On the second floor of an unassuming church building in Castle Rock, where Wellspring Community has set up headquarters, unique and wonderful things are in the works -- dignity for the disabled, a sense of purpose, planning for the future ... the list goes on and on.
For Mary Lou Fenton, Wellspring's founder and executive director, it's not just work; it's a mission. And it all began as a wild and audacious vision to start a residential, working community for people with special needs, like Downs Syndrome or autism. Fenton's own daughter Emily was born with a developmental disability, and as she approached high school, Fenton started looking ahead to the future with concern. "I thought, what happens to our kids after high school? Even though they don't go to college, they have a lot of capacity." So Fenton set to work. In January 2008, she started with four young women, teaching them to bake cookies in her very own kitchen. They sold the cookies at local churches, and soon Wellspring's Best Buddies Bakery was formed.What drives us is a belief that everyone is created with a sense of purpose and dignity, and it's our job to help them achieve that experience," Fenton said. "So we're creating business enterprises specifically for folks with developmental disabilities. This is a paradigm shift because there are a lot of organizations that will train for jobs out in the community. But our goal is to create a place where they can never lose a job -- where they don't have that stress or anxiety that they don't fit in."Fenton's daughter was a perfect example. As part of her high school's transitional program, Emily volunteered at a pizza place and connected with the supervisor so well that she was eventually hired on part-time. However, when the supervisor moved on to another company, Emily felt like the rug had been ripped out from under her. Without an advocate she trusted, she no longer felt comfortable going to work each day. "She said, 'People there yell at me,'" Fenton shared. "We need to have someone there who understands them, can support them, and is able to be a job coach." Yet the more Fenton assessed the situation, she realized that it wasn't the company's responsibility to provide the needed support, when they had neither the training nor the understanding. In a cut-throat business world, trying to make a stand for disabled individuals was like asking to be steam-rolled.
"The reality is, there aren't enough opportunities for all of our folks," Fenton said. "And businesses do what they do to make money; they're not doing this to support people with special needs. Our folks are very vulnerable, so we created something just for them."
Instead of training adults and sending them out into the great unknown, Fenton created Wellspring to be a close-knit landing spot -- a safe space -- where adults with special needs (Wellspring calls them "STARS" -- Specially Talented Adults Raising Standards) could be supported in a variety of meaningful endeavors and activities.
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This STAR had multiple knitting projects going on at once![/caption]
Today, Wellspring has 25 employees serving approximately 60 STARS, currently between the ages of 18 and 51. On the day I visited Wellspring's facilities, I was privileged to meet eight STARS diligently knitting on their Knifty Knitter looms in an enrichment class. A variety of vibrantly colored items were taking shape right before our eyes -- blankets, pillows, scarves, and hats. Some would be given as gifts to friends or family; others would be kept for STARS' own enjoyment. Either way, it was impossible to ignore the pride of accomplishment gleaming in each of their eyes.
"This is a great fine motor skill for our folks," Fenton said. "It really helps with hand/eye coordination."
The STARS wouldn't be knitting all day long, though. Some would head downstairs to work in the Best Buddies Bakery, while others were slated to paint ceramics at Artbeat, Wellspring's craft workshop and art studio.
"That's what I love about Wellspring; our STARS don't just sit in one place all day long," added Seth Dean, Wellspring's Director of Development. "The variety that happens throughout the day and throughout the week is pretty cool."
Wellspring begins each weekday at 9 a.m. in the Castle Oaks Covenant Church sanctuary, just downstairs from their offices. STARS gather for about 50 minutes of greeting, singing, and getting organized for the day's schedule. From there, they are dispersed to their various activities -- working at the adjoining full-production bakery, crafting at the Artbeat studio, serving at the Best Buddies Bakery and Cafe, or gardening at Castle Rock Adventist Hospital or the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation. And, of course, there are a variety of enrichment classes -- like knitting, choir, social skills, independent living skills, dance, CrossFit, sign language, and technology.
Fenton went on to say,
The real story is how this town has come around us. The collaborations and partnerships that we have! We started in my kitchen nine and a half years ago, went to the basement of New Hope Presbyterian Church, and then were invited to move into this building with Castle Oaks. They gave us dedicated office space, gave us use of the building, and built us a commercial kitchen so that we could expand our bakery. We occupy three locations, and in each situation, we've been invited by the landlord into the spaces, which is really pretty extraordinary."[gallery size="medium" ids="17272,17274,17273"] Fenton and Dean then ushered me into the bakery kitchen, which was bustling with energy. STARS were intensely focused on their jobs -- two of them were assisting staff in making all-natural dog biscuits, while another was busy washing dishes. The bakery -- the first enterprise Wellspring developed -- sells baked goods to Duke's Steakhouse in Castle Pines, Castle Rock Adventist Hospital, Sky Ridge Hospital, and many others, as well as to private individuals. Around 2,000 items come out of the bakery kitchen every week.
"We don't make any profit in any of our business enterprises," Fenton said. "But the goal is to be the best steward of the opportunities, maximize the use of the kitchen, and to try to diversify our funding streams. The bakery and cafe are great opportunities for exposure, and to engage our folks."
The Wellspring program has grown dramatically over the last several years, especially since the state of Colorado made more Medicaid labor funding available to families in 2015. After individuals apply and are determined eligible, they are allotted a certain amount of funding per year depending on their level of need. The money can be used in a variety of ways, but 85 percent of STARS use their state funding for tuition to Wellspring's programs.
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The "pink house," which houses Wellspring's Artbeat craft studio[/caption]
And now that the day programs are finding so much success, Fenton's next order of business is to pursue the development of supported residential services. STARS generally live at home with their parents or families. But what happens when a caregiver passes away and the STAR doesn't have the capacity to live alone?
"People are getting older very fast," Fenton told me. "One of our STARS has a mother in her 80s, and she's scared."
Later, at the Artbeat studio in the Pink House across town, I watched as five STARS painted ceramic crosses and letters of the alphabet. The group -- all music lovers -- was lively, and they danced to Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" as they worked. The fresh breeze blew gently through the open doors of the little house as I visited with Nathan, a 41-year-old STAR and self-professed fan of Pink Floyd.
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"I'm in Artbeat a lot during the week, and I'm in the cafe in the afternoons Tuesday and Wednesday. But on Thursday, I'm in Chorale with Mary," he said, referencing the girl working next to him. Mary, whom Fenton later told me had come a long way socially, is obviously a big One Direction fan. She was wearing a pink and black 1D hat and matching t-shirt.
As we chatted, I asked Nathan about the process for making ceramics.
Before we cut the letters out, we put these cool patterns on them," he explained, his voice brimming with animation. "What's cool is that even though we use the same color stain for different pieces, whenever we fire it, it comes out looking a little different on each piece."Unintentionally, Nathan had just summarized the entire purpose of Wellspring. "Yep, sometimes we open up the kiln and go, 'what?' That's not what we thought it would look like," staff member Julie Horsting chimed in. "And we end up liking it." "It's unique," Fenton added. "Just like each one of us."
To learn more about Wellspring, please visit their website. Community members are also invited to attend Wellspring's summer celebration (featuring multiple performances by STARS) at the Miller Activities Center amphitheater on Friday, July 28, at 5 p.m. The free celebration is a way for Wellspring to thank the Castle Rock community for all of their support.
If you'd like to donate to Wellspring Community, you can do so online.
