The Heart Strings to Purse Strings Fund was established in 2012 by Wichita County women who made donations to build a permanently endowed fund to support local programs. Their vision, commitment, and passion have supported annual grants that enable them to address initiatives that improve the quality of life in Wichita County.

The mission of this fund is: Improving the quality of life of Wichita County residents by inspiring women's philanthropic leadership and collective giving through education and collaboration that promotes informed, impactful grant making in the community. Please contact the Wichita County Community Foundation to see how you can join hands with women in our community.

Heart Strings to Purse Strings Membership

Each year the Wichita County Community Foundation invites area women to contribute $100 to the Heartstrings to Purse Strings Fund to activate their voting membership that year. The voting membership closes on December 31 of each year so that a grant amount can be established for the Grant Application. One-half of the $100 donation provides funding for the grant to be awarded while the other half is endowed to continue to grow the fund forever.

One example of a program funded by Heartstrings to Purse Strings is the award of a $500 grant to the Wichita County Library to help fund a children’s book distribution project called “Check Up and Check Out.” The Wichita County Library and the Wichita County Health Department partnered with two state organizations to make this program available to the families of young children in Wichita County. Marvel Brandt RN, administrator of the WC Health Department, participated by giving a new, developmentally appropriate book to patients at each well-check visit from 6 months to 5 years and encourages parents or caregivers to read with their child every day. These books are donated by the Kansas Pediatric Foundation. When Marvel gave the child a book during their exam, she also gave the parents a one-page flyer describing the six skills children should have before the age of six to be ready to learn to read when they start school. Then she would encourage the family to visit the local library. If the family brought the flyer to the library, the child would receive an additional book from the librarian to take home and keep. This means that participating families received a total of 16 books over five years to help their children succeed in school.