ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
An area agency took home a national award recently.
Earlier this year, Mosaic in Southwest Kansas was named this year’s Mosaic Partners in Possibilities Agency Partner of the Year, and Senior Community Relations Manager Vickie Harshbarger said the award is for agencies meeting their benchmarks for fundraising.
“We have a goal of how many members of the community we invited to hear about our mission,” she said. “We met our goal as far as how much money we set to raise that year, and in addition to that, we also talked about how much we’ve been involved with expanding the Mosaic mission in our community. What the award is all about is our advancement division of Mosaic and our fundraising division.”
The national Mosaic organization serves about 5,000 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at 40 agencies in 12 state, And Harshbarger said the award Mosaic in Southwest Kansas received was given at the organization’s leadership conference in Omaha, Neb.
Harshbarger said, though, the winner of the award is never announced prior to the conference, and thus, she was somewhat surprised to learn about the area Mosaic agency being chosen.
“I was just sitting there wondering who was going to win this year, and they started reading off the numbers and the benchmarks that were hit,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘That sounds like our goal in Southwest Kansas. That sounds like how many people we had through our Discover the Possibilities. They just said our name.’”
Harshbarger said Mosaic in Southwest Kansas Executive Director Jacie Butler was already on her way up to accept the award when she herself was still processing the news.
“It was a nice surprise,” Harshbarger said.
This is Mosaic in Southwest Kansas’s second time winning the award, with the first being in 2022, and this is another reason Harshbarger did not expect to win this year.
Harshbarger said the award would not be possible without Mosaic in Southwest Kansas’ community partners.
“That’s what makes it all possible,” she said. “The generosity of our local communities is really what makes this happen and all the partners who help us out coming up with events for our individuals to enjoy out in the community. All of that rolls together to make it possible.”
As Mosaic in Southwest Kansas transitions from its traditional group home model to the newer Mosaic at Home program that puts each individual into the hands of a separate caretaker, Harshbarger said the agency is also taking its basic service into the community, and she said clients are enjoying this much more than being in the congregate setting of the group home.
“It’s been a lot of work along with that and expanding our Mosaic at Home opportunities,” she said. “We’re up to almost 22 people now in the Mosaic at Home setting, and that’s a tribute to the team of spreading the word, which rolls right into what is my wheelhouse with the fundraising.”
Mosaic in Southwest Kansas hosts Discover the Possibilities and monthly Lunch and Learn events throughout the year, and Harshbarger said these events focus on what and why the agency does what it does – to build that independence with the people they serve for them to have all the opportunities in the world.
Harshbarger said being named Agency Partner of the Year validates the hard work Mosaic in Southwest Kansas does, and she added that work is paying off for many people.
“The message of being able to help people lead more integrated lives has really resonated with our area, and that has translated into people coming alongside us to help us with that,” she said.
Harshbarger said with Mosaic receiving limited Medicaid dollars for its services and with the state determining the number of hours of support clients receive, workers must provide those hours in order for the agency to reimbursed.
“That’s what the Medicaid funding goes for,” she said.
Harshbarger said money received from donors and through other avenues is part of Mosaic’s fundraising efforts.
“If someone needs a medication that isn’t Medicaid approved yet, we can go ahead and pay for that with our donor dollars,” she said. “They don’t have to wait, which is sometimes up to six weeks, to get approved for that medication. That’s where we get to stand in the gap, and that’s where our community partners come alongside us in order to do that.”
Overall, Harshbarger said she was honored and humbled to receive the Agency Partner award.
“Our mission is to love and serve, and for some, a deep rooted part of who they are is to love and serve,” she said. “For myself, I feel it’s where God has placed me to be able to do this, to talk about an organization that was founded on faith and that we are continuing and stay true to that beginning.”
As to what motivates Mosaic in Southwest Kansas workers to keep doing what they do, Harshbarger said people need not look further than the smiles on the faces of agency clients.
“When we go and do something new, it sounds simple, but when you think about not being able to get around by yourself, it’s not so easy” she said. “A few of our folks from Liberal went up to Garden City to go to Burger King. It was a simple activity, but the smiles on their faces wearing the paper Burger King hats is what makes it worth the time and effort to get folks out and about. The couple hour drive for a meal out is meaningful to those we serve, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Harshbarger said she feels there are a few factors that swung the award in Mosaic in Southwest Kansas’s favor.
“It’s the generosity of our donors, being able to hit those benchmarks, being able to not only have the funds available for the smaller immediate needs, but also being able to put a large amount into our endowment to continue to grow and be ready for the rainy day that might come up,” she said.
While she was honored and humbled to receive the award, Harshbarger was likewise excited to do so.
“It’s always nice to be acknowledged for the hard work you put in, but also, I’m thankful for all the relationships I’ve been able to form over the last 10 years with Mosaic,” she said. “Not only is it the individual donors, but the businesses we’ve been able to partner with, and for them to understand what we’re doing and to welcome the people we serve with open arms is what it’s all about and what makes it all worthwhile. I think it’s the best job ever.”
