Senior Portfolio online magazine 1 | Page 25

Wituk recalled having to get in contact with groups for updated information and asking questions like what their challenges were, how long they had been a group and how they develop leadership. Self-Help used these answers to gather and analyze data and do workshops for support groups based upon what issues they were having within their group so that they were encouraged and supported. Wituk said the most memorable events and initiatives he has worked with included Mental Health Consumers and Consumerrun Organizations (CROs), which started providing nonprofit assisted CRO nonprofit groups with people and with mental health. Wituk said Kansas Health, precursor to the Kansas Leadership Center, was also memorable because it was something needed to better the health in Kan. CCSR has had many major grants and big public initiatives within the past few years, such as Compassion Kan., a six-year grant for small nonprofit organizations, and the Public Health Initiative, which began in 2012. According to Wituk, moving CCSR from Jabara Hall to the old Better Book Room on North Main allowed for more visibility and accessibility to the community. “It helped people know where to come for trainings,” Wituk said. “Sometimes we could walk right down the street.” With CCSR’s ever expanding set of projects and opportunities, Wituk said there is newness to the work he does that has kept him around for 20 years. “[CCSR] continues to keep a foundation set of services and expand on it,” Wituk said. CCSR currently has five service areas and Wituk wants to expand those areas in the upcoming years to better serve the needs of the community. In the past couple years Wituk has seen a growth of current staff, who continue to deliver excellent work and are excited about it. As executive director, Wituk would like more student involvement at CCSR across disciplines of study to make CCSR a model for applied learning.