HUTCHINSON, Kan. — BrightHouse is calling on the Hutchinson community to help stock its emergency shelter and transitional housing program during the annual Stuff the Bus donation drive Saturday, Nov. 7.
The event, organized in partnership with My 93.1, will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Dillons Marketplace on East 30th Avenue in Hutchinson. Residents are encouraged to purchase essential household supplies, food and personal care items to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
BrightHouse Executive Director Sue Wray said the annual donation drive is one of the organization's most valuable community efforts.
"It's Stuff the Bus, and you guys help us with this every year, and it means a lot to us," Wray said. "This is such a help to us. Usually after Stuff the Bus, we don't have to buy like paper products till maybe September, October of the next year. It's a huge help."
Wray said donations are especially important this year because of the number of families with young children seeking assistance.
"The expenses for shelter are constant, and it's been full this year all year long," Wray said. "And we've had like 29 kids, and 26 of them were under six years old."
Baby formula and diapers are among the most-needed items, along with toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, dish soap, trash bags, cleaning supplies and nonperishable food.
Donations of personal hygiene products, new bedding, towels, baby wipes and first aid supplies are also encouraged. Monetary contributions and gift cards to grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers will be accepted.
Shoppers can pick up a list of needed items at Dillons Marketplace, purchase donations while shopping and drop them off at a school bus provided by the Nickerson community.
"If you've got just a little bit in your budget, a little extra, and you can help us out by buying a few things, and then you hand them off to us at the end, and then we fill up a school bus," Wray said. "It's pretty impressive."
The supplies will benefit both the BrightHouse emergency shelter and Jean's House, a newer transitional housing program designed to help survivors become financially independent.
Wray said the organization also helps families establish new homes after leaving the shelter, often working with community partners to provide furniture, clothing and household supplies.
"If they're going to a new apartment, we help them with furniture through the Salvation Army, help them through with clothes through Fair Price, and then we also try to set up a kitchen box and a new move-in box," Wray said.
Jean's House, which opened about a year ago, provides longer-term assistance to survivors who have moved beyond the initial crisis stage.
"It's for longer stays, but it's people who are past that first crisis, and what they need is some help learning some skills so they can earn more money," Wray said.
Participants generally stay between six and 18 months while developing skills to support themselves and their families.
Wray said rebuilding confidence is often just as important as providing physical safety.
"Abusers work at taking away their self-esteem. That's how they keep them there. They make them feel like they don't have any choices," Wray said. "Sometimes they need some help repairing that self-esteem, understanding how valuable they are and what all they can do, what they can accomplish, and that's what we work on."
Beyond the need for donations, Wray said BrightHouse continues to see increasingly serious cases of domestic violence.
"Our calls aren't going up, but the violence is," Wray said.
She said two people the organization had been working with were killed in 2026 before they could escape abusive situations.
BrightHouse offers emergency shelter, counseling, safety planning and other services to survivors, including women, men and children.
"A lot of people think of the emergency shelter for us always, but we do a lot of safety planning," Wray said. "That's helping people understand what their risks are and how we can help them be safer, whether they're ready to leave or not."
The organization is also seeking volunteers to assist at the shelter and serve as mentors for Jean's House residents.
"We need volunteers for various things, so we would love to have people call us and see what they can do to help us out," Wray said.
BrightHouse is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, having started as an entirely volunteer organization in 1976. A free community street dance is planned for Saturday, Nov. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Farmers Market Pavilion in downtown Hutchinson.
"We just wanted to do something to celebrate our hope and our achievements," Wray said. "We've helped a lot of people, so many."
Those interested in volunteering can contact BrightHouse at 620-665-3630.
Survivors seeking assistance can call the organization's 24-hour crisis hotline at 620-663-2522.