By Tony Guerrero
Hays Post
Students with disabilities were able to experience a range of learning opportunities while fostering a sense of community this summer, thanks to a program filled with activities.
The Star Summer program kicked off in early June with a barbecue at ARC Park, 3300 Hillcrest, and would be the first of many events.
Amanda Tippy, project coordinator, said the program built a community among children with disabilities while also giving parents assistance.
“Parents can expose their kids to a variety of activities, taking the weight of planning those activities and off the families that are probably already feeling overwhelmed,” she said.
Students also gained the ability to do a variety of tasks that they were not able to do before through the activities, Tippy said.
“The movie theater was fun because there were several families that mentioned they always wondered if their child would like the movie theater,” she said. “We had it rented out, then they could try it. If their child was ready to leave halfway through, there was no stigma as far as that goes.”
The Heartland Community Foundation and the Wonder Woman League provided funding for the program.
Tippy is a staff member of Bethesda Place, a non-profit organization that assists adults with disabilities and said their residents enjoyed interacting with children from Star Summer.
Students participated in activities like yard work, spray painting and archery over the summer.
Other activities included gardening, horse riding, woodworking and clay projects.
Tippy credits The Ellis County Transitional Council and special education teachers in the district for encouraging her to do the program along with intern Makinsey Schlautman who assisted in advertisement and securing funding from community partners.
“I hope that going forward that maybe having these various activities will have built confidence among the students and their families to try a variety of things, even if they have no idea how their student may respond to them,” Tippy said.