Tag: health

Rising Together: The Power of Collective Impact

by Dalton Black, executive director

Communities don’t thrive because of one person or one organization. They thrive when neighbors, nonprofits, businesses, and leaders come together with a shared vision: to make life better for everyone.

At United Way, we believe the surest way to build lasting change is through collaboration. When one nonprofit succeeds, our entire community rises. When a food pantry expands its reach, a child goes to bed nourished. When a childcare provider grows its capacity, more parents can work and provide for their families. When a housing program helps someone find stability, the ripple effect touches classrooms, workplaces, and neighborhoods.

A Call for Bold Collaboration

Recently, I attended the Kansas Health Foundation’s HealthRise 2025 event. Ed O’Malley, the Foundation’s CEO, challenged us with a vision: Kansas is ranked 28th in overall health among states—but we should strive to be number one. To get there, he said, will require bold collaborations.

That message resonated deeply. Bold collaboration is exactly what United Way is built for. We know that no single program can move a state or a community from 28th to 1st. But when organizations work together—sharing resources, expertise, and heart—the impossible starts to look possible.

This call is also timely. The Kansas Health Foundation has identified upward mobility as its focus area for the coming year. That aligns directly with the work of United Ways across Kansas, including ours, as we shine a light on ALICE households (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are the families who earn above the poverty line but still struggle to afford life’s basics—childcare, housing, food, transportation, healthcare.

By centering upward mobility, we’re showing our dedication not just to local collaboration but also to working alongside funders and statewide partners who share this mission. It’s one more way we’re building the bold coalitions needed to transform Kansas communities.

Why Collective Impact Matters

The challenges our communities face—hunger, housing insecurity, access to childcare, health gaps—are too big for any one organization to solve alone. But when we bring nonprofits together, we create something powerful: a network of solutions, each one amplifying the others.

United Way isn’t just a funder. We’re a convener, a connector, a catalyst. We help nonprofits grow their capacity, strengthen their programs, and find the partnerships that take their work further. And when that happens, our entire community becomes stronger.

Jessica Reth – UWFH, Daphne Reed Mertens – UWFH, Maddie Craig – UWFH, Dalton Black – UWHMC, Pete Najera – UWP, and Jessica Lehnherr – UWKV.

Lifting Each Other Up

The beauty of collective impact is that it honors every organization’s role. No one carries the burden alone. Instead, we each bring our strengths to the table: knowledge, passion, expertise, lived experience. Together, those strengths add up to real transformation.

Through this approach, we’ve seen coalitions form around housing, childcare, healthy living, disaster response, and more. Each one is built on the belief that when we link arms and invest in each other’s success, we all win.

A Community Transformed

Imagine a future where every family has access to healthy food, every child has the opportunity to learn and grow, and every person has a safe place to call home. That future is possible—not because of one program, but because of many organizations rising together.

Together, we’re not just addressing problems. We’re building solutions that last.

Because when we unite, we don’t just create change—we create a community where everyone belongs, everyone contributes, and everyone thrives.

Between Wheat and Want: Why ALICE Matters in Harvey and Marion Counties

by Dalton Black, executive director

At our recent event, Between Wheat and Want: A Conversation with Sarah Smarsh, we gathered with community members to look more closely at what it means to live on the edge in Kansas. Sarah, a Kansas-born writer who has chronicled rural life and working-class struggles, reminded us that behind the statistics are real families—our neighbors—navigating hard choices every single day. Her book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, was published in 2018.

When she read from her new book Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class, the room was silent. In the passage, she wrote about her father, Nick Smarsh, who has spent decades working in a field that’s always been unstable, with grueling hours, long stretches on the road, and little safety net. Now older, he faces even steeper challenges. The steady paycheck that once seemed just enough has become less certain, and the physical toll of the work grows heavier by the year. You could hear in Sarah’s voice as she shared not just his story, but the story of countless men and women who age out of industries that demand so much and give back so little security.

