Services
St. Vincent's Center Celebrates With Kids Day!
Imagine a day when children and adults alike are asked “not to work, but come out and play.” A day when children are encouraged to send adults splashing into a dunking booth, slide down a water slide, toss water balloons, paint their faces, and eat cotton candy and ice cream. It sounds almost too good to be true, but on one special day each year at St. Vincent’s Center this is exactly what happens. In celebration of the simple pleasures of childhood, St. Vincent’s Center holds their annual Kids Day.
When the children arrive, they enter a world made just for them. A cotton candy machine waiting for its first customer, jump ropes strewn across the hopscotch squares, a giant blow-up slide doused with water, trays overflowing with sudsy liquid for blowing bubbles, a dunking tank complete with willing adult waiting to take a dip, water balloons filled and ready to toss and a karaoke machine playing loudly to entice young budding musicians. Inside a large pavilion there are tables filled with all types of arts and crafts projects, a lemonade stand, a pie eating station, a face painter, and plenty of board games.
The children take one look at all that stands before them and dive right into the fun. Cyndi Mitchell-Summers, director of volunteer services for St. Vincent’s Center says “it is so important to recognize and celebrate this time of life called childhood for the children of St. Vincent's Center because so many of these brave boys and girls have not had many, or sometimes any, opportunities to experience the joys and fun associated with childhood prior to coming here.”
While the children are the main focus of all this excitement, the day is equally enjoyable for the staff who are all invited to leave their work behind and play along side the children. “The staff from our entire program comes out for this day” says Ellen Torres director of development at St. Vincent’s Center. “Kids Day gives people like the administrative and operations staff who do not always have time to spend with the children, the opportunity to get out and enjoy the day together.”
In addition to having the full staff support, Kids Day is made possible by a group of very dedicated volunteers. This year over 45 volunteers gave of their time to help make the day so special for the children. Volunteers and staff alike could be seen enjoying the day almost as much as the children. Many were soaking wet as they too were sliding down the water slide and taking turns in the dunking booth. Others could be seen showing off their double-dutch skills as they demonstrated to the children how best to jump rope.
“Some staff even dress like kids, wearing their hair in pig tails, or wearing t-shirts with cartoon characters on them instead of their usual office garb” says Cyndi. “We play all the games we enjoyed during our own childhoods and the kids get to see that we all value play and fun!”
At lunch time the children line up to receive their hot dogs or hamburgers, their Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, chips and salad. The meal is followed later by trays of cookies, brownies and, of course, ice cream. For the rest of the day, each child could be seen wearing a chocolate smile grinning from ear to ear.
Kids Day is now over 8 years old and according to Ellen, it just gets better every year. When asked why they celebrate Kids Day, Cyndi shares that “some of our kids here at St. Vincent’s may not know how to play before coming to us. Many may know some kinds of games but maybe they don't feel that they had permission to play and enjoy life. Kid's Day therefore not only lets the children know that play is permitted, but that it is encouraged!”
From an outsiders perspective, Kids Day may seem just like a bunch of kids having a great day, but for many of these children it is an opportunity to embrace their childhood and continue to heal the wounds from their past. It is so much more than just a day of fun for many of these kids. For many, learning the experience of joy will stay with them for many years to come.
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Catholic Charities of Baltimore | 320 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201 | 410.547.5490 | Archdiocese of Baltimore
