BCYP Members, Aaron Emerson, Brandon Steinert, Austin Coyan, Aaron Scott & AJ Chrest stand amidst the mountain of supplies collected for Catholic Charities’ Non-Food Pantry.
The Barton County Young Professionals (BCYP) recently partnered with the Great Bend Rotary Club to host their 6th Annual Charity Supply Drive on Saturday, March 24. Volunteers were present at both Dillons locations and Walmart collecting supplies for the Barton County Food Bank and Catholic Charities of Southwest Kansas.
“Almost 40 individuals volunteered to hand out supply lists and collect donations of non-perishable food items for the Barton County Food Bank and non-food supplies for Catholic Charities” said AJ Chrest, volunteer leader for the BCYP group’s Community Impact team.
“We filled one of the 15 passenger vans provided by Barton Community College with non-food items alone, and additionally, collected 2,400 pounds of food.”
Thanks to the partnership with Great Bend Rotary Club, the Young Professionals group was able to include a live remote radio broadcast with Eagle Radio to increase awareness of the drive and bring in more donations.
BCYP Members, Nick Klug & Katie Zimmerman, distribute wish lists and collect non-food items outside Walmart.
“This is the largest single donation we have ever received,” Rebecca Ford, with Catholic Charities said.
The Barton County Young Professionals group has three main goals: Lead. Network. Volunteer. The group is free to join, and is open to anyone between the ages of 21 and 40 that lives or works in the Barton County area. For more information, visit www.bartonyp.com and like the group’s page on Facebook. BCYP is a program of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development.