Everybody Counts, a grassroots community effort organized in January 2014 in Manhattan in response to a report to the USD 383 Board of Education that a significant number of students were self reporting to be experiencing homelessness in Manhattan schools is hosting its 14th community celebration on Saturday, August 2 from 9am to 12pm at the Douglass RecreationCenter Complex in the 900 block of Yuma.
This summer’s event is the 12th time it will be held at the Douglass Recreation Center Complex. The first year Everybody Counts hosted an event in January and then again in August but starting in 2016 went to the annual summer only event.
Agencies and organizations sit up booths in Douglass Park, the grassy area west of the Douglass Center Annex, to share information about their services, to coordinate services with other agencies, and to educate the public about the community’s social services resources and needs. Many offer free services and others will have giveaways.
Inside the Douglass Community Center and Douglass Center Annex, examples of some of the free health services community members can access from 9am to 12pm include:
• Review of vaccination records – Riley County Health Department
• Vision screenings – Lion’s Club
• School and sports physicals – Stormont Vail Health
• Mental health screenings – Pawnee Mental Health Services, Inc.
• Hearing screenings – Hearing Doctors of Kansas
• Glucose checks, balance checks, and blood pressure checks - Ascension Via Christi Hospital
• Dental screenings – Konza Prairie Community Health Center
Translators will be available for those who need assistance.
Activities for children include face painting and temporary tattoos and skills-based activities, as well as a firsthand look at one of Manhattan Fire Department’s engines, the Riley County Police Department Bearcat SWAT vehicle, and a Riley County Emergency Medical Services ambulance.
Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine will be onsite again with their mobile veterinary clinic to provide free vaccinations and wellness checks for dogs/cats and to distribute dog and cat food. Prairie Paws Animal Shelter staff will also be on hand to share information about pet licensure.
The Flint Hills Breadbasket will bring their box truck to the event at 11am to offer a limited Harvesters’ commodities distribution. Their truck will be parked on Yuma Street in front of Douglass Park. In 2024, nearly 100 families representing more than 250 individuals were served by the limited distribution.
Hy-Vee has provided a free community brunch for the past seven years and will participate again this year. The brunch begins at 10am and is served to the first 250 people on a first come, first served basis. This is located outside on the east side of the Community Center.
The Flint Hills Area Transportation Agency provides free rides city wide on the day of the event.
Pilgrim Baptist Church has organized a free clothing giveaway for the past five years and is doing so again.
The sponsoring organization for Everybody Counts is the Riley County Council of Social Service Agencies (RCCSSA), a 501c3 nonprofit organization.