The United Way of Central Kansas (UWCK) announces that tickets are now available for the 2026 Kickoff Event: You Are the Key to Our Community! Mark your calendars on Aug. 2 for an evening filled with dinner, drinks, dessert, raffles, a silent auction, live auction items, and a high-energy dueling piano performance by The Colorado Keys.

UWCK believes that when a community comes together, real change happens. That’s why this event goes far beyond an evening of entertainment – it’s about transforming lives right here at home. Every ticket sold and every dollar raised at their biggest fundraiser of the year fuels the programs that are making a real difference in central Kansas:

• $100,000 invested in local non-profit partners

• 11,000 books delivered to children through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

• 700+ students across nine schools were provided with financial literacy tools through three Reality U events and #RealWorld 

• 4,284 loads of laundry for 1,564 individuals through Laundry Love

• 800+ school supplies and hygiene products distributed to students in Hoisington, Ellinwood and Larned along with 200 backpacks filled for Great Bend students

• 450+ pantry items collected for the Hoisington Community Food Bank and over 100 paper products collected for Ellinwood Heritage Senior Center through Stuff the Bus 

• 500 seniors receiving a Box of Love

• $1,500 provided through Auto Care Access to keep families on the road by helping with vehicle maintenance expenses.

By joining this high-energy event, you’re helping provide students with books and financial literacy opportunities, easing the burden for parents struggling to make ends meet, and creating a stronger, more stable future for someone right here in Central Kansas.

For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, contact Charell Owings at 620-792-2403 or unitedwaycentralks@hotmail.com or purchase online.