ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
August is nearly here, and soon, children and teens will be heading back to classrooms to start a new school year, and no matter the age, all students will need supplies for those classes.
While many families will be able to purchase their own school supplies, other families are not so fortunate, and Seward County United Way is helping those people out with two school supply drives in early August.
The first drive will happen Aug. 1, 2 and 3 with SCUW’s Stuff the Bus event. United Way will have buses parked at Walmart and Dillon’s from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. those days, and customers at those stores can buy and donate school supplies to help stuff those buses.
SCUW Director Patricia Fierro said customers will be given a school supplies list as they enter the store, and after finishing their business at the store, they can drop the supplies off at the bus location at the storefront.
“The supplies will be given to our local school district, and they will distribute to the students there,” she said.
United Way’s second school supply drive is now in progress with the Stuff A Box event. Fierro said boxes have been taken to some Liberal businesses and organizations, and both employees and customers can provide donations there. Boxes will be collected Aug. 4, and a list of school supplies will also be provided there.
With both Stuff the Bus and Stuff A Box, Fierro said she is hoping for a good turnout to provide supplies to provide supplies to as many children as possible.
“Hopefully, we have a great year, and everyone shows up to support it,” she said.
So what will it take to Stuff the Bus Aug. 1, 2 and 3? Fierro said it will take much community support with people showing up, being present and helping their fellow residents.
“It’s really important to be able to donate, to put a little of yourself in there and being a little empathetic,” she said. “Everyone’s going through different situations, so being able to be understanding of not everyone is doing well at this moment, being mindful of that.”
And what will it mean to Stuff the Bus? For Fierro, it will mean the world.
“It’s very gratifying to see how we are able to make change in our community,” she said. “I try hard to do that and to make a little more of a difference. Families will be very grateful that their kids are being taken care of, and being able to work more closely with the school district and finding what other needs are needed and being able to partner with them and collaborate and make our students have a great school year.”
Students participating in sports will also need physicals for the upcoming school year, and SCUW will likewise helping out in this regard with its Back to School Fair from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, at the Seward County Community College Student Health Center.
Fierro said free sports physicals will be done for children who are uninsured or underinsured.
“I have a pediatrician, Dr. Padilla, from Genesis Family Health who will be performing those sports physicals,” she said. “We will also have a community resource booth there. We encourage anyone who has information to provide to the community to be there. We will be providing food and raffles for the students at the event as well.”
Along with students from USD 480, Fierro said those from USD 483, Turpin, Okla., and Tyrone, Okla., are welcome to get a physical at the Back to School Fair.
Fierro thanked the event’s sponsors, National Beef, Equity Bank, Southwest Roofing, Conestoga Energy, Walmart and SCCC.
Fierro said Stuff the Bus, Stuff A Box and the Back to School Fair are all beneficial for local and area students.
“Sometimes, we don’t have the privilege of being able to afford the basic needs, and being able to provide these things thanks to our sponsors is really great,” she said. “Being able to provide the school physicals, it’s so important because sometimes, that determines whether a child is able to play or not. Sometimes, parents don’t have the money, or they don’t have the time.”
Fierro said the hours of the Back to School Fair were extended to help meet the needs of parents working after 5 p.m. at jobs such as dairy farms, processing plants and other out-of-town businesses and who cannot make it in time for an appointment before 5 p.m.
“We made it to that time so we can be able to catch those families and also be able to provide amazing resource information at our booths about services they could potentially use for themselves,” she said. “We’re wanting to make it very well rounded and beneficial to our community.”
For more information on all these events, call the SCUW office at 620-624-5400, e-mail
“It’ll be myself or one of my board members who will be able to answer those messages,” Fierro said.
