Prior to starting my Go Kids Go! placement, I didn’t know much about what committee did. I knew the basics: it was four free events for children ages 0 – 12 with supervised activities intended to get the kids moving. The placement appealed to me because I was looking for two things: (1) to feel like I was benefitting the community and (2) to interact with various members of the JLC. It has been that and more! I could not be happier with my placement!
Mary and Colleen are the chair and co-chair of the committee and they have done an amazing job leading us. They were both on the committee last year and share a sincere belief that Go Kids Go! provides a very worthwhile service to the community. They had a great vision on how to provide a fun, safe and educational experience for the kids, and it has been so rewarding as a committee member to see their vision become a reality. So you may be asking – well, what specifically?
Go Kids Go! occurs each Saturday in February. To ensure the kids want to come back each week – we decided to have a different theme with different activities each Saturday.
In the weeks and months leading up to Go Kids Go! we planned and organized activities, instructors, mascots and goodie bags that would match the unique theme for each Saturday.
Colleen and Mary established a partnership with Presbyterian Hospital, which has been really helpful. Presbyterian volunteers have coordinated some learning activities like how to avoid getting the flu, provided their mascot – Dr. Getwell – and contributed some items for the kids’ goodie bags. Two other JLC committees – Kids in the Kitchen and the JLC Puppets – also agreed to participate.
In addition, Charlotte mascots including Sir Purr from the Panthers, Rufus from the Bobcats and Chubby from the Checkers committed to join us, play with the kids and sign autographs.
Each week, we have an agenda with five activities. The kids are organized by age group and spend about 20 to 30 minutes doing each activity with their age group. Some of the activities we have done include basketball, three-legged race, tug of war, yoga, jazzercise, line dancing, obstacle course race, painting, and make your own trail mix. As you can see from the photos – the kids have had a blast and the JLC volunteers perhaps even more so.
I think I can safely say Go Kids Go! has been a roaring success. We started out with 44 kids the first Saturday and each week we have had more kids participate and they arrive closer the 9:00am start time. They don’t want to miss any activity. Each week I have had kids tell me what a great time they are having.
I have enjoyed Go Kids Go! so much I am going to request it as my placement for next year. And if my experience sounds like something you would enjoy – I would encourage you request it as well. You will definitely enjoy yourself!
Mary Muwwakkil, another Go Kids Go! committee member, also had an incredibly positive experience.
She shared with me the following. “Words cannot describe the joy that I experienced hanging out with the kids and watching them play to exhaustion! Glad to have been a part of this year’s Go-Kids-Go! event.”
-Helen
