By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Within the first six months of forming, the new Wonder Women League (WWL) of the United Way of Ellis County (UWEC) had 35 members, hosted one fundraiser and completed their first Community Impact Project.
The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the Born Learning Trail in Sunrise Park, 19th and Lawrence Drive, was held Tuesday morning.
“We’re very proud of our venture,” said WWL co-chair Nancy Jeter.
The trail was installed by the Hays staff of Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball (ABBB) as a community volunteer project.
The 50 or so employees split up the work over two sessions in June to first install the signposts and then paint the accompanying letters, numbers, colors and even hopscotch on the concrete walking trail. “We had about 25 people each time,” said Brenda Bickle, ABBB financial services coordinator.
“It’s so fun to have Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball as our partner in our first project,” Jeter added. The ABBB employees will also maintain the trail, repainting it as needed.
The city of Hays Parks Department, with the help of the volunteer Hays Beautification Committee, has installed a pollinators garden along the trail filled with plants to attract pollinating insects and other animals.
The Born Learning Trail is a series of 10 interactive signs describing fun learning activities to be done along the trail by children along with their families and caregivers. The adventures help with pre-literacy, gross motor skills and problem-solving skills.
“It’s fun and also a great learning experience. Studies have shown that children that have that advantage before they even hit preschool, they have an advantage by learning their numbers, their colors, their shapes, and everything,” Jeter reported. “They have a head start on everyone else. And when they don’t, they’re at a greater disadvantage of learning all the way through their education.”
The Wonder Women League is an affinity group of the United Way and operates independently.
“Please know we have no intention of taking away from the United Way of Ellis County,” emphasized Rhonda Meyerhoff, WWL co-chair. “Half of the proceeds from all of our fundraisers will go to the United Way of Ellis County. We want to support them and help that organization to grow and do even more of the really good things that they do.”
Sherry Dryden, executive director of the UWEC, who live streamed the event on Facebook, was full of praise for the Wonder Women League.
“They are a phenomenal group and we are totally blessed to have them in our community,” declared Dryden told the crowd about recently attending a regional conference in Gatlinburg, Tenn., where that women’s United Way group took two years to get 35 members and do their first project, “and they were in a county of 300,000 people,” she pointed out.
“These women in our community are amazing. I tell everyone when you see them, don’t run. They will catch you,” Dryden continued as the crowd laughed. “And when they do catch you, you just say yes.”
“When we started this, we talked to a few businesses and they didn’t know who we were. They didn’t know what we were going to do,” Jeter recalled. “We said just give us a chance and we’ll prove ourselves.” WWL now has several year-round sponsors including Werth Wealth Management, Golden Plains Credit Union, Eagle Communications, Bank of Hays and First Kansas Bank.
The next WWL project is a self-defense workshop for women to be held Sat., Sept. 8 at Fort Hays State University. Meyerhoff and Jeter encouraged Ellis County residents to contact the group with ideas for other community projects.
The group is still accepting new members, Jeter said, and hopes to have 50 by December.
“One woman can do a little, but a whole group… We’re going to change things in this community and make it such a better place,” Jeter said with a huge smile on her face. “Just give us the time. We’re going to get a lot of things done.”
For more information go to www.liveunited.us/wonder-women-league.
(Disclosure: Rhonda Meyerhoff is an employee of Eagle Communications which owns Hays Post.)