Serving Others

One of our theme weeks for summer camp this year was 'Serving Others'.  It went really well! We did a ton of activities:

On Monday, we had a guest speaker come from Save the Children.  She talked to this kids about why it's important to help children throughout the world. She gave them some swag to take home. We started a penny drive to raise a little money for Save the Children.

We also made blankets for pets at the animal shelter.  I paired kids up, and let them choose 2 different 1-yard lengths of fleece.  My volunteer and I went around and marked where they should cut.  The kids cut the slits and tied the two fleeces together, making small blankets!  This was a bit difficult, some of the younger kids got frustrated.  What would help would be good, sharp, adult scissors for making the cuts, and maybe three kids per blanket, or at least pair older and younger kids together.  The kids were really proud of their final products.  There are lots of tutorials on how to make no-sew fleece blankets, I just made ours a bit smaller.

Cutting and tie-ing pet blankets

On Tuesday, we had a returned Peace Corps Volunteer come and give a slideshow presentation about her time in Cameroon.  She brought little snacks for the kids to try, and when she left, we also made baked plantain chips in the toaster oven (our kitchen is being remodeled, so we couldn't use a real oven.) I had a bunch of 'dips' they could try as well - hummus, peanut butter, yogurt and salsa.

Picking up supplies for the toiletry kits

Then we made toiletry kids for people who are coming out of the immigrant detention center in Aurora.  I emailed Casa de Paz, a place that offers hospitality for just released immigrants and their family members, and they told me what they could use.  The kids decorated paper lunch bags, then filled them with supplies I had purchased: a soap, a washcloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, small hand sanitizer, and shampoo. Most of these I got at the dollar store.  I will deliver their toiletry kits to Casa de Paz.

A completed, decorated, toiletry kit

Wednesday we talked about water, and how much water we use in the U.S. compared to others, and what we can do to conserve water. We also played FreeRice.com, which donates rice to the World  Food Programme as kids play trivia games. They had a blast competing for who could donate the most rice.  We also made cards for children who have been separated from their parents for immigration reasons.

Playing FreeRice.com.  The kids generally partnered up and had 2 to a computer

Thursday we did a field trip! We took the bus to Clothes to Kids of Denver, a nonprofit that provides free school clothes for underserved children. We spent an hour and a half volunteering there, helping them fold socks, organize shoes, and clothes ready for display.  The kids really liked this field trip and really enjoyed feeling like they were doing a grown-up job.

Checking sizes to sort shirts

Learning about Clothes to Kids and our jobs there

Folding T-shirts and carrying them to the right shelf

Throughout the week, I read them stories of real-life children who are making a difference in their world, from the book Kids Who Are Changing the World and we had some good discussions on finding the thing that makes us want to donate our time, talent, or treasure to make the world a better place.  It was a cool week!