By Laura Carpenter
Parent’s
Night Out was day 23 of 30 Days of Kindness. This event offered
some fantastic perks for both parents and kids. Not only did parent's receive free child care for two and a half hours on a Friday evening, but there was also a free dinner provided by a local pizzeria!
Joe Ruffino’s restaurant in
downtown Oneonta generously partnered with us for this AoK and
supplied the parents with free dinner and dessert; while we entertained the kids with games, dancing, musical
chairs, finger painting, and more.
Thankfully, we had some friends come
and help us with this AoK. Kaler and I could not have done it alone.
One volunteer and I watched the babies and toddlers, while Kaler and
another friend entertained the school aged kids. A few families
stopped in, dropped off their kids, and headed over to Joe’s for
dinner.
As the children filed inside our building, our empty room burst forth
with the noises of running, jumping, laughing, and yelling (sounds we
haven’t heard in a while). It was a treat to experience the joy of
watching a toddler chase my cat around our upstairs apartment, and
being able to hold a baby for a change. By the end of the night, Kaler even showed some creative babysitting by entertaining the kids for a significant amount of time with large empty boxes from the new PA system.
The parents greatly
appreciated it. For many local parents, a night of child care is
too expensive, or they just don’t have friends or
family to ask. The parents that brought their kids were grateful
for an opportunity to experience a few hours of sanity in the midst
of their busy parenting schedules. We were happy to show God’s
love to both the kids and the parents that participated.
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