UFM Community Learning Center on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 253

We share how UFM opens doors for everyone to learn and teach, from health and wellness to AI, cooking, DIY, and veteran support. We highlight a leadership lecture that turns ideas into action and preview expansion into neighboring Kansas counties.

• UFM’s mission as an open community learning hub
• New health and wellness classes including Pilates and glucose stability
• Practical AI with ChatGPT prompting and automation
• Cooking and DIY offerings like Korean cuisine, sushi, and electrical basics
• Returning favorites including DnD, youth tennis, and piano by ear
• Veteran wellness program with $200 scholarship eligibility
• How to find the catalog, podcast, and sign-up info at tryufm.org
• Lou Douglas Lecture with Dr Kay Monk Morgan on leadership as action
• 2026 expansion through K-State Extension to nearby counties
• Invitation to teach, volunteer, or submit class ideas

Tryufm.org. Visit the website to explore fall classes and sign up
Email infotryufm.org to propose a class for Spring 2026
Tune in to our podcast on 91.9 at noon on Fridays

GMCF

CFAs

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater
Manhattan Community Foundation.
In this episode, we feature arecently broadcast segment of
the GMCF Community Hour, asheard on News Radio KMAN.
We are back.
This is the GMCF Community Hourhere on News Radio KMAN.
I'm Dave Lewis.
Alaya C is joining us.

(00:21):
And oh, I I'm sorry here.
She's the executive director,and I'm looking at my sheet now.
Dr.
Alaya Mastrovich C.
That's a lot of pronunciation.

SPEAKER_01 (00:33):
Hi, Dave.
How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 (00:34):
I am great and getting better.
I mean, I got so many goodthings going on in my life, but
this isn't about me.
This is about you and UFM.

SPEAKER_01 (00:45):
Yes.
So for those of you that don'tknow about UFM, it's a um
educational enrichment programthat served the Manhattan area
and K State and all thesurrounding communities for over
55 years.
Um and uh we've been aroundsince the 60s.
Wow.

SPEAKER_00 (01:03):
I was on the board for a brief time and then I Oh,
were you?
Yeah, and then I had a conflictand where I had to get off of
it.
But uh it's something that I'vejust, you know, and and Linda
and I became such great friendsand still are.
And uh gosh, just just a a neatorganization.
So you got a lot of things inthe works, and always, you know,

(01:24):
we talk about the the theclasses and sometimes, you know,
a little emphasis on the newclasses that you have.

SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
Yes, yes.
Well, UFM is a place whereeverybody can learn and everyone
can teach.
And we host over 200 communityenrichment classes um for
Manhattan and the surroundingcommunities a semester.
Um, so this fall um we have alot of uh fun and interesting um
new classes.

(01:52):
A lot of them are about healthand wellness.
Um we have Pilates for Hellothere.

SPEAKER_00 (02:02):
Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 (02:03):
Oh, yes, can you can you hear me?

SPEAKER_00 (02:04):
Yeah, it dropped out a little bit there.
Oh, it did?
Okay.
You you're starting to talkabout Pilates.

SPEAKER_01 (02:10):
Yeah, we have Pilates for Athletes, um, a
massage workshop series that Ihear is quite good.
A massage workshop.
Yes.
It's I actually have a friendwho took it and she said it was
great.

SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Okay, so so this would be a nice Christmas gift.

SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
It yes, it would be.
Um, absolutely.

unknown (02:38):
Yes.

SPEAKER_01 (02:39):
Yes, that that is something that could could be
taken and then used um in in inso many different ways to
de-stress our family members andfriends.
Um we have um men's onlyPilates, um, and then also even
a prenatal Pilates as well.
Um we also offer some classesfor folks that may be um

(03:04):
diabetic or um entering intohaving that uh diabetes um
diagnosis.
So we have a four-week glucosestability challenge that is a
new class.
Um have you ever used Chat GPT,Dave?

SPEAKER_00 (03:20):
You know, I've kind of tinkled with it, tinkered
with it a little bit, but butbut really not much.
Stop making fun of me, Gwen.
I tinkered with it a little bit.
Well, um, misplaced consonantsare a bad thing on a Monday.

SPEAKER_01 (03:38):
Yeah, I I haven't had my second cup of coffee.
So it's it's it's tough.

