By EMMIE BOESE
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. —BrightHouse hosted its annual Stuff the Bus fundraiser with My 93-1 on Saturday, Dec. 2. The purpose of Stuff the Bus is to fill a school bus with non-perishable food items and household items for BrightHouse's shelter.
BrightHouse and those who volunteered for the event, handed out flyers with items listed to donate in front of Dillons Marketplace at 3200 Plaza East Drive in Hutchinson. The bus is parked out in front of Dillons for the entire event so it can be filled with those items.
Executive Director of BrightHouse Sue Wray said that the event really helps stretch the budget. She said this year, staff kept track of how long they could rely off of donated items.
"We thought it would be interesting to keep track," Wray said. "We didn't have to buy toilet paper and laundry detergent until October. So yeah, it makes a big difference. It really does because everything is expensive and we want to help as many people as we can, so it really helps us stretch our other dollars further so we can buy more bus tickets or buy more of whatever else we need."
Nickerson and South Hutchinson USD 309 donated the bus for BrightHouse. Wray said this is the first time USD 309 has been able to help with the fundraiser.
"We are really excited that they were able to do that," Wray said. "And to have a big bus, is nice because it's kind of easier to sort everything and get it all up on the bus and we've got a system. It takes us about an hour to unload it which is pretty good but we have a lot of people and the shelter manager and her family have been doing it for awhile so they've got a whole system down and it just means a lot to have that."
The total number of donated items and cash donations from Stuff the Bus will be announced in the coming days.
In addition to My 93-1, this years sponsors were Dillons, Hog Wild Pit Bar-B-Q and Allen Samuels CDJR, ProValue Insurance and Oasis Healthcare Staffing. Wray said the sponsors mean a lot to BrightHouse because it's difficult to put on Stuff the Bus without their help.
"It shows that the community is behind us and it means a lot to, like our support groups," Wray said. "Our support groups know who helped us out and it means a lot to them because a lot of people feel isolated and they feel very much alone in whatever has happened to them, whatever abuse has come up for them so to know that the community is behind Brighthouse and helping them, makes them feel supported and in a very real way."
BrightHouse provides confidential support to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. Services are free to to anyone in Reno, Kingman and Harper counties.
More information can be found at brighthouseks.org. Their 24/7 crisis line is (620) 663-2522 and their office is located at 125 West 2nd Ave., Suite B in Hutchinson.
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