DRIPPING SPRINGS – The Dripping Springs Friendship Club was started in 2015 by Leah Rummel, with the purpose of creating a way to involve young adults with disabilities in the greater Dripping Springs community.
“I started [the club] for my son, Brandon. I wanted him to have more friends in the community,” said Rummel. “Also, I kind of saw that some of the other young people in the community didn’t have a lot of friends and they didn’t really have places to go. It’s kind of isolated here in Dripping Springs because we’re not in a town with lots of things to do.”
The club is geared toward adults ages 18 through 55 who have intellectual disabilities, living in Dripping Springs and the surrounding area. The goal is to bring together these individuals and build relationships between each other, as well as with the broader community.
The main function of the club is weekly activities, usually on a Friday, said Rummel. Sometimes, the club will go to the movies or visit Highland Lanes for bowling. For the first time in May, the club will be hosting a quarterly dance at Dripping Springs Methodist Church.
“We’re hoping to have dance lessons at Mercer Street Dance Hall [soon] ... We’re going to go out and pick berries at Sweet Berry Farm … We’re [also] trying to get into the Exotic Resort Zoo,” Rummel said.
According to the founder, the club has been very impactful on the community of Dripping Springs.
“I think [having the club has] been great because the community now knows that there are people with disabilities out in the community,” said Rummel. “When I first started, people were like, ‘Well, there’s nobody out here like that.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, there are. There’s lots of us out here.’ And now, they know there’s a lot of us out here and we’ve had a lot of volunteers come and help and I feel like the community is kind of accepting and wanting to help this group, which has been great.”
As a result of the club, Rummel’s son and local musician Phil Montfort created a musical group. The Eddie Ray Band is made up of 18 members, each bringing something unique, she said. Composed of individuals of all different backgrounds, the Eddie Ray Band released its first album in November of 2024 and hosted an album release party in Dripping Springs Nov. 9, 2024.
“The Eddie Ray Band, which is kind of a spin off from [the Dripping Springs Friendship club], had their CD release party and it was packed. It was at Hudson’s on Mercer and it was completely packed. I mean, that’s so great for them to be able to see that, so heartwarming,” said Rummel.
Volunteers are an important part of the group. Whether it's a weekly event or the upcoming dance, the club is always looking for volunteers to help out.
“If [community members are] free on Fridays, we’re always looking for a hand … helping the guys get the bowling lane set up and volunteering to assist when we need help, getting them out there, rather than having parents doing that,” said Rummel. “The whole thing of this is not really to have the parents helping out, but really kind of being part of the community and meeting friends.”
The club does accept monetary donations, which go toward events. Previously, it has received funding from the Stimpunks Foundation, a nonprofit organization that was “built by and for neurodivergent and disabled people,” according to the Stimpunks website. The club has also received a grant through the Firefly Fund, “which is a fund for persons with rare diseases,” said Rummel.
What began as a Facebook group with 20 people, The Dripping Springs Friendship Club has now grown to more than 350 active members.
“The goals are really for the group to just continue, but to serve a bigger part of the community,” said Rummel. “We know there’s a lot of people with intellectual disabilities … or disabilities that are on the spectrum and we want to make sure that we give an opportunity for all of them to get out and be part of the community … The whole point of this [group] is to have persons with intellectual disabilities feel like they’re part of the community and part of the friendship,” Rummel concluded.
To learn more about the Dripping Springs Friendship Club, to join or to volunteer, visit bit.ly/4gZdIOa.
