Dylan Meier, GBL Foundation Announcements

Press Release, April 19, 2016

Dylan Meier, Get Busy Livin’ Foundation Announcements

Get Busy Livin’ announces its 6th Annual 5K Run and Friendship Walk to begin at 9:30 am on April 30, 2016 at Hutchinson Field Pittsburg, Kansas. Details can be found for runner sign-ups at our website www.getbusylivin.org.

Additionally, our Annual Shoe and Youth Clothing Drive will be collecting items to be recycled.  All donations can be dropped off at the SEK Recycling site on Joplin Avenue or brought to the run event.

Our motto this year is “Give to Live” and we have focused upon promoting youth volunteerism.  Each year we select an outstanding local citizen to be our 5K race starter.  For this year we have selected Jack Bache who exemplifies service to others.  Jack has guided the Pittsburg YMCA for the past 33 years as its Executive Director.

Apart from leading our YMCA to national awards, Jack has demonstrated true volunteerism by participating and leading numerous worthy causes including; Rotary Club, the Red Cross, United Way, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, J.L. Hutchinson League, SEK Humane Society and the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas.  We proudly salute Jack for his years of service in our community.

The GBL also wished to announce its first funding grants relating to Youth Volunteerism. The following 6 grant recipients will receive funds to complete the following activities:

  • Mission Trip to West Virginia High school, youths from Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Mary’s Colgan will travel to help renovate homes in depressed areas of the Appalachian Mountains.
  • “Stuff the Bus” is a community youth effort in Labette County which collects and distributes school supplies to students in need.
  • “Youth Crisis Center Spruce Up” is a middle/high school event in Parsons, Kansas to help promote community pride and service.  They will be planting flowers, shrubs and completing other cleanup activities at the facility.
  • “Mobile Orange Swan” sponsored by the Galesburg, Kansas Christian Church will be sending youths to collect and distribute clothing, shoes, household/kitchen items, toys, etc. to unfortunate citizens near Parsons, Kansas.
  • Shekinah Youth Mission Trip will be traveling to Tulsa, Oklahoma to volunteer at a local community food bank and children’s home to help clean, organize, sort and distribute items for the local organization.
  • “Together We Rise” sponsored by the Wesley United Methodist Church, Parsons, Kansas will travel and complete two youth mission projects in Labette County and Omaha, Nebraska completing foster care, food pantry, homeless shelter and community garden projects.

Finally, the GBL also wishes to announce our Annual Scholarship winners. This year’s seven winners were selected from over 45 applications submitted by well qualified students in our Crawford County High Schools.

Each individual represents having a unique value of personal motivation with “no self-limitations”.  They illustrate strong academic achievements, extracurricular participation, giving to others, leading by example and are role models among their peers.

 This year’s winners are:

Joshua Lee, Pittsburg High School

Sicily Stahl, St. Mary’s Colgan High School

Jessica Zamora, Northeast High School

Kennedi Fields, Frontenac High School

Laike Damman, Girard High School

Sawyer Esch, St. Mary’s Colgan High School

Abigail Harris, Pittsburg High School

Additionally, two of these individuals will also serve as our first GBL representatives to a high school volunteer abroad program sponsored by Cross Cultural Solutions. Our students will travel abroad this summer with other high schoolers completing various volunteer tasks in the Maya Highlands of Guatemala.

The GBL proudly thanks all our friends and sponsors who have generously contributed to the “Give to Live” campaign and our foundation.

 Hope to see you at our 5K event. 

Get Busy Livin Foundation