From: Tracy Quillin <[log in to unmask]>

Subject: Greetings from Kansas

Date: November 4, 2014 1:52:39 PM CST

Greetings,

I had the opportunity to speak with some of your at the Federation Conference in Philly last week, but, unfortunately, I arrived on Thursday and missed the opportunity to participate in the MoMS Focus Group. I wanted to share some exciting Museum on Main Street news coming out of Kansas regarding statewide funding and partner sites for Hometown Teams (kicking off in January).

1) Partner Sites: In addition to the six host communities for Hometown Teams, 16 partner sites will be exploring the theme of sports and community through special exhibitions, oral history projects, and public programs in their community. The partner sites differ from the hosts sites in that they do not host the Smithsonian exhibition. KHC awards small grants of up to $1,500 to expand the conversation about sports and community statewide. Why? We received 22 strong applications to host Hometown Teams and we wanted to provide opportunities for communities to tell their local stories and to have the opportunities to promote those stories alongside the Smithsonian exhibition. We pioneered partner sites with The Way We Worked exhibition in 2012-2013 and found it to be a successful way to collaborate with other organizations (many for the first time) to explore a common theme. An infographic produced after The Way We Worked shows the impact and reach of the host and partner sites: http://kansashumanities.org/2013/08/work-by-the-numbers/

Including the partner sites has also made Hometown Teams attractive to funders, which leads me to....

2) Statewide Fundraising Success: KHC was delighted and honored to receive full funding for the statewide tour of Hometown Teams from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation. Through an ongoing conversation with the BCBS Foundation staff we learned that the promotion of healthy behaviors in communities across the state AND the Smithsonian name was appealing to the foundation. KHC made some minor adjustments to the exhibition and programming to amplify the message of healthy communities in the exhibition. If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield or a similar foundation in your state, you may find these ideas helpful. Here is what we will be doing for Hometown Teams with support from the BCBSKS Foundation:

Minute for Movement: KHC is designing and installing eight fabric panels throughout the Smithsonian exhibition to lead visitors of all ages in "Minute for Movement" activities. The activities correspond to sections in the exhibition and are low-impact exercises that don't require much space and that can be replicated at home or on the playground.

Guided Tours: KHC is modifying the Hometown Teams docent tour to include "Minute for Movement" activities. KHC is also purchasing a 20-minute fitness DVD to be offered as part of the exhibition or to school groups.

Video Fitness: A video game console with a fitness game pack will tour with the exhibition to offer an interactive station for fitness.

Walking: KHC is purchasing and providing pedometers for all visitors to Hometown Teams host and partner sites. Participants will be required to provide an email address and will receive a Walking Scorecard with a "step log" and a series of benchmark goals (increased fruit and vegetable consumption, more steps walked, etc.) A follow-up email evaluation will track any improvements in healthy behaviors. KHC board and staff will also actively participate in the Walk Kansas program http://www.walkkansas.org and will encourage host and partner communities to do the same. Our goal is to "walk" the exhibition back to DC!

I'm happy to share KHC's BCBS grant application or discuss our partner site program with anyone who is interested. Please contact me directly at [log in to unmask] or (785) 357-0359. I look forward to hearing from you and hearing about any other MoMS fundraising success!

Best,

Tracy

Tracy Quillin

Director of Communications/Hometown Teams Statewide Coordinator

Kansas Humanities Council

112 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 210

Topeka, KS 66603

785/357-0359

[log in to unmask]

www.kansashumanities.org

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