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Sometimes someone comes along, and you’re not really expecting much – although you’re certainly not expecting little, either – and what develops ends up being so rich and so rewarding and so important that you’re left thinking, “My goodness – THAT was amazing!”
And so it’s been for Communities In Schools of Kansas and our wonderful two-year (to date) association with Lauren Krivoshia. Just more than two years ago, I had taken the reins of CIS of Kansas and had just landed a VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) grant. The first applicant was Lauren, and given that there was no office at the time, we arranged an interview to take place in a local Starbucks. “Interview” is perhaps not the right word. We shook hands, looked at each other, and we were instinctively and instantly colleagues, ready to embark on a great adventure together.
Lauren is one of those exceptional individuals who is gifted in more ways than I have space to share. Suffice it to say that there was no work too hard, no hour too long, no challenge too daunting. The girl’s got game, to put it mildly. Lauren has been a tremendous force in the growth and accomplishments of the last two years, and a very great deal of it would never have happened without her.
On April 18, Lauren’s VISTA service came to an end. During these two years, she has been a rare and wonderful gift to this organization and to me personally. It has been important to me to provide as much opportunity and benefit to Lauren as she has provided to CIS of Kansas, and I can only hope that I’ve even come close to doing that.
Writing this allows me to make very public thanks to Lauren for her dedication and vision. The end of her VISTA service, however, is also a cause for celebration as it allows me to announce that Lauren is now a gainfully-employed staff member here at CIS of Kansas! For now, she will be continuing her excellent PR and marketing work, as well as some other duties, and as funding cooperates, her role will be expanded. As Lauren’s work with us continues, she will also be attending the Kansas City Art Institute for further studies in design, as well as continuing to establish herself as a photographer and jewelry designer through her business, Glimpse Studios.
Please join me in a simultaneous farewell, thanks, and welcome to Lauren Krivoshia. I also want to offer gratitude to those recognizing Lauren’s service to our organization with a donation. Thank you for everything, Lauren, and here’s looking forward to the next part of the journey!
Malissa Martin-Wilke
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Recent major gifts from the Payless ShoeSource Foundation, Black Hills Energy, and the J.E. Dunn Family Foundation have gotten the year off to a great start for CIS of Kansas. We want to thank them for recognizing that a strong, vibrant state office means stronger, more effective services at the local level for our Kansas students. We sincerely appreciate their goodwill, and we look forward to building our partnership with them in the future.
Other recent gifts we would like to recognize have come from David Johnson, Howard Keim, and Judy Moler, all board members supporting our FY10 Board Campaign. Thank you for your support!
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