Unbelievable, but true: The 2010-2011 Kids Club after-school program has come to an end! Here are some highlights of our last few weeks:
Lemonade Stand – Keeping Cool and Doing Good: In a desire to help families affected by the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, our 4th and 5th graders came up with the idea to raise money through a lemonade stand (which actually turned out to be more of a Grape Koolaid stand!). Completely organized and implemented by the students, the sale brought in $50 which will be donated to World Vision’s aid efforts in those countries.
Kids Club Parent Yard Sale – Success! Our amazing Kids Club parents organized and held a yard sale to raise money for two of our summer events: Passport Camp and Congreso Kids. We were blown away by their initiative and teamwork. They worked hard, earned $448, and had a great time doing it together. Kudos to our KC parents and to all who donated to make the sale a success!
Nats Game – An all-around win: In April, 15 Kids Club students completed their Spring Break Challenge Packet, full of math and reading activities. As a prize (and thanks to a very generous donor), those students, along with a parent or mentor, went to a Nats game at National Park. It was hard to tell which was the biggest hit of the night: the rain downpour that stalled the game for 30 minutes, the hot dogs and cotton candy, or the Nats beating the Padres 2-1… any way you look at it, the night was an all-around win!
Pool Party! For our last day of program, Kids Club went to Chinquapin Recreation Center for a dip in the pool. The kids were smiling ear-to-ear, swimming up a storm, and especially enjoyed checking out the flippers. And to our surprise, some of our most timid swimmers at the start of the day were the hardest ones to pull out of the pool when it was time to go home!
Year End Celebration: This past Saturday we had an Award Ceremony to celebrate our students, their hard work, and all that God has done through and in them during Kids Club this year. Each child was recognized and given a certificate highlighting a unique strength or talent that we saw blossom in them. Our four 5th grade graduates were also honored. 29 out of 30 students showed up for the celebration. We tracked six volunteers who logged over 100 hours with the program and 40 in-home mentors. We had over 100 volunteers come to Kids Club this year giving over 2,000 hours of volunteer time. The room lit up with kids beaming with pride and parents, tutors, and mentors cheering them on. And of course, in good Latino fashion, we ended with a banquet of enchiladas, pupusas, yucca, and other delicious Central American cuisine. The feast was organized by the parents to honor and thank all the volunteers and mentors who invested in their children this year.
Urgent Needs: During summer Kids Club we will be working on math and literacy remediation and enrichment. We are in urgent need of 6 laptops and accompanying software that will reinforce elementary math and reading skills. Please contact Emily (emily@casachirilagua.org) if you are interested in donating. Thank you!
students received individualized awards and the parents made food as a thank you for our Kids Club volunteers and in-home mentors. 29 out of 30 students showed up for the celebration. We tracked six volunteers who logged over 100 hours with the program and 40 in-home mentors. We had over 100 volunteers come to Kids Club this year giving over 2,000 hours of volunteer time.
