Example 1: Cowley County’s Data Walk: Mobilizing Community Members to Improve Health
Improving health and well-being is a top priority for communities across Kansas. One innovative example of how Kansas counties can mobilize community members to improve health comes from Cowley County.
On November 29, 2022, Legacy, A Regional Community Foundation in Cowley County, in collaboration with RISE Cowley and USD 470 Early Literacy Initiative, hosted an innovative and groundbreaking Data Walk event to engage community partners, including frontline service providers, nonprofit directors, city/county/state officials, school district officials, private philanthropies and passionate community leaders, in a meaningful conversation about improving the health of children in their community.
Read more about Cowley County’s Data Walk, or learn more about organizing Data Walks by visiting: Data Walks: An Innovative Way to Share Data with Communities, a resource from the Urban Institute.
Example 2: Reading Summit Mobilizes Community Members Around Childhood Literacy
In Kansas, 7 in 10 4th graders read below a proficient level on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) standardized tests. To raise awareness and mobilize action toward improving childhood literacy in Kansas, a Reading Summit was held in Andover on June 11, 2024. Approximately 70 educators, community leaders, elected officials and other stakeholders attended the event, where they viewed and discussed seven data posters that spotlighted literacy in Kansas.
Many factors shape health, including education, economic status, employment and access to essential goods and services. Improving these factors often requires a multifaceted approach that begins with mobilizing the community to act. During the Reading Summit, participants met with other community members and offered new and challenging interpretations of the data as well as unique ideas to get at the root causes of difficulties with reading.