by Drew Martinez
Leadership Giving Director
Last week, United Way of Salt Lake’s Young Leaders held their first volunteer opportunity of the new school year – and it was a blast! This year, Young Leaders are targeting at-risk students at Guadalupe School’s afterschool program, helping increase their proficiency in reading and math by leading interactive science experiments. The goal of these projects is to make learning fun for the kids, and also pair students with a positive adult role model. This particular science experiment involved creating “gak,” using glue, borax, and water, helping to facilitate conversation about the different states of matter.
Below are some great quotes from Young Leaders that attended the opportunity.
“I loved watching the kids’ faces once they discovered that they had made putty with the three ingredients! They were delighted with the experiment and wanted to make more. I enjoyed getting to know them and was touched when they asked if I would come back the next time. Glad they enjoyed the fun time we had!”
-Julie Bradford, Zions Bank
“I had so much fun volunteering with the children at Guadalupe School. They have such vibrant spirits and I can’t wait to go back in November. My group of three little girls were just a riot. Although – I did suck at the experiment.”
-Christy Thayne, Chase
“I was so impressed with the boy’s behavior, and their intelligence levels. They knew more about matter than I did. We had a good time playing with the GAK. One kid said, “oh my gak,” and I thought it was the funniest thing ever. They all wanted to know if we could come again next week and I thought that was really cool. I would love to volunteer again.”
-Roslynn Deifel, Zions Bank
“Some of the kids I worked with last week had also attended Guadalupe’s summer program, which emphasized science. I was able to judge some science fair projects last summer and talk to the kids about their past projects. The kids thought the summer program was fun, they enjoyed this science experiment, and they said they like science in general. It is a testament to the school for continually making science both a priority at the school and fun for students who struggle in the subject.”
-Stephanie Rokich, United Way of Salt Lake
We are so grateful to the staff at Guadalupe School who organized this excellent volunteer opportunity. We loved spending time with the kids and believe the kids enjoyed their time too. In fact, we overheard one student exclaim, “This was the greatest experience EVER!”
Thank you Young Leaders and staff at Guadalupe School! This is an ongoing opportunity on every second Wednesday so we can’t wait to see you in November! Your effort to change the odds for kids in our community truly shows what it means to LIVE UNITED!
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