First
Nations Celebrate National Kids Day -
August 1, 2004
National KidsDay is held annually on the first Sunday
of August in collaboration with KidsPeace, the national
center for kids overcoming crisis, and is dedicated to celebrating
and honoring youngsters through the gift of parents and
children spending meaningful time together. Read how these
special Boys & Girls Clubs celebrated National Kids Day.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Hawaii
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Yankton Sioux,
South Dakota
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Navajo Nation,
Arizona
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Peck, Montana
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Leech Lake Area,
Minnesota
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Navajo Nation,
New Mexico
Boys & Girls Clubs
of Hawaii
Hundreds of youngsters, families and Boys & Girls Club
of Hawaii members from across O'ahu celebrated National
KidsDay with music, games, athletic competition and good
old fashioned fun at the annual “Picnic in the Park”
in downtown Honolulu. Held in conjunction with the Hawaii
Children’s Discovery Center and sponsored by ABC Stores,
the free day of family fun in the sun featured giant inflatables,
entertainment, refreshments and a variety of parent and
children activities and games hosted by local Boys &
Girls Club clubhouses including a Papa John’s pizza
eating contest, ice cube golf, three-legged races, a pudding
eating contest and lively sheet volleyball matches.
Prior to the “Picnic
In The Park” celebration, more than 125 club members
from Papakolea, Nanakuli, Ewa Beach, Honolulu and Waianae
took part in an early-morning Start Living Healthy pentathlon
with team competitions in jump rope, lateral hops, push
ups, sit ups, and 50- and 100-yard races.
Boys & Girls Clubs
of the Yankton Sioux
Over 450 kids came to Wagner Lake to celebrate National
KidsDay despite temperatures well in the upper nineties.
Starting the celebrations at the a local Senior Citizen's
Center, a parade kicked off the day and more fun events
included a fishing derby, pie eating contest, nail driving
contest, and he-man challenge. The program also featured
dance hip-hop and Traditional Native American performances
by club members and Czech dancing by local youth.
Local leaders addressed the
crowd and expressed the importance of spending meaningful
time with kids and commended the Boys and Girls Club of
the Yankton Sioux on its efforts to promote physical and
emotional well-being in kids. Informational bags were handed
out to adults taking the KidsDay pledge.
Eleven local "chefs" competed
in the Iron Grill Cook-off, sweating over a hot grill cooking
buffalo meat. The event finale was the Duck Pluck taking
place on Wagner Lake. In addition to kids and adults agreeing
they want to spend meaningful time together, they also agreed
the Wagner area National KidsDay Celebration was a success.
Boys & Girls Clubs
of the Navajo Nation, Kayenta Unit
Over 450 kids, parents, and community members participated
in a Health Carnival and Water Olympics co-sponsored by
the Boys & Girls Club, the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes
Project, and the Navajo Nation Department of Youth. Another
10,000 people across the Navajo Nation heard glimpses of
the various events through a broadcast delivered by the
Navajo Nation's radio station. At the Health Carnival, kids
and parents alike were able to traverse through a mammoth
sized coronary artery entitled the Tunnel of Life. As the
day grew hotter, others enjoyed getting dunked in our dunking
tank and sliding their way to victory on the last leg of
the Water World Obstacle Course Challenge - the slip n'
slide finish area. All in all, the mud streaked clothes
and smiles of kids and parents proved it was an enjoyable
National KidsDay at the Kayenta Boys & Girls Club.
Boys & Girls Clubs
of Fort Peck, Montana
The Fort Peck Boys & Girl Clubs celebrated National
KidsDay in conjunction with area powwows all summer long.
The youth participated with their families in the dances
and feeds and the Club sponsored games and prizes. Club
staff helped out where needed and explained the efforts
behind National Kids Day with invitations to the community
to join in the celebration.
On August 1, the four Club
Units held community picnics on the Fort Peck Reservation.
The Clubs hosted games and passed out National KidsDay "Making
Memories" booklets. Over five hundred youth participated
in the various activities offered, with at least that many
adults being made aware of the National Kids Day goals.
Boys & Girls Clubs
of the Leech Lake Area, Minnesota
To celebrate National KidsDay
this year, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Leech Lake
Area Ogimaai (Ojibwe for "to be a leader") Keystone
Club coordinated Just Play at Dreamcatcher Park.
Games were coordinated by Ogimaai members for younger children
to win prizes and have fun! Tickets for the games were earned
by younger Club members the week before or purchased at
the park.
The Ogimaai Members recruited
adult volunteers from the community including Club staff,
who volunteered their time, and the Mayor and Tribal Chairman.
All the proceeds from the event will be used to help the
Ogimaai Keystone Club attend the Midwest Keystone Conference
in St. Louis, Missouri in November.
Boys & Girls Clubs
of the Navajo Nation, To'Hajiilee Unit
KidsDay was celebrated by
the Canoncito Band of Navajos in To'Hajiilee, New Mexico
at an outreach event in the remote community with over 700
people attending. The Club, which is located 12 miles away,
took the celebration to the community and collaborated with
the community's health corporation to transport youth to
the day of events. There were bike races, a basketball tournament
and kids took part in an art project tracing their clans.
Torch and Keystone Club members played an important role
in keeping the games organized and informational sessions
about the Club were held. Everyone had so much fun the hours
were extended and plans have been made to hold a similar
event in October.
