The Well – Center for Hope is a non-profit organization and local coffee shop in WaKeeney that is dedicated to improving the emotional, mental, spiritual, and relational wellbeing of individuals and families in WaKeeney and Western Kansas. The Well officially opened on November 8th, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President and Co-Founder of The Well \u2013 Center for Hope and the Pastor at WaKeeney Church of God, Jerod Brown, explains that The Well was a response to several needs within the Trego County community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst, we needed a place where individuals could go to experience community and connection in WaKeeney,\u201d Brown said. \u201cSecondly, we wanted a place to experience specialty coffees and a welcoming atmosphere where individuals feel accepted and valued.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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LeAnn Brown, vice president and co-founder of The Well \u2013 Center for Hope and associate professor of Management & Human Resources at Fort Hays State University, adds to Jerod\u2019s statement saying in addition to serving as a local coffee shop, The Well offers educational programming on mental and emotional health topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt serves as a bridge between individuals needing a listening ear, coaching, or therapy with trained volunteers and licensed professionals,\u201d LeAnn said. \u201cWe also provide a private meeting room for therapists to meet with clients onsite and offer financial support to those in need of mental health services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jerod said the final reason for opening the shop is the personal connection the pair has to The Well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur desire is to raise awareness on mental health needs in our area,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is in response to LeAnn\u2019s own mental health journey and how we have walked through this as a couple, as well as walking alongside other individuals and families who may be struggling or who have lost loved ones due to mental illness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jerod goes on to unfold the beginning stages of The Well and mentions that, although there was never an official \u2018grand opening,\u2019 The Well has done extremely well so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince we opened during the holiday season, we did a week of soft openings before we opened to the public full-time,\u201d he said. \u201cIt felt like the whole season from our opening and into the new year was a grand opening. I must admit that the \u201cbusiness\u201d side of this venture has been better than anticipated. Because of this, we have had the opportunity to meet many people in our area. Some of these folks have become regulars and have provided us with some amazing conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The pair said there have been a few people that have been crucial to The Well\u2019s success, one being Patrick McGinnis at Breathe Coffee House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a close connection with Patrick and Breathe. Not only do they provide the chai that has been a huge hit at The Well, but Patrick has also been a good friend for several years,\u201d Jerod said. \u201cHe has been a great encourager and mentor in establishing The Well. I\u2019m not sure we would have ever actually gotten this venture off the ground without his help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n LeAnn hints at the continuing partnership of the two coffee houses as they share similar goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince Patrick also has a passion for serving those in need, especially in the areas of mental and emotional health, we hope to partner with Breathe even more in the future to serve the needs of individuals in Western Kansas,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jerod then takes the time to thank Craig and Sheila McGuire. Craig, a resident of Hays, is on staff at the WaKeeney Church of God as an Associate Pastor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe has helped, in many ways, carry some of the load at the church as we have worked hard to get the non-profit running and established,\u201d Jerod said. \u201cHis support, care, and encouragement has helped in ways that only we will ever know. Of course, he wouldn\u2019t have been able to do it without the backing of his wife, Sheila.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n LeAnn builds on their appreciation for others who have supported them along this journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere have been so many individuals that have come alongside us to open The Well,\u201d she said. \u201cOur board members, design team, volunteers, contractors, staff, donors, and our family\u2026words cannot describe how thankful we are for all their support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked about his favorite coffee drink at The Well, Jerod mentioned a few drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am always up for a good Caramel Macchiato. Both LeAnn and I enjoy our Americano also. The beans, which are provided by Hideout Coffee in Osborne, KS, have a great taste to them and the Americano seems to bring out the flavor to its full,\u201d he said. \u201cI am also a big fan of the Italian Cream Soda. It is a recipe my mom used to make for me and my brothers – and eventually our families – during Christmas. It was LeAnn\u2019s idea to add it to the menu. So far, it has been well received.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He aims for everyone to enjoy the different drinks, and not just the residents of WaKeeney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThough WaKeeney is very important to us, The Well is not intended to serve only WaKeeney,\u201d Jerod said. \u201cThe needs we are hoping to meet are evident in all of Western Kansas. Although we are currently focusing on Trego County, it is our hope that we can help meet the felt need throughout the rest of Western Kansas territory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jerod highlights that even though they serve great coffee, the ulterior motive behind the coffee has a much deeper meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe bottom line is that we are serving coffee to care,\u201d he said. \u201cWe realize we all need help. We all need hope. Though it is our desire to help others who are struggling in ways that many people cannot see, we also want others to know that we are walking the same path as everyone else. We are fighting the same battles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple expands on how personal the ministry is to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is not a place where we think we are better than others. It is a place where we can understand and empathize,\u201d they said. \u201cIt is a place where someone will find we are not afraid to share our own story. This includes the struggles we have had\u2026 and the place where we have found hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n More information on The Well can be found on their Facebook page, https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thewellks<\/a> , their Instagram, https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thewellks\/<\/a> and their website at https:\/\/www.thewellks.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BY JESSALYN KIRCHHOFF Feature image – The Well President and Co-Founder Jerod Brown and Vanessa Hernandez, shift manager and barista at The Well The Well… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":71284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3397,11],"tags":[15071,15070,13925,2149,15069,15068,4004],"class_list":["post-71283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-area-news","category-news","tag-coffee-shop","tag-jerod-brown","tag-jessalyn-kirchhoff","tag-leann-brown","tag-the-well","tag-the-well-center-for-hope","tag-wakeeney"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image_50410497-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=71283"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71337,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71283\/revisions\/71337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/71284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=71283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=71283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=71283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image_50387713-scaled.jpg?resize=790%2C982\")
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