Key Club keys into giving season
Students from Rosemont, El Camino, and Rio Americano came together last weekend to give kids with sick parents a spe- cial day.
Just For Kids, a Key Club event, took place Dec. 14 from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at El Cami- no’s Band Room.
“JFK stands for Just For Kids, and it is a program sponsored by Key Club and the Kiwanis Club,” said the Vice President of Key Club, Adam Mateo. “It is a pro- gram where Key Clubbers can have a fun day with a children whose parents have some illness, like cancer.”
Kids there ranged from as young as 6 to as a old as about 15. The day was filled with fun for both the kids and Key Club members. Art was made, games were played, and even Santa came to join in on the fun.
Key Club has been doing Just For Kids for 26 years.
Kids were paired up with a Key Club member and guided through stations to make their bags, candy cane reindeer, and more.
The kids soon moved on to other activities, however. Some decided to converse with their Key Club members, while others decided to play games, like Ninja.
At lunchtime the kids ate hot dogs for lunch and talked about what they wanted for Christmas.
Then excitement rose as the cookies came.
One of the kids even ex- claimed, “I am going to be the sprinkle master again!”
While some of the cautious kids carefully worked on their cookies, others just put some vanilla on and showered their cookies with mountains of sprin- kles, making their cookies to disappear. After most of the kids were satisfied with their cookies that now lay in their stomach, the kids settled down as they waited for Santa.
Each child got a picture with Santa, a gift, and a candy cane from an elf. When all the kids received their gifts, they were al- lowed to tear open the packages. Inside each big blue gift bag were goodies and treats for these chil- dren.
Then it was time for the piña- ta. The piñata would soon prove itself to be a formidable investment. Each kid from young- est to the oldest got three whacks at the large pinata. After the pinata withstood even the fiercest of the kid’s hits, some of the Key Club- bers got a chance at the pinata. The pinata eventually fell, and the kids excitedly waited un- til they were allowed to grab some candy.
As the kids finished scram- bling for candy, the Key Club- bers cleaned up and the day ended after four hours of ex- treme fun for both the kids and the Key Clubbers.
Although the day was full of fun, it also took a lot of work to make sure that event worked.
The day before, “Key clubbers baked cookies and wrapped the gifts that would be given to the children the following day,” said Mateo.
Their hard work paid off and ended in a magical day of fun.
“It was a very enjoyable ex- perience,” said Mateo. “To see the smiles on the kid’s faces when you show them a good time.”
