American Diabetes Association Carnival!

Author's Note: On May 4th, Academy 21 hosted the second annual Carnival for the American Diabetes Association. This a reflective piece on what I learned as part of the Carnival. Overall, the Carnival raised a lot of money for the ADA, and I personally had a really great time working at it.

As I looked around at the newly transformed gym, an image came back to me of how the Carnival looked last year. I saw how the Teacher Soak game, which consisted of some wet sponges to throw at teachers, had changed to a full dunk tank. I saw how the number of sponsors and donors had doubled. I saw how the few games we had made out of paper and homemade materials now looked far more professional and included two inflatable games. Besides the overall look of the Carnival, I saw something else I hadn't completely noticed last year. It was the look of pure joy on the kids faces as they raced back and forth on the Bungee Run game that intrigued me to notice how happy everyone was. From the students running the games to the kids running around, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Though it was mainly about supporting the American Diabetes Association, it was also about giving kids the opportunity to have fun and enjoy themselves.

The months leading up to the Carnival were definitely less stressful than last year. Since I was head of the Games Group for the Carnival, we were still faced with some minor issues. We were constantly trying to figure out how to get the most money from each game. It was hard to make the games have a professional feel to them without buying the supplies. Since the Games Group didn't have a budget, we had to either make all of the materials or bring them from home. For one group, no one had darts at home for their game. Since, we didn't want to make anyone go out and buy their materials, we suggested to them to somehow create their own darts. A couple other groups also took this idea and they created their own supplies. Of course there is always the worry that they might not work, but for the most part they games turned out better than our expectations.

When I went outside to see the dunk tank, I noticed that, though the teachers were probably extremely uncomfortable, they put on a smile and dealt with it. They just patiently sat there, lightly teasing the people who were trying to dunk them. They created a playful environment that attracted more and more people. They chose to just have fun because they knew that it was all for the ADA, and thankfully none of them got hypothermia. I know it was a sacrifice for all of them to come and just their presences contributed to total outcome of the Carnival.

With Kati, Ashton, Mai, and all of Academy 21's help the second annual Carnival had a great turn out and an even better profit. Ultimately, it didn't matter how much money we raised though. It was the fact that we were able to spread awareness for the ADA through giving kids a chance to have fun. Though we never may know what impact we had on the ADA, if our money helps one person with diabetes, the work was all worth it.