by Lindsey Edwards
Community Learning Center Coordinator
Woodrow Wilson Elementary
“It was fun, it was awesome. It was, like the best day of my life!” —4th grade student, Woodrow Wilson Elementary
Alpine Securities volunteered to sponsor a Winter Celebration for the afterschool program at Woodrow Wilson Elementary. The volunteers held a company-wide collection to make gift bags for every student (100 total) in the program. The gift bags included a blanket, gloves, winter hat, candy, healthy snacks, juice, and small toy. They also brought sugar cookies and frosting so that the kids could decorate dessert. Elise Crosby, manager of the afterschool program reflected on the event by saying, “The volunteers went above and beyond in making the day special for the afterschool students and staff. It really was a community event.”
Parents were notified of a Winter Celebration for the afterschool program to be sponsored by Alpine Securities. The next day, a father with 2 boys in the afterschool program volunteered to be the DJ for the event. He even brought a fellow musician, who is also a Granite School District employee to perform a few songs for the kids. They transformed the gym into a full-on dance party! It was a wonderful afternoon of gifts, cookies, and dancing. It was a shining example for the students of what it means to be a community, to work together, to come together to celebrate and have fun. Robin Farnsworth, parent and 3rd grade teacher at Woodrow Wilson Elementary, shared her thoughts about the celebration by saying, “my kids loved the Winter Celebration and were so excited when we got home. My son with Asperger’s loved his blanket and it has become his new favorite (that never happens). All my children reported having fun and how nice the (Alpine) people were who helped. I appreciate the time and effort taken to make my children feel like important members of their community. I feel a sense of pride in my community when we get to participate in activities like this. Thanks for all you do to care for my children. It takes a village, and you are part of my village.”
Thank you to Alpine Securities for LIVING UNITED and to United Way of Salt Lake and DJ LaMont for creating community at our school!
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