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Celebrating Spring with NYU’s Project OutReach

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring was in full bloom last weekend, as our enCourage Kids families celebrated the start of the season with our Spring Festival at the NYU Kimmel Center. The event was hosted by NYU’s Project OutReach, a student-run service program dedicated to making a difference in the New York City community.

In the past, Project OutReach and NYU have hosted several enCourage Kids holiday-themed parties, including a Halloween Party and Valentine’s Day Party. This year, the students hosted the enCourage Kids Spring Festival as a part of their Spring Break volunteer initiative, taking time out of their week-long vacation to give back to the children in our program.

“The students have been asking to do this for awhile, so they’re pretty excited about it,” shared organizer Josh Dean about Project Outreach’s relationship with enCourage Kids and having an activity that involved working directly with children. “These are the most amazing student I’ve worked with here [at NYU].”

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

And our families couldn’t agree more! One enCourage Kids parent described the Project OutReach volunteers as “Super! They were extremely engaged and hands-on with the kids. It was great!”

Together, our kids, staff, and volunteers enjoyed a fun afternoon filled with carnival games and prizes, including a ring toss, pin the ladybug on the flower, and a bean bag toss. The arts and crafts tables were filled with children showing off their inner artist as they drew and colored springtime animals and critters, but the most popular activity was the cookie decorating station, where kids got both creative and culinary, decorating their cookies with bright colored sprinkles and frosting.

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

With face paint, Project OutReach volunteers transformed our kids into puppy dogs, spiderman, and other fun creatures, working up an appetite that led to a delicious pizza lunch. Things even got a little wild, as one of our enCourage Kids, Tyriee, posed for a photo in animal masks with our staff.

enCourage Kids Program Specialist, Kelly Jirka, explained that events like these are truly why she loves her job. “From running around with the kids to talking with the parents, we’re really able to get a sense of how much these events mean to our members. One of the mothers expressed to me how much her son, who is an only child, looks forward to these events where he can play tag with kids his age and where members of the enCourage Kids staff have become mentors that he really admires.”

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

Thanks to our Programs staff and NYU’s Project OutReach Volunteers, our Spring Festival was a great success and the perfect event to welcome the warmer weather and prepare for our upcoming summer Escapes.

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

enCourage Kids Spring Festival

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