Dear Thrive Supporters:

As we enter the New Year, I’d like to bring you up to speed on what’s in store for Thrive and our work to build a healthier, more prosperous Allen County in 2013.

Our core work—improving the health of Allen Countians—will continue to grow in 2013.

This work happens in two ways. First, we design and implement healthy lifestyles programming–the Mad Bomber Run, the Portland Alley Marathon, the Allen County Meltdown and the Downtown Walkaround. Using tools available locally, we strive to get Allen Countians moving and making better decisions about what they eat and drink.

The Allen County Farmers’ Market opens in April, and we expect a ribbon cutting on the new Southwind Rail Trail connecting Humboldt and Iola this Spring. On-street bike lanes will hopefully come to Iola, and we will be supporting our neighbors in smaller towns like Mildred and LaHarpe who need parks and exercise equipment. Smoking cessation services for employers will continue, and we always stand ready to help people implement a new idea to improve Allen County with our grant writing services.

The second way we work to improve health is by focusing on access to healthcare. This means ensuring that all residents have access to the medical care they need, and that we have enough medical providers in our county to serve these residents. Due to a loss in core operating funding this year we will shift some focus from this area, but the core activities—providing volunteer drivers to get residents to doctors and dentists, acting as a hub to connect people in need with people who can help them, and leading or supporting the recruitment of new medical providers—will continue in 2013. Despite reduced resources Thrive will play a leadership role in working with our community’s key providers of medical services through the REACH Healthcare Foundation’s Rural Health Initiative to engage medical providers, schools, business and community organizations in planning to assure that everyone in our county has access to quality medical services.

We are also excited to announce two new initiatives that we believe can help accelerate our county’s turnaround, and help bring new focus and energy to this effort.

Beginning this month Thrive will coordinate economic development work on a countywide basis through new funding from Allen County, the city of Iola, and Iola Industries, Inc. An advisory board comprised of residents from throughout the county will guide this work, which we expect to begin with formulation of an economic development plan in the first half of the year, followed by implementation of that plan. This work can only happen in partnership with local people, businesses and organizations around the county, and we look forward to building and sustaining these new relationships.

Also beginning in January Thrive will launch a “Poverty Circles” campaign, modeled after the work of Dr. Ruby Payne. The Circles campaign’s goal is to lift a dozen families completely out of poverty using a proven model of pairing families living in poverty (“leaders”) with middle class residents (“allies”) who can help the leaders navigate the social and economic life of the community. These leaders are then role models and resources for neighbors and relatives who also need to emerge from poverty. This work is made possible through funding from the REACH Healthcare Foundation’s Rural Health Initiative, which is working to dramatically improve healthcare access and quality in our county.

This month marks my fifth year as executive director of Thrive. We have come a long way in five years, both as an organization and as a county. The conversation in our community is different today than it was five years ago. It’s more hopeful and more positive, with people asking “how” rather than “whether” we should tackle new things. Our new initiatives are especially exciting. By taking on economic development and poverty initiatives, Thrive realizes a partnership that spans across all levels of our community, from top to bottom, in a common effort to make Allen County a better, healthier and more prosperous place to live. Many tangible projects stand as proof of Thrive’s success, but most important to me is the renewal of our spirit that has happened thanks in large measure to the work of so many people who have been drawn to Thrive’s hopeful vision for our community.

Thank you for what you have done so far to help spark this turnaround in Allen County, and thank you in advance for continuing to contribute your time, talents and treasure to this effort. It’s worth it, and it is appreciated.

Sincerely,
David C. Toland
Executive Director