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Great Finds - Boys & Girls Club Day for Kids Provides Free Fun for Local Families
Kids and Parents will Enjoy Free Food, Carnival Games and More on September 16
September, 2006 - Issue #23
Mothers, fathers, grandparents - heck- even groundhogs and flags have a day on the calendar dedicated to them. Kids, however, currently don't have a day reserved in their honor.

Now before you get ahead of me and sigh to yourself, "Everyday is kids' day," hear me out.

While it might feel like we dedicate most of our existence to packing lunches, driving to soccer practice, correcting homework and the like, it's not to hard to recognize that the actual quality time we spend with our children isn't as much as we'd like it to be.

Work. Cleaning. Commute. Errands. They all get in the way of family outings, days at the beach and game night. Most parents even have a hard time scheduling family meals; according to recent research, 36 percent of parents eat a home-cooked meal with their kids less than an average of once per day.

Statistics like these have prompted the City of Santa Clarita and the Boys & Girls Club, along with other community partners, to create the SCV's first annual Boys & Girls Club Day for Kids on September 16. Held at Newhall Park, the event offers families a fun-filled carnival, including rides, waterslides, games, contests, crafts, entertainment, free food and drinks, a kids raffle and more. Kids can win an X-box from Blockbuster, a computer from Wal-mart in Stevenson Ranch and other great prizes. There will be a special appearance from Radio Disney's Daniel Patrick Ellis and Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will make the trip down from Six Flags Magic Mountain to join in on the fun, too. The event is entirely free and runs from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Another Way to Spend Meaningful Time with your Family

On August 26, the Gospel Gumbo Family Festival will take place at College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center. Starting at 6 p.m. and featuring Crystal Lewis live in concert, the event promises to be one the entire family will enjoy. Tickets and information can be found at www.scvarts.com.
With the goal of adding Boys & Girls Club Day for Kids to the national calendar by the end of 2006, state officials will be encouraged to support the effort. The Day for Kids is being launched nationally by Boys & Girls Clubs of America to foster stronger relationships between adults and children by educating them on the importance and value of spending meaningful time together.

Locally, Santa Clarita expects thousands of parents and kids to take part in the special day, and over 500,000 are expected to participate nationwide in more than 1,300 events taking place nearly simultaneously across the country.

While reserving one day a year to play with your children seems trite, it's a reminder for all of us to regularly push aside the pressures of contemporary life and focus instead on building strong relationships with the little people in our lives that matter the most.

Event sponsors include Boys & Girls Club of SCV, the City of Santa Clarita, Blockbuster, Pepsi, Wal-mart, Whole Foods, Radio Disney, KHTS AM 1220, Home Depot, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Special Olympics, American Medical Response, Santa Clarita Valley Youth Project, Hometown Buffet, Mountasia Family Fun Center, Lucas Club, AT&T Golf Classic, Santa Clarita Valley Newhall Optimist, Alive, Child Care Resource Center, Empire Realty, KIIS FM and Inside SCV Magazine.

For more information visit www.santa-clarita.com/dayforkids.
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