by Sally Key Brown
Young Leader
To end 2012, Young Leaders hosted a toy ride and a Holiday Party for the children of the Guadalupe School. This was a celebration of SNOW that included cookie decorating, story time, a game of winter bingo, a sock snowman project, and an “egg” race with snow gear.
First we kicked off the day decorating cookies and it quickly became a “how high can I get my icing” contest–then cover the mountain in sprinkles! And it didn’t stop there. As Chris Kirkpatrick read the story “Snowmen at Night,” the children began decorating themselves with green icing! Let’s just say this was the perfect “icebreaker” for the children and the Young Leader Volunteers. It really set the pace for the rest of the day (or the sugar did)!
Next we broke up into smaller groups and went to the other activities. At the “sock snowman” station, their little creations were as unique as each of the children and we really got to see their creativity and personalities come out. Their competitive side emerged at the “winter bingo” station as they wanted to win more tasty treats from Dan and his daughter! The finale was the race and I couldn’t tell who was more exhausted or having more fun — the children or the Young Leaders!
Overall, the holiday party was a wonderful event for all of us. As a Young Leader and someone that understands United Way of Salt Lake’s mission–the opportunity to give back and to interact with these children was amazing. The smiles on their faces said it all and to say goodbye meant we will see you next month!
I am proud to be a Young Leader, and to be a role model for these children–to watch them grow and learn, and to know they will become our next generation of Young Leaders. Thank you to all the volunteers that came out to help with this project and thank you to everyone at the Guadalupe School!
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To learn more about being a Young Leader, visit our website or contact Crist at cristi@uw.org.
