By Kellen Olshefski
Staff Writer
An Elkhorn site formerly specializing in the growth of plants and flowers is under new management and focusing on a different kind of growth.
Located across from the Walworth County Fairgrounds at 420 E. Court St., members of Southern Lakes Evangelical Free Church are offering area teens new after school options, operating under the name Sophos.
Organized by Pastor of Student Ministries Jason Eeten, the program offers middle and high school students a safe and comforting environment for after school.
Eeten said the name comes from a verse from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 3:10.
According to Eeten, they chose the name due to the word “wise” in the scripture, Sophos being the Greek translation.
Eeten said the idea has always been on his mind as a youth pastor and when he found out the church really wanted to reach out to the community, this offered a great opportunity.
He said what they’re trying to do, is build upon a foundation whether it’s in academic assistance or guidance students may need.
“We want to provide more of a solid foundation for them to build on,” he said.
Eeten said the group recognized the need of homework assistance and a type of mentoring in the community and wanted to help students in the needs they may have.
“Whether it’s specific skills or just hanging out, they want to connect with friends after school or they need someone to talk to, that’s the goal,” he said.
“We’re trying to share that love of God with them.”
Eeten noted however that the group is not trying to run another church on the property.
He said it wasn’t about preaching to people, but rather practicing what they preach, extending the love and caring nature to their community.
Eeten said while they currently don’t have professional counselors, they do have caring individuals who love people and can lend a listening ear and help students through the things they’re going through.
The new location
Gaining the interest of quite a few students in their former downtown location, Eeten said the program was forced to move when the place they previously rented came under new ownership.
“When we had to close the doors and look for a new space, it was kind like starting over,” he said.
“But when we opened the doors to this space, most of the students who were there were here day one.”
Eeten said they actually passed up the property at first, but eventually decided to pursue the opportunity.
Eeten said the owners of the property they’re leasing from, Gary and Sue Wallem, who also own Uncle Hunk’s Junk, thought the idea was great and were all about pursuing the opportunity to give back to the community as well.
The location offers students several different rooms such as the Foundations Café, a room where students can interact with each other, playing board games or working on homework.
This area further offers the Comfort Zone, a kitchen area where snacks are sold at a small cost and volunteers sometimes teach students various cooking skills.
A separate area, the Chat Room, was originally designed to be an area where students can chat with adults if they’re looking for a more private setting.
Eeten said this area can also be used as a “softer-toned area,” where students can sit and read.
The Study offers a quiet place for students to study as well as monitored and filtered Internet access to be used as a research tool for schoolwork.
Eeten noted the space can also be used as a classroom like space for tutoring.
Finally, aptly named the Greenhouse Effect, the group has transformed the former greenhouse, venting it for hot summer days, into a space for more physical games such as Ping-Pong and Foosball.
“It’s really another way to interact with students,” he said.
“We’re not trying to offer a place to babysit students, but for us to really take an active part in their life and we use this time to do that.”
Eeten noted renovations, furniture, and a new sign was all made possible by the Wallems as well as numerous volunteers who donated countless hours and various items. He also said, if anyone is interested in donating to their cause, all donations currently have to go through the church as Sophos does not have its own non-profit status yet.
What the future holds
Eeten said it’s important to realize they’re not trying to take away from what the families are doing; in fact, it’s quite the opposite.
He said while they’re still new to everything happening with the program, in the future they’re interested in offering opportunities for families to come and interact.
“We believe reaching out to the family is even more important than just the students.”
Eeten also noted they hope to get students more involved in the community, running food drives and packing school packs.
“There’s a lot of big ideas, a lot of things we can do,” he said.
However, Eeten said their biggest goal for the future is to continue building relationships with students and the community.
“We want people to understand our church is a part of the community and we desire to help,” he said.
Getting involved
Though there’s no charge to visit Sophos, Eeten said they do require students to register for safety reasons.
Once registered, when students show up, they login into their account, which provides a record, if anything were to happen, of when the student was there and emergency contact information.
For those concerned about this, Eeten said all information is stored off-site and kept separate from church data for added security.
“We have someone monitor the doors so it’s not just people wandering in,” he said.
Currently, Sophos is only open from 3-6 p.m. on Tuesdays for the duration of the summer.
However, provided volunteer staff is available, they would like to be open 3-6 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, beginning a week or two after the start of the school year.
As for adults interested in volunteering, an application can be picked up at the front desk during hours.
The application process includes a criminal background check and requires references. Eeten noted all our welcome to apply and all go through the same application process.
For more information on how to get involved as a student or volunteer, find Sophos on Facebook or call (262) 723-3133 during operating hours.
