By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Small plates will make a big difference this weekend during the annual Taste of Hays dinner event.
At 4 p.m. Jan. 15, area residents will gather in the in Memorial Union Ballroom on the Fort Hays State University campus to enjoy samplings from various Ellis County restaurants and vendors.
While the event will provide a glimpse into the variety of delectable edibles offered in the area, perhaps more importantly, the evening serves as a fundraiser for Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters serving Ellis County.
The event itself has been a longtime annual tradition, but this year marks only the second time for the organization.
“It used to be a fundraiser for the Mary Elizabeth Maternity Home,” said Ellis County Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters serving Ellis County director Jenny Bates.
After that organization closed, she said their board of directors looked for an organization to continue benefiting from the event and asked if they were interested. They agreed and added the event to their other annual fundraisers, including the Bowl for Kids' Sake campaign and the Duck Derby.
Those fundraisers help continue their mission Bates said, providing the operating funds that are used throughout the year to help positively impact the lives of area youth.
“When someone signs up to be a volunteer, we have a very thorough screening process that they go through, which includes background checks. We do references, interviews and a home visit,” she said. “We want to make sure you know it's a safe person to be with the child because when we're matching them, they are strangers to each other.”
Funds collected help provide those services and more.
“And then once a match is made, we provide support the entire time,” Bates said. “They're setting goals, working on goals or making sure everyone's doing OK. There's constant contact with all.”
Currently, they have 154 matches, served by a staff of four that oversee those matches to ensure the best experience for everyone involved.
And more children are waiting in the wings for a match.
“The parent or guardian is fully trusting us in those situations, but it's also to get to know the volunteer as well, and their personality likes and dislikes, and what type of what child would match best with them,” Bates said. “And then we also do the same when new kids come to us to enroll into the program. We sit down with the parent or guardian, as well as with the child and ask them we ask a lot of questions.
“That's what a lot of people know about our process,” she continued. “It's just to get to know what that child needs, why they're coming to us, to be matched to the big, so we can best support them with the best volunteer for them.”
That process ensures youth are best served by the Big Brothers Big Sisters system.
“The children that are in our program are facing some kind of adversity or struggle that either their parent or a teacher or counselor has signed them up for to receive services,” Bates said. “And so when a volunteer commits to doing is meeting with their little, once they're matched, two to four times a month.”
That initial commitment is at least a year, but she said it often goes longer.
“Our average match length is right around two years, but our longest match that we have that's been together right now has been going on for 17 years through our program,” Bates said. “And we match that child with someone that we hope they'll form that lifelong friendship.”
Ultimately, that relationship helps children move toward adulthood in a positive way, she said.
“We get to see them doing better in school and having better relationships with friends,” Bates said. “And sometimes, being the first to graduate from high school in their homes and go on to college or holding down a full-time job. … It's a volunteer who's there to help and guide them in those life decisions. And hopefully, for the better.”
Volunteers come from all walks of life and backgrounds and currently includes a notable Fort Hays State University student, Ayanna Hensley, who was crowned Miss Kansas last June.
“She's a big sister for us here in Ellis County and still has stayed matched with her little sister,” Bates said.
She said Hensley plans to attend the event along with her match.
“It’s cool that she's able to get away and come hang out with us on that Sunday,” Bates said.
Participating establishments this year include AGourmet, Big Smoke Barbecue, Breathe Coffee House, Chartwells, Chubbs' Que, Grater Whey, Hickok's Steakhouse, JD's Country Style Chicken, La Curva, Mexican Restaurant, Ol' 40 Express Convenience Store, Parties by Design, Pheasant Run Restaurant, Professor's, Rose Garden Banquet Hall, Taco Shop, The Garden Grille & Bar - Hilton Garden Inn, The Golden Q, The Local Food Truck, The Press Craft Kitchen & Cocktails and Thirsty's Brew Pub and Grill.
Only 250 tickets are set to be sold for the event, at $100 each, admitting two people. Along with event admittance, it will enter the holder in multiple prize drawings throughout the evening.
"We are so excited," Bates said. "We didn't know when we took this on how it would work, getting our restaurants and different vendors or peers in town to commit to this, but it's really amazing. And we're so thankful that they're so willing to volunteer their time and the resources. ... so that each ticket sale, 100 percent, comes back to Big Brothers Big Sisters."
Tickets can be purchased at their website 4kidsake.org/tasteofhays, or at their office at 1200 Main St, Ste. 102.