Hope Wichita serves thousands across Wichita, Hutchinson area

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Hope Wichita, formerly known as Convoy of Hope Wichita, helped thousands of people across Sedgwick and Reno Counties on Saturday.

Backpacks, school supplies, groceries, haircuts and more were given out to people in the community.

“That’s why I love events like these, because it can really change somebody’s whole entire day,” Kylee Richardson, who was helping cut hair, said. “It can have them going from having like a super bad day to an amazing day just by having, you know, even if they just get a little trim or if they do a whole new transformation, it’s it’s such a blessing to be able to see that transformation in them, you know.”

Last year, the event served around 14,000 people. The pandemic made the need for Hope Wichita even greater, director Cheri Lankford said.

“The most important thing is to just remember that the need is still there,” Lankford said. “You know, I think with COVID, it really brought to the forefront that we all need each other as a community.”

For the volunteers and everyone involved, seeing smiling faces is the inspiration that keeps them going.

“We’re offering people hope today.,” Hope Wichita board member Dayton Poe said. “And so it’s just an honor to serve the community in this capacity.”

Hope Wichita will hold another outreach in Newton next weekend, Aug. 3, at the Chisholm Trail Shopping Center, called Hope Harvey County. They hope to expand into Mulvane and Winfield next year.

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