SPEAKER_00 (03:44):
But I really haven't played, I'm I'm intrigued by it
and and somewhat intimidated.
And I don't pick up things asquickly as I used to.
So so you're doing some chat GPTstuff.

SPEAKER_01 (03:56):
Yeah, we have a class about chat GPT um
prompting and business umautomation uh as well.
So there we do have some classescentered around AI for folks
that want to learn more.
Um, and I would say I wouldhighly recommend it because, you
know, I mean, AI is somethingthat is now in our present, not

(04:18):
just our future.
So um kind of being morefamiliar with that is is always
helpful.
Um, we also have some somewonderful cooking classes,
Korean cooking.
Um we have a uh a uh rolledsushi making class.
Um and then also uh electricalbasics with the Rayburn family

(04:40):
who owns a local uh um a localbusiness here.

SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
Hmm.
Is that that that is a new one?
I haven't heard of that in thepast, but that that that can be
so handy in today's DIY world.

SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Yes, yes.
So we we definitely um we havethere's just so many new
classes, and then we have somereturning classes that we we
love, um, such as our Dungeonsand Dragons class, our youth
tennis that we offer um everyevery semester, um, how to play
piano by ear, uh, and then ourveteran wellness class that is

(05:16):
offered um through um uh UFM anduh uh the VA of Eastern Kansas.
So any veteran that's enrolledin the VA of Eastern Kansas can
take that veteran wellness classand then get a$200 scholarship
for any UFM class, with theexception of anything related to

(05:36):
alcohol or tobacco.

SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
Interesting.
Dr.
Elias C is our guest here withthe UFM Learning Center, the
Community Learning Center.
And we've been talking aboutsome of the new things.
And you can find all theinformation about all the
classes online, and you alsohave the catalog that's printed
and available on a number oflocations.

SPEAKER_01 (05:59):
Yes.
So you can find um our catalogthroughout town at local coffee
shops and businesses.
Um, we have a wonderful podcastas well that you can tune into.
Um and uh and then also you canvisit tryufm.org uh to be able
to look at those fall classesand uh and sign up.

SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
Okay.
Sounds good.
Tryufm.org.
Simple.
One of the things that uh thatyou do at UFM, and you have the
Lou Douglas Lecture Series, andyou've already had it for this
year.
Who was your speaker?

SPEAKER_01 (06:37):
So our speaker this year was Dr.
Kay Monk Morgan, the CEO andpresident of the Kansas
Leadership Center.
Um I had the pleasure of havingdinner with her before the
lecture.
Um, and and this lectureactually honors uh Dr.
Lou Douglas, who was a politicalscience professor, and uh did uh

(06:59):
just groundbreaking work inareas of civic civic engagement
and really passed on a legacy umto his students um at Kansas
State University.
So she came and gave a reallydynamic once again.

SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
Um yeah, when it says your internet connection is
unstable.
I uh we'll we'll work on that.
Dr.
C, are you there?
Yes, I'm here.
Yeah, we lost you there, and youwere starting to talk just about
the the series there.
And introducing uh talking alittle bit about your speaker.

SPEAKER_01 (07:42):
Yeah, hold on just one moment, please.
Let's see if I can um make thesignal stronger.

SPEAKER_00 (07:49):
Tell you what I'm gonna do is I'm going to take me
off video so you can't see me,and maybe that will help uh a
little bit with some bandwidthissues.
Anyway.
Dr.
Elias Say, executive directorwith UFM Learning Center, the
community learning center, whichis uh uh right across from

(08:12):
campus at Thurston and ManhattanAvenue.
They do so many wonderful thingsin the community and uh do such
a great outreach and educationalcapacities.
And uh are you back?

SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
Yes, I am.
Okay, yes, I am hopefullythis'll this will work better.
So yes, I was I was talkingabout um the Lou Douglas lecture
and Dr.
K Monk Morgan.
Um, and she came and talkedabout how um leadership is an
activity, not a position.
And anyone can lead at any time,um, regardless of the position

(08:46):
they hold.
Um, and anyone can practiceleadership.
So it was a really excitingevening.
We had over a hundred people inattendance and Forum Hall uh at
Kansas State University in theUnion.
And we actually partnered withK-State Extension to offer this
during their pre-conference thisyear.
So we had community members,extension professionals, faculty

(09:07):
staff.
Um, it was a wonderful evening.

