As part of a Kansas Health Foundation grant we are working on resident led initiatives in La Harpe to identify health equity issues and increase community engagement. One REAL (Reaching Equity in All Lives) La Harpe priority identified by residents was a community clean-up. Through the collaboration of Allen Community College students and athletes, Kansas State University Alternative Breaks program and La Harpe residents, 48 volunteers worked on 19 houses cleaning up yard debris. A special thank you to the Allen baseball team who spent their time breathing life into the La Harpe baseball field.

The night before the clean-up we had 30 volunteers who’d never worked together join us for a team building exercise in the form of a lip sync challenge at Allen Community College! Our Kansas State University students, Allen Community College students, and La Harpe residents joined us to create a video in less than one hour! They had a great time–and it shows! Thank you to everyone for being creative and open to all the FUN! And a bigger thank you for the work done in La Harpe the next day.