LEAWOOD FOUNDATION

The mission of The Leawood Foundation is to provide resources for activities and projects in the Leawood community that might not otherwise be provided through tax dollars.

Help provide our community with the best possible quality of life that we can achieve. The Leawood Foundation is committed to providing funding and programs to ensure an excellent living environment for all residents of our community.

Join with neighbors in making our community the very best it can be by helping provide those amenities which are not possible with tax dollars.

The Leawood Foundation is committed to promoting cultural, educational, recreational and environmental activities and projects which enrich the life of our residents and our community.

Leawood Tomorrow - A program to enhance the lives of all Leawood Residents.

The Leawood Foundation invites you to support the Leawood Tomorrow Brick Campaign.  Purchase a Brick to be inscribed with your name, your company's name, or honor a family member or friend.  Your inscribed Paver Brick will be installed on the courtyard in front of Leawood City Hall.

Please click here for a brochure with more details.

Artwork to Honor Teachers

The Leawood Foundation, in cooperation with the Leawood Historic Commission and the Art in Public Places Initiative of the Leawood Arts Council, is leading a project to provide the city with a statue honoring the importance of teachers throughout history in our area. The life-sized bronze will be a tribute to the contributions of the one-room school teachers to Kansas society and will be placed near the Historic Oxford Schoolhouse in Ironwoods Park.

Oxford School opened in 1877 and operated as a school until 1955. The schoolhouse was relocated from its original location at 135th and Mission Road to its present location in Ironwoods Park at 147th and Mission Road. Great care has been taken by the Historic Commission to restore the building to its original beauty with historical accuracy. The Historic Commission received the 2005 Award for Excellence for Preservation Advocacy from the Kansas Preservation Alliance. Today, the Oxford School provides entertaining and educational programs for groups of all ages year-round.

Representatives from the groups have interviewed artists and selected internationally acclaimed sculptor Dennis Smith. The statue’s design incorporates a female teacher reading to two students, which represents the nurturing role teachers play in children’s lives. The statue is planned for installation during the 2006 calendar year.

The estimated cost of the artwork is $80,000 which will be funded in part by the Leawood Foundation. The balance of funds will come from the generosity of benefactors who share the vision of providing our community with the best quality of life we can achieve. Additional costs of approximately $10,000 will include site work for permanent installation.

To make this plan a reality the Leawood Foundation is seeking the support of private donors at the following levels:

Teachers’ Star Achievers

Summa cum laude With a $10,000 gift a donor will receive recognition on a bronze plaque at the site. The donor will receive a certificate along with a photo of the sculpture.

Magna cum laude With a $5,000 gift the donor will receive recognition on a bronze plaque at the site, and a certificate along with a photo of the sculpture.

Cum laude With a $2,500 gift the donor will receive recognition on a bronze plaque at the site, and a certificate along with a photo of the sculpture.

Honoris causa With a $1,000 gift the donor will receive recognition on a bronze plaque at the site, and a certificate along with a photo of the sculpture.

Honoris With a contribution under $1,000, the donor will receive a certificate along with a photo of the sculpture.

The Leawood Foundation is a 501c3 organization and your contributions are fully tax deductible. Checks may be made payable to the Leawood Foundation, 4800 Town Center Drive, Leawood, Kansas 66211.

The Leawood Foundation Mission Statement:
To provide resources for activities and projects within our community that might not otherwise be provided though tax dollars. We are committed to promoting cultural, educational activities, recreational and environmental activities and projects which enrich the life of our residents and our community.

Dennis Smith creates art that celebrates life and has a lasting presence not only in our communities but also internationally. Dennis’ work represented in many galleries and is on permanent public display throughout the world. “My work is about inner realities as much as it is about impressions of how things are seen”.

He is most widely known for his bronze sculptures of children. His passion for transcendence often focuses on the memories that help us celebrate the simple yet important moments in life. At the core of Dennis’ work is the spirit of the human soul. Children’s lives, as they explore the world around them, parallel our lives as adults as we discover our identity in this universe. His impressionistic style captures his exuberance for life and embodies his passion for transcendence-expressed thought the spontaneity of children, reflections of the past and hopes for the future.

An example of Dennis’ work can be viewed in front of the American Century Investments building.