hi all! this post is terribly late, but last week i got the opportunity to go volunteer at the give kids the world village here in orlando and work with the terminally ill children that get to come to disney world thanks to the make a wish foundation!
so every sunday and wednesday the college program buses kids over to the make a wish village to spend about 4 hours with the kids and their families. i went on a wednesday, so the activity was 'kids night out'. the parents drop off the kids (the sick kids and their siblings, whoever wants to participate) at about 5 o'clock for a night of fun. they get to pick a 'best friend' for the night (one of us 'voluntears') and we have lots of fun!
so we first arrived at the village and it is amazing. the families stay in these brightly colored cottages on perfectly manicured streets surrounded by fairytale themed amusements. mini golf, a princess spa, remote controlled boats on a little lake, unlimited ice cream parlor, it's amazing. there were about a dozen 'voluntears' from the college program, and about 20 other adult volunteers that we combined with. i think they were just tourists visiting the orlando area that took time to serve, because they were from all around the country. we were briefed about what was going to take place that night, then taken to the recreation room to meet our new best friend!
the process of picking a best friend is a lot like picking gym teams in elementary school. it is pretty funny. so all the kids walk in, and if they see a volunteer they like, you get picked! if you don't get picked by a child you serve food the whole night. kind of funny. but either way it is a great way to serve!! i got lucky and was picked! i didn't think i would be picked. it was adorable to watch the little kids come in. you can tell who some of the sick ones are, with their fragile little bodies or they shiny bald heads, but some kids you can't tell! and we aren't allowed to ask, this is their time to get away from the hospitals and questions, so the whole night you might never know if you are with a healthy kid or not! kind of crazy to think about, but it is for the best i think. that way you treat every kid the same! i didn't know for a majority of the night but it turned out that my best friend, hannah, was actually here because her 5 year old sister, JanaRae (cutest little thing ever) has critical heart problems.
Hannah was great! she was a spunky 13 year old from Montana who dont talk english so good. hahah. she was funny! so first we just do whatever your best friend wants to do in the rec room. they have lots of arcade games, bumper cars and boats and trainsets and lots of stuff for little ones like puzzles and plushes. basically anything a kid could dream of. pool, big screen tvs, etc. Hannah wanted to play on the xbox so we did some car races for a while. as we were sitting there she really started opening up to me. it is funny to hear the heartaches of a 13 year old girl. she loves her boyfriend. she hates her mom because she doesnt have a cellphone. her best friend isn't talking to her because she has a crush on her boyfriend. all of lifes most complex problems :) i think she just wanted someone to listen so thats what i did! some good girl talk.
after that we had dinner! it is all inclusive and they had tons of stuff. we had chicken nuggets and fries and they of course had the unlimited ice cream bar available. this is when i got to meet hannah's little sister, JanaRae, and her older sister, who was best friends with my roommate Brittany for the night. they also had two little brothers who were participating. they were all so cute.
after dinner was my favorite part of the night, village idol! all the kids had the choice to sign up to perform a talent of their choice for everyone. it was adorable. the kids who didn't want to perform got to be judges and gave the cutest feedback. ah. it was just adorable. anyways. Hannah was really scared, but about halfway through she decided she wanted to sing! there was a BIG catch though, she would only do it if i did it too. hahaha. how do you say no to that?! those of you that know me well know that i am not a stage performer, let alone a singer. i was soooo not down to do this. but this is make a wish, you can't let them down! so you best believe i got up there on stage and sang selena gomez like a boss!! hahaha. she did great and you couldn't really hear me so i'd say it was a success! and she was super happy that she did it, and everyone was really encouraging to her and said she was gonna be a rockstar someday... anyways it was great. the kids loved loved loved it!
after that we delivered the kids back to their parents! it was a great night! i know this was a terrible summary, i am pretty delirious right now (i am so sick, nyquil is my bff at the moment) but i am so glad brittany convinced me to go. there's some quote about how serving someone really is more beneficial to you than the person you are serving, and it is so true!! so basically, everyone go out and serve someone today!!! and if you have the opportunity, make a contribution to the make a wish foundation! they are amazing!
love to all :)
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