Voting is currently ongoing to determine the winners of this year’s Evergy Hometown Grant. One local nonprofit is the only rural finalist, and the only finalist in southeast Kansas.
“This is so exciting for us,” Aquila Winchell, who leads the operation at Care Cupboard Hygiene Pantry.
The pantry was one of over 130 applicants and was recently named one of ten finalists. Winchell said being a finalist is an honor.
According to Evergy, the 2026 Connecting for Good Hometown Grant program benefits nonprofit initiatives in the company’s service area. Eligible projects can focus on food security, housing, hygiene, or bill payment. Three awardees can be awarded up to $10,000 through the grant, which will help expand capacity or complete a special project outside of normal operations.
The awardees are determined by “likes” on a pinned post to the Evergy Facebook page. The three awardees with with the most likes on their photo under that post will receive the grant.
Winchell said the grant will be used to purchase products for the pantry. Each month, roughly $5,000 worth of hygiene and personal care items are given to the neighbors who utilize the pantry each month. In purchases, Winchell said that roughly $1,900 is spent at Dollar Tree, with roughly $3,000 spent on toilet paper, diapers, and menstrual and incontinence products.
“We try to stay as local as we can, but we are going to get the best price for our buck,” Winchell said.
During their visit, each family receives the same essentials kit, which is valued at $10. This pack includes: laundry detergent, two bars of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and six rolls of toilet paper. From there, they can pick three additional items, which include shaving products, products for infant hygiene, menstrual products, incontinence products, diapers, deodorant, tissues, hand soap, lotion, and more. In addition to these, the pantry also offers additional items as they are available. These additions come from organizations such as the Kansas Food Bank. Some of these items are considered “salvage,” which are items that have been returned to a store and can not be resold.
“You can walk out with $60 worth of stuff if you need it,” Winchell said.
The first time the pantry opened, it served 21 families. Today, it serves on average, 311 families. With last November breaking the record for the most families served: 367. Winchell said that as many as 700 people are positively impacted by the pantry each month.
This summer will mark five years of operating. It began as a project of First Baptist Church, but Winchell said it quickly became a nonprofit, separate from the church.
“When we started this, we had no idea what it would become, but suddenly here we are at five years,” Winchell said.
She expects that a celebration will be held this summer to celebrate the hard work and dedication of organizers, including Kathy McGuire, and the volunteers.
Winchell said they have a base of approximately 125 volunteers. Each month, 15-20 of those volunteers assist with distributing kits, helping with paperwork, and greeting people.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” Winchell said. She noted that in the beginning, neighbors who came to the pantry kept their heads down and avoided looking at the volunteers, but after a few months, people picked their heads up and began to offer smiles and conversation. Winchell said the distribution days now feel like a reunion with friends.
She also highlighted the community’s generosity with donations and volunteering, which has helped to grow the project.
The Care Cupboard is one of 6 hygiene pantries in the state, and the only pantry located in a rural area. As of press time, the pantry is in third place in the contest. Voting ends Wednesday, March 25, at 5 p.m.
“I just want people to vote,” Winchell said. “Every grant we get is very meaningful, because it means we can keep doing what we do. We are very grateful for the opportunity to do this.”
