Another way to help workers recently displaced by the closure of Hopkins Manufacturing has come to light.
United Way of the Flint Hills is announcing the formation of the Hopkins Employee Relief Fund. United Way CEO Daphne Mertens says this stems from longer efforts in place to help Hopkins workers after the plant suddenly closed in late February.
Mertens says the program is possible because of “an anonymous donor with deep ties to Hopkins and the Emporia community.”
Applications are being accepted online through June 30 at unitedwayoftheflinthills.org/hopkins. Applicants need to provide name, contact information, pay verification information and the category — or categories — where the worker is seeking help. With a $10,000 total pool for now, the United Way anticipates awards ranging from $300 to $750 per household.
Applicants need to have been employed at Hopkins at the time bankruptcy paperwork was filed by Hopkins’ parent company, First Brands, on Sept. 28, 2025, or involuntarily separated from Hopkins — not for cause — between Aug. 1 and Sept. 28, 2025.
