Over the years, Seward County United Way has used many means to collect donations.
One of those events was the Golf to Give tournament, which current United Way Director Diana Esparza-Villarreal said she believes last happened in 2018, and she said SCUW officials want to bring the tournament back.
“It was one of the biggest fundraisers for United Way, and we are super excited to bring it back,” she said.
The Seward County Community College Foundation welcomed new executive director Teresa Randle to campus Monday. A Hugoton native and SCCC alumnus, Randle is excited about the move from her career in the financial sector to higher education.
“The more I’ve discussed it with current and past board members, what they’re wanting for the foundation really fits with my skill set. A lot of project management, and a lot of relationship building with people through those work processes,” Randle said. “At the end of the day, banking is about people, finance is about people. You do a lot of numbers, but it’s about relationships and helping people with their goals.”
Many senior citizens will be looking to enroll in Medicare and Medicaid later this year, and area offices are looking for volunteers to help with that.
“It's nearly the time of year for open enrollment for people on Medicare, and they have drug plans and other parts of their insurance that are under that umbrella. What our volunteers do is they take a class and get certified so when open enrollment rolls around – since we can't take care of everyone in our office – these volunteers help us in our work,” Southwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging Information and Assistance Director Luciana Martinez said. “For example, if we have a volunteer who's going to be getting certified in Liberal, once that person is certified, they can help people there who need to make updates to their plan(s) instead of having to make the drive to Dodge City. We have different areas with multiple volunteers, and they're able to help us with all of this work. Some people meet in libraries or senior centers or similar facilities to help people get enrolled. Enrollment starts Oct. 15 and goes through Dec. 7, and during that time, we help people get on the necessary programs to make sure they're getting the best care/coverage possible.”
Liberal and Hugoton are two communities being targeted as part of a survey to help an area community foundation gain a deeper understanding of its local priorities.
The Western Kansas Community Foundation’s “Our Community, Our Future,” survey which will also be aimed at Cimarron and Lakin, is part of an initiative signaling a new strategy for WKCF in its efforts to serve Southwest Kansas.