EnvistaCares Challenge Results Announced

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Kansas Book Festival and Envista Credit Union are pleased to announce Kansas Book Festival will receive the EnvistaCares Challenge gift of $2,500 from Envista as a match to the generosity of the community’s donations of $2,900. In total, the Kansas Book Festival received $5,400 in donations during the month of September.

The Kansas Book Festival is the premier literary festival for Kansas.  Every year, the Festival brings over 50 authors to Topeka to make presentations based on newly released books, including authors of Kansas Notable Books (selected by the State Library of Kansas) and authors who are former Kansans but have established themselves outside the state, gaining national recognition.  In addition, the Kansas Book Festival foundation provides $10,000 in grants to needy Kansas libraries each year.

“The Kansas Book Festival, which is celebrating its 11th anniversary, encourages a lifelong love of reading and supports Kansas libraries and aspiring writers, promoting literacy across the state,” said Tim Bascom, executive director for Kansas Book Festival. “We give grants to needy Kansas libraries annually, and due to the support of the EnvistaCares challenge and the community we will provide another $5,000 in library grants this coming year.”

“Our goal at Envista is to lead, inspire and make an impact with our giving,” said Tara Dimick, chief business development officer for Envista. “We are honored to support the Kansas Book Festival and are inspired by their commitment to honor the rich literary heritage of the state and support libraries in underserved parts of Kansas.”

The EnvistaCares Challenge was created in April of 2019 and has helped raise more than $600,000 for local organizations. The Challenge includes an in-kind gift to the organization of a media buy that is valued at more than $12,000 and a $2,500 challenge grant. The media buy includes radio, emails, online ads, billboard, social media and interviews. The challenge gift provides a dollar-for-dollar match up to $2,500 for gifts given during the month that the organization is spotlighted. In 2021, Envista added the production of a storytelling video that the organization could use beyond the EnvistaCares Challenge experience.

Highlights of 2022 Kansas Book Festival

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Highlights of 2022 Kansas Book Festival

The 2022 Kansas Book Festival was a great success. The attendance was a grand total of 1,635, which includes the pre-festival Lawrence event, the festival itself, the post-festival poetry event, and the visits to elementary schools. The festival received lots of positive feedback, including a comment from poet Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg who said “having been to many of these festivals in the past, I found this the warmest, most inclusive, and most community-building of them all.”

At the festival itself we had a lot of attendees who had lots of feedback. The constant conversation between authors and readers formed a positive community that was seen all day. Author Nancy McCabe said “It was so well-organized with panels featuring great synchronicity among panelists, and the sessions I went to were well-attended, with lively audiences.”

There were a few children’s authors that went to elementary schools the week of the festival as well, including John Hare, Alastair Heim, and Jimmy Beason. The festival received lots of positive feedback from participating school librarians. Karin Thompson at Meadows Elementary said “Alastair Heim was just fantastic! The kids and teachers were so enamored with him, and I’ve received nothing but compliments on his session.” Alice Reinert, Media Specialist at Wanamaker Elementary, reported similarly, saying, “The author visit was awesome! Seventy-five 5th graders gathered in the library on the day of the visit! We had spent 2 library classes becoming familiar with John and his books, and the kids loved putting a face (and personality) with his name. John spent about 30 minutes explaining what his life as an illustrator/author is like, how he got started in his career, and the art techniques he uses.”

In addition to these elementary school visits, the poet Gary Jackson led a workshop for high school poets from three schools: Highland Park, Topeka High, and Topeka West. A number of the participating students then came to the Kansas Book Festival and joined a High School Poetry Slam organized by Jess Karns, Media Specialist at Topeka West.

The festival is also proud to announce that the donation goal of $2,500 for the EnvistaCares challenge was met, plus another $500 pledged! The goal of $2,500 means that Envista will match that donation to support the festival and their grant fund to help needy libraries across Kansas.

Keep your attention on the festival’s website and Facebook page. The date is set for the 12th annual Kansas Book Festival on Saturday, September 16th of 2023!

Lawrence Journal World Posts Article Detailing Lawrence Authors at Kansas Book Festival

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To highlight the 2022 festival and show appreciation to Lawrence authors, the Lawrence Journal World was kind enough to upload a press release detailing the events and activities at the festival. Click the link below to get the full article.

https://www2.ljworld.com/news/general-news/2022/sep/19/kansas-book-festival-to-feature-numerous-lawrence-authors-plus-live-music-exhibits-and-childrens-activities/