Elbert County News > News
Program helps develop life skills
By Ashley Dieterle
When an Elbert woman had a seizure in 2000 that left her unable to walk and talk, she decided to take her lemons and make lemonade. Debbie Weber made the choice to fight against the odds, recover and lead as much of a normal life as she could.
During her recovery, she finished her masters in business administration and also received her Realtor’s license, even though at times she could hardly hold her pencil.
“I was not going to take my situation and make it a failure,” she said. “You just keep fighting.”
Weber said her horses and her kids kept her going when times were tough. She knew she had a responsibly to take care of them and knew she had a purpose in life. Weber quickly learned that she had a lot to live for.
“The mind and the brain and the body can heal itself and I was always seeking improvement,” she said.
Now Weber has a goal and is working hard to achieve it. For the past five years, Weber has had a vision to bring her community together, beginning with the children. She has developed a nonprofit program called the Haven Program, designed to help youth develop skills, knowledge and community awareness through service projects. Weber said she wanted to offer kids and teens a chance to learn life skills outside of the classroom.
“The program will give them exposure to new things and give them some hands-on experience,” she said. “It will also instill some responsibility and ownership for the kids.”
The first project is a blanket drive called “B Cuz We Care” and is a lesson teaching the kids basic stitching and sewing skills. The project starts at 9 a.m. Dec. 6 at the Russell Gates Mercantile Building in Elbert.
The blankets will be donated to children in emergency care, disadvantaged families and men and women serving in the military. Young children will learn how to sew the edges of the blankets, while older children will learn more complicated skills such as crocheting and quilting.
Weber said she is hoping have many more project lessons in the future such as an auto-care lesson to teach kids basic auto education, in addition to a plumbing lesson. She said she wants each lesson to be fun and allow kids to expand their horizons.
“You never know, kids might get inspired and grasp something that fits and that may be what they want to do in the future,” she said.
Weber hopes the projects will build camaraderie among the children, parents and the community as a whole. Her ultimate goal is to have a life-skills class available in all the school districts in Elbert County.
For more information or to RSVP for the lesson, call Weber at 303-648-9777 or e-mail her at debbie@thehavenprogram.com.
During her recovery, she finished her masters in business administration and also received her Realtor’s license, even though at times she could hardly hold her pencil.
“I was not going to take my situation and make it a failure,” she said. “You just keep fighting.”
Weber said her horses and her kids kept her going when times were tough. She knew she had a responsibly to take care of them and knew she had a purpose in life. Weber quickly learned that she had a lot to live for.
“The mind and the brain and the body can heal itself and I was always seeking improvement,” she said.
Now Weber has a goal and is working hard to achieve it. For the past five years, Weber has had a vision to bring her community together, beginning with the children. She has developed a nonprofit program called the Haven Program, designed to help youth develop skills, knowledge and community awareness through service projects. Weber said she wanted to offer kids and teens a chance to learn life skills outside of the classroom.
“The program will give them exposure to new things and give them some hands-on experience,” she said. “It will also instill some responsibility and ownership for the kids.”
The first project is a blanket drive called “B Cuz We Care” and is a lesson teaching the kids basic stitching and sewing skills. The project starts at 9 a.m. Dec. 6 at the Russell Gates Mercantile Building in Elbert.
The blankets will be donated to children in emergency care, disadvantaged families and men and women serving in the military. Young children will learn how to sew the edges of the blankets, while older children will learn more complicated skills such as crocheting and quilting.
Weber said she is hoping have many more project lessons in the future such as an auto-care lesson to teach kids basic auto education, in addition to a plumbing lesson. She said she wants each lesson to be fun and allow kids to expand their horizons.
“You never know, kids might get inspired and grasp something that fits and that may be what they want to do in the future,” she said.
Weber hopes the projects will build camaraderie among the children, parents and the community as a whole. Her ultimate goal is to have a life-skills class available in all the school districts in Elbert County.
For more information or to RSVP for the lesson, call Weber at 303-648-9777 or e-mail her at debbie@thehavenprogram.com.
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