By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

WAKEENEY — The annual Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital Project Help golf tournament is set for Saturday in WaKeeney.

Project Help is a nonprofit committee that aims to help people in Trego County who need a hand.

Committee member Neva Flax said it was initially created to help with patient care.

“We saw that there were a lot of needs that we felt like we could meet pretty easily or that people were meeting through the hospital, but they were just paying for things out of their own pocket,” Flax said.

She said they have helped people who have dietary needs with buying certain kinds of groceries.

Project Help has also provided clothes, shoes and even transportation for people transported to the hospital after an incident on Interstate 70.

Because of the success in the number of people helped, the committee has expanded to offer help to people throughout Trego County.

“We’ve done different things around WaKeeney too,” Flax said. “People that have needed help to doctors appointments, or transportation or needing help paying for gas, lodging and food trying to get to a specialty clinic in Kansas City or Topeka.”

People wanting to receive help must submit a formal request to the committee, which will then determine the best way to help.

“It might not necessarily at that point be a patient for us but just to help that person in our community to get where they’re needing to go,” said Flax.

Last year, then the severe storm caused significant damage to the WaKeeney area, and Project Help hosted a bake sale to raise funds to help employees of the hospital.

All of the money is raised through fundraisers and does not come from the hospital. The golf tournament is the group’s biggest fundraiser.

Saturday’s golf tournament is a three-person scramble at the Big Creek Golf Court. The cost is $120 a team and lunch is provided. Registration is from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. with tee off at 9:00 a.m.

For more information, contact Flax at 785-743-2182, Ext. 101.