By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hands busied themselves with glue, holly, and bright red and green paint on a work table filled with holiday decorations last week.
The students at the WeKan Center have been busy making Christmas decorations to sell at the annual Bethesda Place sale this week in downtown Hays.
The WeKan Center is a program of Hays USD 489 that serves students who have intellectual or developmental disabilities and who have completed their high school requirements but are still younger than 21.
"The year they turn 21, they exit and hopefully go out into the real world with employment and some skills so they can live on their own or help at their households," said Dawn Howard, teacher.
The students cook for themselves every day and receive work experience in the community.
"I think the whole reason this program is important is that these young adults are going to be citizens of the Hays community lifelong," Howard said. "Everybody has a purpose in life, and the goal of this program is to help them find their purpose and their niche in the community.
"I hope as they use the community, part of what we learn is to navigate independently and safely around the community. I hope people see that every one of these young adults can be productive citizens. They just need practice and someone to give them a chance."
This is only the second year for the WeKan Center, which is in the Hadley Center and shares space with a USD 489 preschool program. The WeKan students help clean up after the WeeKan preschool students.
Because the WeKan Center shares a space with the preschool, which hosts Fort Hays State University students in training, FHSU pays a third, USD 489 pays a third and the special education co-op pays a third of the operating costs.
Howard said the program gives these students extra time to build life and job skills. It has 10 full-time and one part-time student this year.
"The whole point of the WeKan Center is to learn by doing," Howard said. "Just that experience of creating, thinking, problem-solving, learning about money management, time management, all of those things will help them as adults."
The students chose their own projects. Many involved pallet wood, which was provided for free by nearby businesses. The students also used the Arc Thrift Store to find items they needed to complete their decorations.
They made reindeer bells out of flower pots, signs, pallet snowmen, tea light snowmen that could be used on packages, a grinch as well as many other decorations. The students also made a variety of seed bombs that will be available for sale this week.
The WeKan students have been earning money to support their program by cleaning up the stands after FHSU games. The program gave the students small loans out of these funds for the materials they needed for their projects.
The students will pay their loans using proceeds from the sale. The students will keep any remaining proceeds from the sale.
"I want them to have money they can put in their pockets so they can see hard work pays off," Howard said.
She encouraged members of the public to come to the sale and support the students.
The Bethesda Place store also will have items made by the men of Bethesda Place, who also have intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The Bethesda Place store, 126 W. Ninth, will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.