Southern Pioneer Makes H.U.G.S Donations

Southern Pioneer Electric’s Helping Us Give to Society (H.U.G.S.) program presented the Seward County Extension and 4-H program with a $2,000 donation to help the 4-H’ers with furnishing their new building.

The new building will allow the youth organization to hold various projects such as arts and crafts, cooking, sewing and shooting sports at a central location. The projects were held at various locations around the local area prior to the building’s construction, as the group hadn’t had a central location for nearly a decade.

Seward County Extension Agent Kylee Harrison said, “The kids are enrolled in different projects throughout the year and once they are in those, they have project meetings. We use many different buildings and meeting rooms in the area, but it was always a ‘where was it going to be today’ and we had to haul stuff back and forth all the time.”

“So this will be really nice having a central location so the kids always know where it will be.”

With an overall goal of “making the best better,” the 4-H group feels that having a safe and caring environment and location for the youth and leaders to meet will make for a more positive learning experience. The building will also be used as part of the Seward County Extension program in addition to the 4-H activities—adding even more educational opportunities to the county’s youth.

With 50 area youth enrolled in 4-H full-time, there are also 70 youth that will attend educational events during the summer months. Both the 4-H and non-4-H youth events will be held in the new building.

Donations are a key part of the groups success, helping the local area youth really make the most of their time with the Extension and in 4-H. The H.U.G.S. donation will help furnish the building with things like stoves, refrigerators and other appliances for its fully stocked kitchen.

“Our budgets aren’t huge; we have a fairly tight budget to run off of for Extension and 4-H,” said Harrison. “So any donations we receive are amazing and that’s really what we function off of.”

To get more information on the Seward County Extension programs and 4-H, or to make a donation, please contact Kylee Harrison at [email protected].

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In their mission to thank our military and raise awareness of the dedication and sacrifice of veterans and service members, the Southwest Kansas Quilts of Valor program received a $1,000 donation from Southern Pioneer Electrics H.U.G.S. team representatives Tuesday to help with the organizations 2017 goal.

With one quilt costing up to $250 to complete, the monetary donation will go toward fabrics for quilt tops, backing, batting, labels and shipping. The quilting services themselves are donated by volunteer quilters.

Depending completely on donations, the Quilts of Valor program for the area set their yearly goal at 70 quilts for military members, looking at costs of up to $17,500. The H.U.G.S. donation is a big help according to Quilts of Valor member and local area administrator, Peggy Luck.

“Any donations that come to Quilts of Valor are used specifically for the quilts and the work is all done by volunteers,” said Luck. “We are just so excited for a donation like this.”

Since starting in 2003, the Quilts of Valor program has distributed over 151,000 quilts nationwide. In Southwest Kansas alone, the quilting guild has given out over 200 quilts and has 100 requests pending for new quilts.

Luck said, “Because our community has been so receptive and supportive of wanting to honor their veterans, we have over 100 quilt request right now. The quilts that are made in southwest Kansas will stay in southwest Kansas—all the quilts we make here are for our communities.”

The local quilting group has honored veterans as far north as Hill City, Colby and Stockton, with quilts also going as far as Dodge City and Anthony. While some quilts are presented privately, most are given in public ceremonies—something the quilters love because it shows public support for former members of the armed services.

“I started with Quilts of Valor in 2003 and I don’t know how many quilts I’ve helped make, but it’s not enough,” said longtime member Sharon Hobble. “I am sold on this organization, it’s one of the best things we have going and I don’t think we can recognize veterans enough.”

For more information for the Southwest Kansas Quilts of Valor organization, or to donate, please contact Peggy Luck at [email protected].