​Hays, KS- Jana’s Campaign, a Hays-based nonprofit with the single mission of reducing gender and relationship violence, hosted their annual Empty Place at the Table Gala at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall in Hays on Saturday, October 20.
 
This year marked the tenth anniversary of losing Jana Mackey to an act of relationship violence. The event focused on celebrating the legacy that lives on in her name and all of the work that has been accomplished in her honor. The 210 attendees raised more than $70,000 – the most successful gala in the history of the organization – more than doubling the amount raised in 2017.
 
“This event raises awareness and needed funds for the prevention education we provide,” says Kim Cebula, executive director of Jana’s Campaign. “It is a special year and the support we received is phenomenal, it means we can serve more teens and young adults, preventing them from being in violent and unhealthy relationships.  
 
The evening featured a festive cocktail hour, dinner and live entertainment, along with both a silent and live auction. Businesses throughout the community and country donated unique items and experiences to support the event. (For a full list of sponsors and auction donors visit the EPATT page at www.janascampaign.org.) A special performance by the Hays High Chamber Singers, featuring a video appearance of a young Jana singing the Lord’s Prayer, brought many family and friends to tears, while providing others a glimpse of the young woman who was taken from us.
 
The organization celebrated impacting over 56,000 students in 516 middle and high schools across eight states. They also shared they have hosted attendees from 320 colleges and universities at their regional campus safety summits. All of the numbers reflect work completed since 2013, when Jana’s Campaign formalized their data collection processes.
 
“To honor Jana with a room full of people who understand why prevention of gender-based violence is so important and who are fully committed to making a difference is unbelievably inspiring,” shared Christie Brungardt, Jana’s mom and organization co-founder. “We will be able to accomplish great things with the funds raised at the gala this year.” 

​Hays, KS – Jana’s Campaign Inc. was awarded the 2018 Partnership Award at the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Teachers of Nebraska Recognition Banquet in Kearney, Nebraska. This award recognizes individuals or groups who help support FCS Education in Nebraska schools. Jana’s Campaign is proud to be chosen as this year’s recipient.
 
“The staff and board of directors at Jana’s Campaign are honored to receive this award. We know we are only able to do our work and share our prevention message with students because of the great partnerships we have with teachers and schools. Their invitations to classrooms and school assemblies means we can share information about the red flags of unhealthy relationships to help prevent dating and sexual violence before it begins,” shared Kim Cebula, executive director for Jana’s Campaign.
 
Nebraska FCS integrates family and career readiness with technical skill instruction within a critical science perspective. Since 2015, Jana’s Campaign has collaborated with 72 Nebraska FCS teachers and 98 schools to provide education about teen dating violence in addition to their work in Kansas and Colorado.
 
Jana's Campaign is a national education and gender violence prevention organization located in Hays, Kansas. The organization was created in honor of Jana Mackey who lost her life to domestic violence in 2008. Mackey, a law student at the University of Kansas at the time, spent years volunteering and helping victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. In addition to providing prevention education in middle and high schools, Jana’s Campaign also works with colleges and universities to prevent and respond to dating and sexual violence on campus. The organization similarly provides community prevention education through workshops, speaking engagements, community service projects and social media. In 2017, Jana’s Campaign also received the Merit Award from the Kansas Association of Teachers of FCS.
 
Thank you to all FCS teachers for believing in our work and inviting us to work with your students.
 
More information about Jana’s Campaign can be found at the website: janascampaign.org

​Hays, KS – The Love Doesn’t Hurt program provided by Jana’s Campaign was featured in Rural Health Models & Innovations, a national collection of successful rural health programs and interventions maintained by the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub).
 
The Love Doesn't Hurt: Teen Gender Violence and Prevention Program provides prevention education to middle and high schools and youth organizations, to reduce gender and relationship violence by promoting healthy relationship behaviors, ultimately to create a culture of strong respect among adolescents. Jana’s Campaign provides this secondary education programming mainly in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, but various components of the work have been done in nine states. The mission of Jana’s Campaign is to provide quality educational programming that prevents gender and relationship violence by delivering specialized prevention strategies and curricula designed to prevent violence, build healthy relationships, and create new social norms.
 
Since the inception of the secondary education program, Jana’s Campaign has impacted 490 middle and high schools and more than 53,000 students in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado. Jana's Campaign consistently collaborates with FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) programs, FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America), and both the Kansas State Board of Education and the Nebraska State Board of Education to implement their prevention efforts in area schools.
 
