The Hays, KS-based Jana’s Campaign, a national education and gender violence prevention organization announced it is embarking on a national fundraising effort to raise $500,000 over the next eighteen months. Jana’s Campaign representatives explain that this fundraising effort is called “The IMPACT Project” because funds will be used to expand the impact of their violence prevention work.
Jana’s Campaign was created in honor of Jana Mackey who lost her life to domestic violence in 2008. Mackey, a Hays High School graduate, was a 25-year-old law student at the University of Kansas at the time of her death.
“It is our goal to move our work to the next level and to create greater impact,” says Kelley Parker, executive director of Jana’s Campaign. “The IMPACT Project will allow us to improve and expand our prevention efforts in middle and high schools, colleges and universities, as well as with our community-wide programming activities,” says Parker. “I am happy to announce that because of early contributions, we have collected $120,000 towards our goal.”
In the past three years, Jana’s Campaign has worked with more than 140 Kansas middle and high schools, as well as 148 colleges and universities from around the country to help prevent and respond to gender and relationship violence. Funds raised through The IMPACT Project will continue this critical work in Kansas and neighboring states.
This fundraising effort is being led by two co-chairs, Hays residents Mia Lang and Curt Brungardt. Lang is a ten-year-old fourth grader from Holy Family Elementary school. Over the last two years, Lang has been very active and successful in fundraising for Jana’s Campaign.