To whom it may concern,

When Thrive began investing in the entire community, rather than a solely Iola based organization, our founding CEO and board traveled to each community in Allen County to have an honest, open conversation about their dreams; aspirations; goals; hopes; and frustrations. From there, the Thrive staff promptly got to work addressing those issues and therefore built a stronger relationship with locals, as well as a stronger community for all. And now, nearly a decade later, Thrive has decided to go back to those same communities under new leadership with new ideas, and ready to begin a new era.

Our first stop was in Elsmore, Kansas.

Residents of Elsmore, Kansas

Elsmore, a town of 77 (and yes, they counted!) just South of Moran and right off of highway 59, opened my eyes from the moment I arrived into town. Not only was I unable to get any sort of cell reception, but the town’s community center (which happened to be one of Thrive’s first ever projects we wrote a grant for,) was the location of our meeting. The community center was indeed charming, but as a fortunate white American citizen I have never been into a building that didn’t have air conditioning. That is, until that night. And, wow, I know exactly what I’m thanking God for at the kitchen table this Thanksgiving.

However, the lack of air conditioning was the absolute last thing on their residents’ minds. Instead, they recounted stories of electrical units that hadn’t been updated since 1988 and winter storms that iced over every single road in town, locking citizens into their homes. And county officials, who were already swamped with trying to clear the main roads in Iola and Humboldt, were unable to remove any ice in the little town of Elsmore. (Which, in a town with 80% of the population being over the age of 50, I hoped that no one needed urgent care from any ambulances)

I found that the hardest thing about that night was hearing these stories of a complete lack of assistance from the local, state, and federal government entities. Nearly shuttering at a woman’s comment, “We feel like the unwanted stepchild of Allen County, the one nobody cares about.”

“We feel like the unwanted stepchild of Allen County, the one nobody cares about.”

I began realizing that her comment seemingly rings true to what a lot of rural communities across the nation are facing; complete isolation from their urban counterparts. Rural folks truly do feel forgotten and unimportant.

And because of that night, I was reminded how fortunate I am to live in a place like Iola where an organization like Thrive Allen County exists to help people in underdeveloped communities across the state of Kansas. If someone could explain how I got lucky and fortunate enough to be able to learn first-hand from these real world experiences, it would be much appreciated.

Yours rurally,

Allie Utley, Executive Intern