The United Way of Central Kansas with the help of Great Bend Middle School consular Sheryl Neeland and Communities in Schools of Mid-America, is bringing Reality U to Great Bend.  

“On Oct. 13, reality strikes and it is time to go shopping for the necessities in life,” said UWCK Executive Director Julie Bugner Smith.  “Great Bend Middle School eighth graders will soon see what adulthood is all about.”  

Students will take a short online test with questions about their GPA, what they hope to be, whether or not they will be married, and if they want to have children. These questions will help the program Reality U determine how much the students will be earning and their life situation at age 26. 

Throughout the day students will go to each of 13 booths covering such topics as car insurance, childcare, utilities, housing and medical. At each of these booths, they will have decisions to make about how much of their money they can spend and what they need. 

“If they go over budget, they will have to figure out where they can cut to make sure that they are within their budget,” Smith said. There will also be a “Chance” booth where they will roll the dice and they may have to replace a hot water heater or have a broken leg that they haven’t budgeted for.

In addition, there will also be numerous speakers talking to the students about how the choices that they can make now can and will have an impact on their lives at 26. Some of these topics include making a plan, the reality of high school, the cost of delinquency and hearing from people in the area that are between 26-32 years old about what their lives are really like.  

But,they need the public’s help, Smith said.

Each of the booths will be sponsored and manned by local businesses, but other volunteers are needed as well, Smith said.  

Anyone interested in sponsoring or volunteering for this event can contact UWCK at 620-792-2403.