VERO BEACH — The St. Helen’s Catholic School gymnasium was a beehive of activity, with busy little hands elbow deep in Christmas crafts at the Youth Guidance Holiday Party Saturday morning.
Approximately 120 kindergarten to fifth-grade children had been dropped off and matched up with an almost equal number of adult volunteers for the annual event, sponsored by the Exchange Clubs of Indian River and Sebastian.
“We play games and we take pictures and we eat!” said young Dijon flashing a big grin as he finished off a slice of pizza.
“We’re focusing again on one-on-one mentoring, which is how we started,” said Tricia Maestri, Youth Guidance public relations and mentor coordinator. “We’re doing great, but there’s always a need for more mentors.”
Youth Guidance reached out to the community for volunteers to assist at the party, hoping that they would have such a gratifying experience that they might want to continue the relationship.
“I’m really excited,” said 8-year-old Taylor. She was one of the lucky ones – the volunteer working with her that morning agreed to a new mentorship.
“I had a very cute 10-year-old boy; he read really well,” said Kate Hoffmann.
“I always have them read the instructions, and I have them cross out when we’ve finished, teaching them organizational skills. And this guy was super smart. It’s very rewarding to do this; it’s one of my favorite things to do at Christmas. It’s really important that they know that there are people who care.”
The party was made even more poignant for the adults in the room, as they watched all the happy young faces. Referencing the horrific Connecticut elementary school massacre which had taken place just the morning before Hoffman added, “It’s a town the size of Vero.”
But the children seemed blissfully unaware of the tragedy, as they busily dove into craft creations, including Santa-styled hats, 3-D tabletop Christmas trees, snowflake ornaments, white dove ornaments, beaded candy-canes, Rudolph and mouse ornaments, and snow globes.
Many also tried their hand at the Frosty the Snowman snowball toss, or took turns with the snowball race, perching large Styrofoam snowballs atop big wooden spoons. And of course everyone also looked forward to lots of pizza and cookies.
“It was the best Christmas ever,” said 4-year-old Jose.
Rebecca Hornbuckle once again co-chaired the Christmas Party with Cathi Bates, organizing the various components for each of the crafts and placing them into baggies ahead of time to move things along efficiently.
“They get one-on-one undivided attention and make a little something to take home,” said Hornbuckle.
“One add-on we’re trying is to have a team volunteer component. Older teens help us run the event – help with set-up, run the games, hand out the crafts, serve the pizza. The craft component is really geared toward younger kids. This gives the older kids, many who have done this when they were younger, a chance to participate. My mentor is 16 now, so she comes here and helps. We try to create enough activities to keep all the kids engaged, busy and entertained.”
At any given time there are more than 600 children on a waiting list, seeking adult mentors who can spend a few hours each week with them and make a positive difference in their lives.
To fund its programs, Youth Guidance holds a number of events throughout the year, including the King of the Hill Tennis Competitions at the Moorings which take place in January and February, the Tropical Night Luau in June and a new Heart to Heart Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction which will take place in February.
