The Department of Child Services pairs up with Cargo Services and the Colts each year to distribute age appropriate books and backpacks to foster children in the Indy area. Foster kids of all ages are given a backpack full of donated books and an evening of food, face painting, and Colts entertainment. This past Tuesday, September 25th, I was fortunate enough to see weeks of hard work and preparation come together as the designated coordinator to host the event utilizing my current company’s facilities.
Taking a moment to stand back from the action, I was able to look around. The balloons, the mascot, the children-- all of these factored into the success of the event. So I decided I should break this event down by the numbers a la MasterCard style because yes, it was priceless.
100 Balloons
51 Backpacks full of books
5 parking signs lovingly weather proofed
60 ft- the length of the Colts in Motion that was expertly backed into the warehouse
107 Hot dogs grilled and eaten
2 Colts Cheerleaders
1000 ft of blue and white streamers
The Colts Books for Youth event is truly a wonderful cause. This was my first year as the lead coordinator on behalf of my company, and it was amazing to see so many sponsors and companies come together to give children the gift of reading. I grew up with a love of reading. I still take great pride in the fact I held the school record for Accelerated Reader points (that’s still a thing, right?). Books are a wonderful way to expand vocabularies at a young age. As I grew, I had a safe space with my books. My imagination would run wild. The words on the pages would create the most fantastic imagery in my head.
Words have a powerful impact, and it was a truly heartwarming moment to watch children excitedly receive a backpack and hug Blue, the mascot. It was an honor to lend my assistance to a cause that enables foster children to experience the limitless possibilities the written word can offer.
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