United Way of the Flint Hills is honored by the commitment of our workplace campaigns and community partners to creating opportunities for a better life for all residents of Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage, Wabaunsee and Woodson counties. Our annual campaign celebration provides the opportunity to say thank you to every one of those individuals and partners that create opportunities and change lives now and for generations to come. It is our honor to work with you to build a better community.
2025 Give Until it Feels Good Community Impact Award
At our celebration, we honored Simmons Pet Food with our Community Impact Award. Simmons increased their workplace campaign fivefold this year to bring in more than $50,000—an extraordinary leap that didn’t happen by accident. It happened because their team leaned in, listened, and chose to act.
2025 Lynn Cunningham Spirit Award
Our Spirit Award went to Emporia State University. ESU truly embodied what it means to walk alongside United Way. They welcomed us to campus for multiple events, encouraged student and staff engagement, and partnered with us for United Way Day at ESU Football—even in the November downpour. They hosted Dunkapalooza on campus, and they helped launch our first-ever video game tournament with ESU E-sports, a bold and creative way to engage the next generation. They also appointed a dedicated campaign chair, Percy Holt, who was an absolute rockstar throughout the campaign—bringing energy, commitment, and heart to every interaction.
Emporia State showed up, time and again, not just as a partner—but as a friend.
2025 Hometown Heroes
Jeanine McKenna and Deb Crowl were recognized as Our Hometown Heroes. Both of these women truly embody the word community and what it means. They have advocated and supported United Way's mission. We could not have picked two better individuals to receive this award.