 to 1945. That sounds pretty fun. Um Robert's Rules of Order. And then we've got cooking. Um, from Kitchen to Heart, Korean cooking, that's always a favorite. It's always full with Miss Gloria. Um The Art of Pantry Food. And then we have a new one called From Hive to Honey, which is an introduction to beekeeping, um, led by co-led by our Valor Honey uh board and CEO. Um, so we've got some really fun things on the horizon. I hope people take advantage of it and sign up for a class or two.
AI Training And Future Classes
SPEAKER_00You know, there's you you cover such a wide gamut of things, you know, every kind of experience, you know, you know, and there's a lot of technology also, you know. Anything AI that you're jumping into at this point?
SPEAKER_01Yes, we have an online um program through Learn, which is our kind of UFM work program professional development that deals with how you can use AI in the workplace. Um, we also have um this year potentially coming up, how to use AI to create story to you for through storytelling and podcasting and other things. I mean, it's there's so many ways to use AI effectively, ethically, um, to to create new things. So we are we are definitely integrating that because there are instructors that want to teach that and there's just a need for it.
Filling Community Gaps Through Collaboration
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, there's so many aspects that you cover. And and one of the things I love, you know, people come to you and say, hey, I'd like to be able to do this. And and your staff brings up all kinds of ideas to develop. You know, I used to be a board member of UFM. It's been a while. But it is um, you know, such a fascinating um group of individuals that want to be able to share their experiences, their knowledge, their talents in this capacity for the community. Let's talk a bit about how this, you know, all these different things, you know, from a grand perspective, how people benefit.
SPEAKER_01So I think that UFM is always trying to find those community gaps and fill them. Um and so um we do listen to our community members and we we uh you can submit class ideas on our website. Um you can even stop by Monday through Friday and talk to us about what you would like to teach or learn. So we often get, hey, you know, I'm interested in learning about Tai Chi. Um are you guys going to offer that or do you know someplace that will offer it? And so we do both. Um we may be offering it or we may serve as a pipeline to other programming in the community because we're highly collaborative and really um are not competitive at all. We we want to work with the community and make sure that people are getting that community enrichment that they want and need.
SPEAKER_00You have a lot of different aspects about UFM. Education, obviously, is the key component there. There's been a little bit of restructuring over the last few years in your relationship with Kansas State University and the community. Can you kind of give us a little bit of a nutshell?
SPEAKER_01Um so uh yes. So we are going through a restructuring and we are um actually in the process of we're um always trying to update our MOU. So we've been in um a partnership with K-State six since 1968. And um, and so we are just updating our our MOU. I think the last one we had was from like right before the pandemic. Um so um in doing that, we we worked heavily with the president's office, um, um, the Center for Um Engagement, and and also um K-State Extension. So um all of those uh folks have been great partners um so that we can continue to support the land grant mission.
SPEAKER_00One of the big events that you have hosted over the years, you've got a quite a litany in uh you know from a historical perspective of your guest speakers from the Lou Douglas Lecture Series. And uh you have a lecture that uh that you've got scheduled. So let's talk a little bit about uh about this.
SPEAKER_01So the Lou Douglas lecture happens in the fall, and uh and often it is a series. Um, it is uh to honor uh Professor Lou Douglas, who was a political science professor. Um and this year we're actually going to be bringing Dr. Kerry Magro, who is a world-renowned autistic speaker. He's been on um CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox, uh, writes, and consults for a Netflix series. Um, and we'll be talking about um building better together. So, how can we um partner with the autism community to bring better resources to our kids and to young adults and adults on the spectrum? So we are really excited to have him. He's also an author. Um, many of his books are on Amazon. Um, and uh he's just a really humble person and also really inspirational. So I hope to fill Forum Hall on September 14th and bring hope and resources and insight to families like mine who have children on the spectrum.
SPEAKER_00You know, there's we're finding obviously more and more kids are on the spectrum. You know, we started talking about, you know, autism and some of the courses that you have, some of the offerings through UFM and the Lou Douglas uh uh lecture series continues that kind of a theme that is fairly new, not the classes themselves for individuals that are on the spectrum, but it does have a point of emphasis for you this year.
Project Excel For Adults With Disabilities
SPEAKER_01Yes, and historically we have um we have the Project Excel program, which is for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. It's a college uh inspired program where people meet on Saturdays throughout the year and we uh customize classes for them, uh, learning academics, life skills, things like that. So we have about 65 participants in Project Excel, and that's been going on for well over a decade. So we just want to continue to expand and offer um different types of programming for all of our community members so that they can feel connected and part of the community.
Catalog Access And How To Sign Up
SPEAKER_00How can I find a catalog?
SPEAKER_01Oh my goodness, you could um go online to tryUFM.org. You could also go to local coffee shops, um, probably over at GMCF. There's a catalog there that would be pretty, you know, just a couple steps from the case. The Manhattan Public Library has that free on our K-State campus. And also you can even request one be mailed to you. Or you can just stop by sure.
SPEAKER_00People do that.
SPEAKER_01We still mail out our catalogs. Yes, we do. Wow.
SPEAKER_00Hey, it's always a pleasure to have you and talk about some of the great things happening with UFM. TryUFM.org.
New ABLE After-School Program Details
SPEAKER_01Yes. Try UFM. Yes, really quick. We are starting an after-school program this fall.
SPEAKER_00Yes, you'd mention that.
SPEAKER_01Yes, because um kids are getting out earlier. They're getting out at 2 30. And so that means that kids like mine in elementary school will need to have a place to go after school for hours. So we are offering a K through five building leadership and enrichment program uh called the ABLE program. Kids will be doing uh STEAM, they'll be building leadership skills and doing recreation and homework support through a mentoring program. So we are really excited. We hope people will sign up early because space will be limited.
SPEAKER_00Do you have details on the website?
SPEAKER_01We do, a whole page about the ABLE program.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Always a delight to have you in.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Congratulations on the efforts and uh good luck with everything.
SPEAKER_01Thanks so much.
Quick Wrap And What’s Next
SPEAKER_00Dr. Eliya Mestrevich C is the executive director with UFM. And coming up next, we have a pair of representatives from the Manhattan Optimus Club. They've got a a program that I'm just delighted to be able to talk about here on the GMCF Community Hour. That's after the break here on News Radio K M A N.