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Minds and K9s offering event Saturday at Tonganoxie Public Library

By Staff Report - | Oct 18, 2007

A Leavenworth County agency is helping to mark “Mental Health Month” and “Whole Body Health Month” with a series of events promoting a healthy mind and body.

Minds and K9s Inc., which is based in Leavenworth, has put together the events, which culminates with its annual “Whose Face are You Wearing?” mask contest.

Participants in the contest, in exchange for a suggested $5 donation, receive a blank face mask that is to be decorated with the participant’s chosen “face.”

“We encourage you to decorate your mask just for the fun of it, a serious artistic endeavor, or to put a physical expression showing the emotional mask some people wear, due to the stigma associated with the diagnosis of a chronic health condition,” said Sharon Cunningham of Minds and K9s.

The contest ends at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26, when masks must be turned in at the Leavenworth Public Library, 417 Spruce St., Leavenworth. Prizes will be awarded on Oct. 27 during a celebration from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the library.

Among the prizes are a “Wake up to Breakfast Stay” at the Airport Marriot Hotel; a birthday party for 15 people, admission to the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum; a bike helmet; High Noon Saloon gift certificates; $50 Savings Bonds; a dog bed full of “doggie” items and pizzas.

On Oct. 20, Minds and K9s will offer a joint program with the Tonganoxie Public Library on “Whose Face Are YOU Wearing?” The program, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the library, Third and Bury streets in Tonganoxie, will include a discussion on the stigmas associated with childhood and how those in turn affect everyone. The program is free and open to the public.

Other events associated with Mental Health Month and Whole Body Health Month include:

  • A one-day workshop, “Bridges Out of Poverty,” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, Oct. 3, at The Guidance Center, 500 Limit Street, in Leavenworth. Participants will receive specific strategies for improving outcomes for people living in poverty. For more information, contact David Barnum at The Guidance Center, (913) 682-5118.
  • A candlelight service beginning at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at The Guidance Center. The service, which is free, will honor the lives of those affected by mental illness.
  • Bipolar Disorder Awareness Day on Oct. 11.
  • A mental health fair from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4101 S. Fourth St., Leavenworth. The fair, which is free and open to the public, will feature community organizations exhibiting programs and services in the area.

For more information, contact Minds and K9s at (913) 250-5433.