ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The months of June and July are busy for Seward County United Way, and with only a month before area students return to school classrooms, the organization is looking to help out with those needs.
SCUW has three events which will help those students, the first being Stuff a Box, which runs through July 20 at local businesses. Director Patricia Fierro said for this year’s event, each box is designated for a specific item of school supplies.
“We’ve been asked a lot, ‘Here it only says markers. Here it only says map colors,’” she said. “The reason being is we want to be able to have a specific item, so we’re not getting an overload on colors, but we’re not getting on markers, or we’re not getting any on color paper. That way, it’s just a designated box for that particular item, and it’s easier for us to know which item we need to look into purchasing more for distribution.”
July 24 and 25 at Dillon’s and Walmart, United Way will again host its annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive. Representatives from SCUW’s agencies will be on hand, and donations can be made from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 24 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 25 at both locations.
The last school-related event, SCUW will host its second annual Back to School Fair from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at Liberal’s Meadowlark Elementary School. Fierro said the aim of this event is to serve as a one-stop shop to provide community resources to community members.
“We are still looking for community resource vendors,” she said. “Anyone who can provide any services to our community, we are asking them to be there. There is a registration code available.”
Russell Child Development Center will be doing visual screenings at the Back to School Fair, and Genesis Family Health will provide free sports physicals. Fierro said food will also be available, along with a couple of raffles, all in an effort to keep everyone engaged.
“We’re hoping we get a good turnout,” she said. “We are still looking for some sponsors. If you have anything you would like to donate to us or would like to be a part of this, please reach out. We’d love to have you there.”
Fierro said the first Back to School Fair in 2025 hosted by Seward County Community College went quite well.
“We did 89 free sports physicals,” she said. “Conestoga helped us out. They sponsored some hot dogs. We handed out 300 hot dogs. Our agencies and other entities were there providing information to the community. We’re hoping this one will be a lot better.”
Fierro said events such as these help significantly with the needs of students and their families.
“Any help is welcome,” she said. “If you’re able to help in any possible way by just coming in and donating a box of crayons, it’s very helpful for a child who will be needing it for the next school year. We are partnering with Liberal USD 480. This will be one week after registration for USD 480. It’s open to USD 480, USD 483, Turpin and Tyrone.”
For more information on these events, message the Seward County United Way Facebook page on Messenger, call 620-621-1358, or e-mail
Fierro said she is both excited and nervous for the upcoming events.
“It’s a big commitment that will help us be able to provide a good direct service to our community,” she said. “These free sports physicals are for children who are uninsured or under insured.”
Fierro said SCUW wants to help families who are not able to get these needs met for their children.
“We want them to thrive and do well in school,” she said. “We know sports is a big part of many people’s lives, and we want to be able to bridge that gap and provide that essential need for the sports physical in order for them to be able to engage in sports activities and in school.”
United Way in June hosted its annual Golf to Give golf tournament fundraiser at Willow Tree Golf Course, and Fierro said the event had a good crowd on hand.
“I’m very thankful to all of our sponsors and all of our teams for making it possible,” she said.
One of United Way’s agencies, Salvation Army, recently was able to provide more than 30 fans to local families through Westlake Ace Hardware’s annual Fan Drive.
Through the drive, Westlake customers were able to round up their purchases at the register to help provide fans to the local Salvation Army. Fierro said she had some additional fans left over from previous drives, which helped provide for this year’s distribution.
The distribution was able to help 56 families, and the drive took place just before the Fourth of July weekend, and with this in mind, as well as the intense heat of the Southwest Kansas summer, Fierro said she did not want to sit with fans in her office knowing people were in need of relief from the heat.
“That is why we immediately did the distribution,” she said. “That way, our families can at least be able to have them.”
Also in July, SCUW is hosting another Paint Your Partner event. This event will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. July 24 at La Cazona at 419 S. Kansas Ave. in Liberal. The cost is $50 per couple. To register, e-mail
Finally in October, United Way will host its second annual Oktoberfest. The event will take place from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in downtown Liberal at Third and Lincoln. SCUW is looking for German food vendors. To become a vendor, call 620-621-1358, or e-mail
