Girls and boys are sitting together to discuss anime and superheroes. And girls of different nationalities are huddling together outside to create new dances and flipping techniques.Through and from our students, We’re learning that family can look different every day and community is about how you feel with one another. We often group our kids together by grade (because it’s just easier on everyone) and we love to see our kids bond together over it. They know each other’s teachers, siblings, and some even know the names of cousins who come to visit for the weekend. One group of people who we don’t often highlight but who play a huge role in our community, are the moms and dads of our students. We have moms who come in and hang out with us for hours, getting to know the kids and even taking some home for sleepovers and outings. Our moms bring us things we need for our students and our center. One mom brought us a speaker when our internet went down for a few hours and completely saved our monstrous musical chairs game with students and volunteers.
Another mom has come to help us clean up after a long day of pizza and partying. We have parents who come to host small birthday gatherings with homemade cupcakes and balloons and we have dads who spend time with our boys, throwing the football outside during fall break in place of their fathers who are absent or working. We love our community and know we’re doing something right when our kids who have already graduated from elementary school stop in everyday to say hi to us. We love our community and what it means to truly serve as a family, not just for the family. Our hope is that we’ll continue to grow into a huge network of people helping people.
