Non-Profit Highlight: Douglas County Foundation & Just Food

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DCCF connects the diverse citizens and communities of Douglas County through charitable action.

Celebrating our 20th year of bringing donors and crucial causes together, the Douglas County Community Foundation (DCCF) was started with a gift from the late Tensie Oldfather, a leading philanthropist in our community. She desired to create an avenue for many others to make a positive impact by supporting important charitable work. DCCF is an independent, tax-exempt public charitable organization existing to increase the quality of life for the people of Douglas County, including the cities of Baldwin City, Eudora, Lawrence and Lecompton. We are a community leader convening local citizens, businesses and nonprofit organizations, and coordinating resources to create positive change. DCCF has granted over $36 million to nonprofit, educational, religious and community organizations.

Elizabeth Schultz, who supports local organizations and education through the Elizabeth Schultz Environmental Fund at DCCF, says, “The community foundation is a light in our community for good work.”

DCCF’s mission is to enrich the quality of life in the communities of Douglas County by: 1) Building philan

thropic resources and relationships; 2) Providing attractive options for donors to make philanthropic contributions; 3) Being a catalyst for the betterment of the lives of the citizens of Douglas County.

To meet that mission, DCCF offers donors the opportunity to achieve their philanthropic and financial goals by establishing charitable donor-advised funds. The process for setting up a fund is simple, and we provide highly personalized service tailored to the charitable and financial interests of each family or individual. DCCF stewards the charitable assets of over 250 donor-advised, field of interest, organization and scholarship funds.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, DCCF processed more than $1.3 million in grant support in February, March and April for organizations providing crucial human services to Douglas County residents. The DCCF board and staff are deeply grateful to our local donors and nonprofit service providers for making this possible.

To learn more about how you can join in making a positive impact in our communities, please visit www.dccfoundation.org.

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PAT BROWN SARAH BEACH JASON EDMONDS DON DUNCAN MADISON METSKER ZAK BOLICK

645 Massachusetts St Lawrence, KS 66044 edmondsduncan.com 785.856.2222

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Just Food is the food bank of Douglas County. We supply more than 40 partner agencies and satellite pantries with pantry staples, perishable items, frozen meat, fresh produce and bread. This food is donated from individuals and community drives and is also rescued from restaurants, grocery stores and local farms. In 2019, Just Food rescued more than 1 million pounds of food from going to landfills and redirected it to folks in need. In addition, we operate a food pantry at our main location at 1000 East 11th St.

We also specialize in direct client services through programs such as Just Grow, KitchenWorks, Pots and Pantry, Just Cook and Cooking Healthy Futures. These programs help promote self-sufficiency within our clients by helping them learn to cook, acquire food industry training, provide the necessary tools to cook from home and start kids in our community with a foundation of food familiarity and how to cook healthy meals.

Since March 17, Just Food switched its operations to a

curbside distribution service that is non-contact. Our clients drive, walk or bike to our location and receive boxes with two weeks’ worth of supplemental groceries. In addition, we developed a delivery service where grocery boxes are sent anywhere in Douglas County. As of this week, we have served more than 12,000 grocery boxes, and nearly half of those were distributed to folks who have never utilized our services before. Food assistance needs continue to rise each day with the widening reach of COVID-19 and the economic effects it brings. Friends and neighbors who already faced significant economic challenges are increasingly bearing the brunt of this crisis. Because of our community, volunteers and staff, we have been able to grow to meet the need. For more updates on volunteer opportunities and donations or to receive food assistance, please contact justfoodks.org. In addition, we welcome any questions you may have.