Listening to her, many of us were reminded that ALICE isn’t just a statistic; it’s our neighbors, our parents, and sometimes ourselves. ALICE—Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed—represents working families who earn above the federal poverty level but still can’t afford the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare. In Harvey County, 26% of households fall into this ALICE category, with another 9% living below the poverty line. Marion County faces similar realities, with 29% ALICE and 10% below poverty. That means that nearly 4 in 10 households in our two counties are struggling to make ends meet.

These numbers are more than data points. They show us that “working hard” is no longer a guarantee of stability. Rising costs of living, limited childcare options, and housing shortages leave families vulnerable, even when they’re doing everything “right.” As Sarah put it during our conversation, this is a systemic challenge—not an individual failure.

At United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties, we’ve taken this to heart. Our work is grounded in the belief that upward mobility should not be reserved only for those born into wealth. That’s why all four of our focus areas—Youth Opportunity, Healthy Community, Financial Security, and Community Resiliency—connect back to creating pathways for families to rise.

  • We invest in programs that make childcare affordable and accessible, because parents can’t work if they don’t have safe places for their kids.
  • We support food access initiatives, because healthy meals are the foundation for learning and long-term health.
  • We champion housing stability, because when families have a secure home, everything else becomes more possible.
  • We build coalitions for resilience, ensuring that in times of crisis, families don’t have to weather the storm alone.

The ALICE data is sobering, but it also gives us direction. It tells us where the gaps are, where families are falling through, and where we can step in—not just with short-term aid, but with long-term solutions.

Our mission is simple but urgent: to ensure every household in Harvey and Marion Counties has the chance to not just get by, but to move up.

Together with partners, neighbors, and leaders like Sarah Smarsh who shine a light on the reality of working-class life, we’re building communities where families don’t have to choose between paying rent and buying groceries, where opportunity is real, and where upward mobility is possible for all.

Breathe Deep: How Relaxation Leads to a Healthier Life

by Sheila G. Kelley, Development Coordinator

“In through your nose, out through your mouth.” It’s a simple instruction that clients at Breathe Deep Works in downtown Peabody hear often, but this mindful breathing is just the beginning of the healing process.

Tucked inside a beautifully preserved, 140-year-old building, Breathe Deep Works is owned and operated by Rachel Gfeller, a massage therapist with nearly two decades of experience. Rachel offers a wide variety of wellness treatments, including deep tissue, hot stone, relaxation, cupping, and prenatal massage. But for Rachel, massage is more than a service—it’s a mission to help people care for their bodies and live with less pain and more vitality.

“I believe when someone walks in my door, they’re here because they want better for themselves,” Rachel says. “If I have a technique or stretch that can help you long-term, I’m going to explain it in a way that makes sense. Everything I do is rooted in love—for my craft and for my clients.”

Rachel continues to grow her skills through continuing education and recently added the Spinal Flow Technique (SF) to her practice. This innovative method works with the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of the body responsible for deep relaxation and healing. Through gentle touch on access points along the spine, like the sacrum and temples, Rachel helps guide clients out of the stress-driven “fight, flight, or freeze” state and into a place where true healing can begin.

“In 2024, I began studying Spinal Flow, and it’s the missing link in my career,” she shares. “It’s gentle, but powerful. I’ve seen incredible results—people who’ve lived with daily pain are finally finding relief.”

Spinal Flow sessions typically last 15–30 minutes. Clients lie face down while Rachel applies light pressure, helping their bodies release stored stress. Repeated sessions help retrain the body to process stress instead of storing it, which can otherwise create blockages in the nervous system and disrupt wellness.

“When we suppress emotions or physical responses to stress, that energy has to go somewhere,” Rachel explains. “It gets trapped around the spine and blocks nerve signals. Over time, that’s what can lead to disease in the body.”

Rachel, a proud graduate of Peabody High School, is also a wife and mom of two. Whether through traditional massage or Spinal Flow, her passion is clear: helping others live healthier, more balanced lives.