By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Hays High School is offering a new way to wake up in the morning.
Helping Hands opened a coffee shop called Indian Grounds in the HHS library in October.
The program is offered for any junior. This includes students in the special education program. The program is only open to juniors this year, but the school hopes to expand the program to seniors next year. Twenty-eight students participate in the program currently.
HHS teacher Michelle Thacker said Principal Martin Straub approached the staff about using the space now occupied by Indian Grounds for something besides library materials.
“I just thought a coffee shop would be a perfect fit for Helping Hands kids to learn in. It is just a perfect complement to the program,” Thacker said. “They are already learning how to work together and communication skills and teamwork and integrity and honesty and punctuality. They already get to make products, but they don’t get to interface with the customer. This way they get to interface with the public and the customer and learn those soft skills and actually practice those communication skills with other people.”
Helping Hands has been a program in Hays for 27 years.
It already has a commercial bakery at the old high school building, but teacher Jolene Windholz said the program did not allow the students to build customer service skills and work face to face with the public. The Indian Grounds program requires the students to work in groups, learn customer service, be responsible for something larger than themselves and be good employees, she said.
“This is pretty real world,” she said of the shop. “We get pretty busy, and we have to buy and keep up with demand and meet students and promote.”
The coffee shop serves coffee, teas, hot chocolate and cider to about 50 to 60 customers between 7:15 to 7:50 a.m. on Maroon Days at the school, which means the coffee shop is open two to three days per week depending on the high school schedule. Prices are kept reasonable — $1 a cup.
Thacker said the shop has had great buy-in from the teachers, students and staff and has developed a regular customer base.
“The students who work the coffee shop have been wonderful about showing up,” she said. “It is just like any job. You sometimes have enough help and sometimes you don’t. That is part of the learning process. The kids know that it takes everybody to make it work. When someone doesn’t show up, that makes it hard on everyone. That is a whole other learning opportunity for students.”
Gabriela Arthur, HHS junior, said she is learning customer service, money handling and how to use a cash register.
Preston Brown, HHS junior, said he has enjoyed his experience working at Indian Grounds and would like to pursue a job in customer service after graduation.
Jocelynn Ornelas, HHS junior, wanted to gain work experience.
“I could see a new opportunity and see how the business works here. I like working with other people, I guess,” she said.
The money raised at the coffee shop helps support the Helping Hands program. Any additional profits will go toward a scholarship fund, which students who have participated in the program can apply for.
In addition to Indian Grounds and the bakery, Helping Hands sponsors a community service project. This year Helping Hands is coordinating Project Prom To Remember. The program is collecting formal wear for both male and female students. Helping Hands will have a prom store open in the spring, so students can select free outfits for prom.