ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Southwest Miracles has been helping many people since its inception 15 years ago and soon, the organization will be celebrating that milestone.
The celebration will be Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Grandstands on the Seward County Fairgrounds, and the evening will feature a concert from Cody Canada and The Departed along with a special performance by the Solis Brothers. Tickets are $30 ahead of time and $40 at the gate, and people can buy tickets at Southern Office Supply, The Crazy House, and Golden Plains Credit Union, and there are also board members who have tickets for sale.
“The concert's going to be great, first of all, and this will be a great way to get people in the community out and about and get them involved with what we do,” Southwest Miracles member Terry Tanking said. “We'll have food and refreshments out there that night for everyone, and there will also be an area where people can drink adult beverages. The Grandstands haven't really been used too much lately, so we want to see them packed that night. And we also want to emphasize, this is not a fundraiser – we host our annual fundraiser in February, and this event is just our celebration of reaching 15 years of existence. That's a huge milestone for any group, let alone a non-profit group, and we're really happy to have reached that. Southwest Miracles was started by just a few people, and we've grown our base a lot throughout the years.”
“And Cody Canada was also the lead singer for Cross-Canadian Ragweed, and they visited several years ago, so it'll be great to see him and his new band out to this area,” Southwest Miracles member Erin Atchley said. “Southwest Miracles is such a community-centered entity and shows what happens when a community cares, and we want to thank everyone with a fun night of food and music.”
Southwest Miracles got started by a trio of people who simply wanted to help others.
“Southwest Miracles started out with three people who were involved with other organizations, and they saw how long and frustrating the application process for medical equipment was, so they thought 'Why can't we raise money to help these people and get them these items within 24 hours?'” Tanking said. “They started by visiting a bunch of different garage sales and finding walkers and wheelchairs and items like that, and then they started having fundraisers and getting the community involved, and the community's just wrapped its arms around us from the very beginning. We now have three storage units full of new items now, and if there's something we don't happen to have on hand, we have the ability to get it. We can get walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, knee scooters, etc. When Southwest Miracles started, there was always a long waiting period to get that kind of help, and with us, people just call our number, the answering service takes your information and sends it to the board, and we get what's needed. We're there to help relieve at least some of the burden you might be dealing with during a medical emergency so you can concentrate on your loved one who's healing.”
“I'd heard of Southwest Miracles some time ago, but I wasn't 100 percent aware of just how much they did and how involved they were with everything until last year when my son had a medical emergency come up,” Atchley added. “They reached out to us, and it was so incredible and just such a blessing to have their assistance in a time of need when we weren't even fully sure what all we would need. In times like that, people want to help and ask 'How can I help?' or 'What do you need?' and you're just so caught up in everything else, you just don't know. Southwest Miracles has those tangible, practical ways to help, and I would love to see everyone come out and celebrate this group and everything they do. My family's story is just one of many, and they deserve all the recognition. And it's so unique too how they're the hands and feet on the ground because again, when you're going through an emergency, you're not really thinking about what all you might need, but that's exactly what Southwest Miracles does. There are other entities that are kind of similar to Southwest Miracles, but there's still an application and waiting process, whereas with this group, they're able to get what you need much quicker and there's no application.”
Tanking said reaching 15 years of existence is a wonderful feeling.
“It's an absolutely amazing feeling reaching 15 years, and there's been a lot that's happened in that time. Last year, we actually opened up a Southwest Miracles in Ulysses because someone noticed a need there and wanted to do something about it, and they'll be hosting their next fundraiser before too long,” Tanking said. “It's a blessing to have this program around because in this part of the world, people actually care about each other, and we're all about neighbors helping neighbors, whether you're from Liberal or one of the Oklahoma Panhandle communities, we want to help each other. There's definitely been some growth, we have gotten more calls as time has gone on, and we do our best to help each of those calls. We're really happy with the new Ulysses location, it means a lot to us because they're still within our radius of help, and we had just so many calls from that area, we knew that need was there to have a new location. Ulysses has just wrapped itself around Southwest Miracles, just like Liberal, and we're so happy to be able to be there and help.”
“And once you've been helped by Southwest Miracles, you can't help but want to be part of their mission and be a help to others, because it is just such an incredible organization,” Atchley said.
As for the future? Tanking and Atchley said not too much about that can be revealed quite yet.
“We do have a few things going on and a few things in the works we can't really mention at this time because there are a few details being ironed out, but we are certainly looking to the future with some excitement,” Tanking said. “We still intend to keep working with helping people procure medical supplies, that's something we definitely won't stop.”
“I would agree with that, there will always be a need of some sort, and the community has just been there to help anyone and everyone, and that will always be our mission,” Atchley added. “And we never ask for anything in return – if you need a wheelchair, we'll get you one, and it's yours until you don't need it anymore, or whatever you happen to need.”
Overall, Tanking and Atchley agreed, Southwest Miracles could not have lasted this long without the community’s support.
“This is definitely one of those things where you don't do it for the recognition, you do it to help someone in need, and that's what we're all about. We don't do it for the glory or any of that, we do it because it's important to give back, and this is a great way to do that,” Tanking said. “We can't thank the community enough for its support and everything they do to help us. Everyone does what they can to help us, and there's not enough we can say to emphasize just how much their support matters to what we do for everyone.”
“For me, I knew I wanted to get involved in some way after they helped me with my son's emergency, and it was by sheer happenstance I ran into Terry at the store one day, and he was able to get me started,” Atchley added. “If anyone wants to volunteer, they would just need to call (620) 626-5035 or send a message to us through our Facebook page and let us know. A huge 'thank you' is definitely deserved because if we weren't in a community that cares so much, we wouldn't be able to help so many people throughout the years. Keep helping and volunteering and everything else, because it DOES have an impact.”