SPEAKER_00 (09:10):
Okay, excellent.
Well, that's something you'vehad um a lot of terrific
speakers over the past um gosh,how many years you've been doing
that?
30 some?

SPEAKER_01 (09:19):
Oh, yes.
It's been it's been at leastthree decades.

SPEAKER_00 (09:22):
Yeah, yeah, it's been a long time.
So good.
So, well, let's talk a littlebit about uh let's look forward
here a little bit.
2026.
That seems strange to talk about2026.

SPEAKER_01 (09:34):
It does.
It really does.
I can't believe that 2026 isupon us.
Well, um, we have some excitingnews as a local nonprofit.
Um, we are actually expandingour community enrichment and
personal development can uhclasses to other uh neighboring
counties in Kansas.

(09:55):
Um we have partnered with umK-State Extension and are
working with local counties umlike Pot, Geary, Marshall,
Shawnee, and others to be ableto find local business owners
and community members to teachclasses and also um to come and
learn from uh local knowledgeand local people to support

(10:18):
community engaged education.

SPEAKER_00 (10:21):
Okay.
New classes in specific for2026?

SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
Well, right now um we we are seeing that there are
a lot of great themes that thereare people that um just like in
Manhattan and Riley County, wantto be able to um have things to
stay active if they're olderadults.
Um they want recreationalopportunities and they want um
they want to be able to expandtheir hobbies and really feel

(10:50):
connection in their communityand purpose.
So that's what we're purposed todo is is find the gap, find what
people want to learn and teach,and then bring that to those
neighboring counties.
So we're in the process of doingthat right now.

SPEAKER_00 (11:04):
If you were to have a wish list of classes that you
would like to add to therepertoire that you have at UFM,
and this could be like a requestfor individuals like, hey, I'd
like to teach something, whatwould that be?

SPEAKER_01 (11:21):
Well, I think that right now, um, what we're what
we're doing already having youknow over 200 classes um that
are related to many differentproject areas.
Um, so it can be anything fromyou know youth development to
plant science to uh recreationand fitness.

(11:42):
I mean, the the list goes on andon and really aligns with
K-State academic units.
Um, so what I would ask and callthe community to do is look at
these different communityenrichment and personal
development buckets in ourcatalog, whether it's
communication and expressivearts, family and consumer
science, or even um, you know,cultural studies and find what

(12:06):
you want to teach and what youwant to learn about, and then
reach out to us because there'sreally something for everyone.

SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Okay.
And to reach out to you, what'sthe process?

SPEAKER_01 (12:19):
Um, you would reach out to us at infotryufm.org.
Um, you can also submit a classidea on our website, and that
goes directly to us, and wewould reach out to you uh for
the spring 2026 semester.

SPEAKER_00 (12:36):
Okay.
We talked about a lot of things.
We've covered a lot of stuff.
What haven't we covered thatyou'd like to touch base on?

SPEAKER_01 (12:44):
Um, you know, I just uh thank you for giving us the
time to be able to share aboutthis um wonderful um community
enrichment opportunity.
And I want to encourageeverybody to get involved.
And one way to do that is tovolunteer at UFM, teach a class,
or uh take a class.
So I hope to see lots of newcommunity members um this fall

(13:06):
and spring because there'sthere's always opportunities to
get involved through UFM.

SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
All right.
Try UFM.org is the website, Dr.
Elias C.
Always a delight to have you on.
Thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 (13:20):
Thanks, Dave.

SPEAKER_00 (13:21):
Good luck with all the rest of uh the the year and
next year too.
Goodness.
I'm I'm I I feel like that chatGPT thing is calling my name.

SPEAKER_01 (13:31):
I feel like it is.

SPEAKER_00 (13:33):
All right.
Sounds great.
Thank you for joining us.
And uh we'll uh visit with youprobably sometime next spring
and maybe talk about gardens andstuff as well.

SPEAKER_01 (13:42):
Yeah, that would be that would be great.
And always feel free to um totune in um to our podcast.
Um we we love to have um folkstune in at any time at 90 91.9.
Um it airs on noon on Fridays.

SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
Okay.
Sounds great.
All right, Dr.
C, thank you very much, and uhbest wishes to you and everybody
at UFM.

SPEAKER_01 (14:05):
Thanks, Dave.
Have a good day.