Kansas Children’s Service League (KCSL) held Cheers to Community, our annual awards ceremony and reception at the Topeka Hilton Garden Inn on April 24. Each year, we celebrate friends and partners who have gone above and beyond to create stronger, happier families in our Kansas communities. Our Hall of Fame Awards recognize individuals who contribute to the achievement of our mission, to protect and promote the well-being of children.
Distinguished Service to Kansas Children
KCSL awarded Dona Booe with our most prestigious honor, the Distinguished Service to Kansas Children Award. This honor is presented to a person or an organization that has done exemplary work for Kansas children with a lasting impact.
With over 30 years of human service experience, Dona has built a legacy of leadership, innovation and compassion. She began her career as an income eligibility worker, helping families access the concrete support they needed to thrive. Her passion for children with special needs led her to champion for children and adults with disabilities to live in the least restrictive environments possible, helping develop home and community-based service programs that prevented institutional placement.
She later moved into child welfare as a leader at the Department for Children and Families (DCF), where she launched a pilot project that reinvested resources into child abuse prevention services. Many of those programs still exist in the Topeka area, and KCSL manages them today.
Topping off her professional career, Dona came to KCSL to follow her passion for preventing child abuse. Under her leadership at KCSL, Dona expanded the Healthy Families America program, advanced the Essentials for Childhood/Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) initiative and brought back private domestic adoption services. She also advocated for a Kansas childcare tax credit for businesses, which passed after her retirement.
Dona left a lasting impression on employees and upheld KCSL’s legacy as an organization that truly makes a difference in the lives of children and families.
A Testimony to Parent Achievement and Leadership
The Parent Achievement Award recognizes a KCSL parent who has demonstrated leadership and become an exemplary role model to help other families thrive. This year, KCSL awarded the Parent Achievement Award to Sara Delgadillo. Sara exemplifies resilience, leadership and a commitment to breaking cycles of trauma. Learn more about Sara here.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Awards Also Include:
- Board Leadership – presented to Tim Shultz
- Hilda Dyer Staff Achievement – presented to Mariah Lunson
- Corporate Friend of Children – presented to FHLBank of Topeka
- Induction of Honorary Trustee Emeritus – presented to Stan Teeter
Prevention in Partnership
KCSL is grateful for the parents, professionals and community members that help us enhance our efforts to protect and promote the well-being of children. We congratulate and thank the award recipients, board members, staff and partners who continue to help us build stronger families in Kansas.