Christie Brungardt, co-founder of Jana’s Campaign and Jana’s mom, stated, “By providing prevention efforts in middle and high schools, adolescents can better understand healthy relationships, making unhealthy relationships less likely and encouraging peers to intervene when witnessing a situation of abuse.”
 
The Love Doesn't Hurt: Teen Gender Violence and Prevention Program was selected by RHIhub because of its innovative services and impact on rural communities. To read the full project summary, visit: www.ruralhealthinfo.org/project-examples/1013.
 
RHIhub is a national online information center on rural health issues, funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Their website includes over 12,000 resources specific to rural health. Rural Health Models & Innovations features hundreds of successful programs that are serving rural residents across the nation.

The Summer 2018 Newsletter is now available for viewing here. ​

Jana’s Campaign is happy to announce that Kim Cebula has recently accepted the position of Executive Director. Kim was a senior coordinator with the University of Kansas Medical Center's Area Health Education center, located in Hays, KS.  She is also the former vice president of resource development with the United Way of Greater Topeka and prior to that served as the coordinator for the Kansas Safe At Home Program and other special programs with Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh. Kim brings a vast array of experiences and talents that will enhance Jana’s Campaign.
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“I am honored to serve as the Executive Director for Jana’s Campaign,” Cebula said. “This organization is doing life-saving work by providing education on violence prevention issues. I am excited and look forward to working with the Board and staff to continue the growth and success of the organization.”

The Jana's Campaign 2017 Annual Report is now available for viewing here. 

Colby, KS- This past weekend, the Thomas County Attorney’s Office hosted Silent No More Gala, a fundraiser to benefit Jana’s Campaign Inc., at City Limits Convention Center in Colby, KS. The goal of the event was to raise awareness of gender and relationship violence and to raise funds for prevention efforts across the state of Kansas.

Jana’s Campaign and the Thomas County Attorney’s Office were honored to be joined by the friends and family of Teri Chase of Colby.

Hays, KS—The beginning of the new year has brought several changes to the leadership and the staff at Jana’s Campaign. Kelley Parker, former Executive Director, has transitioned from an executive staff member to a leadership role with our Board of Directors. Kelley served on staff as our senior leadership officer for three years (2015-2017). “Under her leadership, Jana’s Campaign has clearly reached new heights,” says Heather Lambert, Jana’s Campaign President. “We are excited that Kelley will continue to serve and lead through her new role on the Board of Directors. As we move forward, she will play a key part in setting the future direction for Jana’s Campaign.”
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To fill this void on our staff, Dr. Curt Brungardt, co-founder of Jana’s Campaign, will serve as Interim Executive Director while we search for a new leadership staff position. From 2009-2012 and in 2014, Dr. Brungardt served as Executive Director for Jana’s Campaign. We hope to replace Parker’s staff position by March or April of 2018. To learn more about our job announcement, see this link.

The Jana's Campaign December newsletter is now available here. 

Hays, KS—Jana’s Campaign has partnered with Patty Crawford, the former Title IX Coordinator at Baylor University, to provide multiple workshops in 2018 for colleges and universities across the U.S.. Crawford will serve as a featured speaker at the Midwest Campus Safety Summit in Muncie, IN, the Campus Safety Summit in Dallas, TX, the Rocky Mountain Campus Safety Summit in Colorado Springs, CO and the Heartland Campus Safety Summit in Overland, Park, KS. These summits are hosted by Jana’s Campaign and are designed to educate higher education administrators on preventing and responding to gender based violence on their college campuses.

Patty Crawford became the university’s first full-time Title IX Coordinator when she joined Baylor in November 2014. Frustrated with the lack of institutional support, Crawford resigned two years later. Crawford is dedicated to ending corrupt practices and continues to assist institutions and organizations across the country with Title IX compliance and violence prevention.

“We are very excited to have Patty join us in our campus work,” says Curt Brungardt, co-founder of Jana’s Campaign. “I’m confident that college officials can learn many valuable lessons from her experiences.”

Crawford is well known nationally for exposing Baylor University’s practices that eventually led to Baylor’s sexual assault scandal. After filing an official complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (U.S. Department of Education), she resigned her position. This scandal led to several top Baylor officials losing their positions, including the head football coach, Art Briles.
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Over the last five years, Jana’s Campaign has provided workshops and conferences across the country for college officials interested in improving their prevention and response work to gender and relationship violence. Jana’s Campaign is a national education and violence prevention organization founded in honor of the late Jana Mackey, a Hays, KS resident.