Kids Day Fun
Randolph children celebrate before school starts
The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Two children have fun at one of several bouncy houses set up as part of Randolph County Kids Day at the Phil Gainer Community Center. About 300 guests, including 150 children, came out for the event.
Tekoa Jones, from Centers Against Violence, hands out informational items for a child to make a bookmark during Randolph County Kids Day at the Phil Gainer Community Center. Centers Against Violence was one of several local organizations participating in the event.
The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Two children have fun at one of several bouncy houses set up as part of Randolph County Kids Day at the Phil Gainer Community Center. About 300 guests, including 150 children, came out for the event.
Tekoa Jones, from Centers Against Violence, hands out informational items for a child to make a bookmark during Randolph County Kids Day at the Phil Gainer Community Center. Centers Against Violence was one of several local organizations participating in the event.
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ELKINS -- Children attending Randolph County Kids Day were able to let loose one more time this summer before heading back to the classroom for the start of school today.
The event, which took place at the Phil Gainer Community Center Saturday, featured a host of activities for children attending. The celebration was part of National Kids Day in the past, but was changed to a local event this year.
"We used to do it as part of National Kids Day, but we kind of rebranded it this year, " Kyleigh Smith, Randolph County Family Resource Network director, told The Inter-Mountain. "We partnered with Interact Children's Museum, Southern Kitchen and Elkins Parks and Recreation to make it our own (this year).
"Our goal was to have a free family event that could entertain kids in the county before they went back to school and I think we did that. We had about 300 people total come out, with 150 of them being kids."
The Interact Children's Museum offered a host of games and activities set up outside the Phil Gainer Center for children to explore, while the Southern Kitchen provided free food for everyone who attended. Bouncy houses, games and information tables from area organizations were set up inside the center.
"It was a nice switch-off for the kids. There was face painting and the bouncy houses inside the Phil Gainer Center, while outside we had all the things from the Interact Children's Museum," said Elliott White, AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the Elkins Parks and Recreation.
"We had a good turnout and the kids really enjoyed the array of things we had going on. They were all full of energy all day long and were all over the place. It was a really good time for everyone."
Several local organizations provided information for families at the event, including Randolph-Tucker Children's Advocacy Center, MountainHeart Community Services, Centers Against Violence, Youth Health Service, and Randolph County Parents as Teachers.
"The Children's Advocacy Center gave away backpacks to all the kids that came out to the event," White said. "Centers Against Violence handed out bookmarks and Parents as Teachers set up a lot of the games for children under 5 years old. The Randolph County Family Resource Network also gave away two Randolph County Fair tickets. All the vendors attending had something for the kids."
The Phil Gainer Center and K.T. Bright Accounting and Tax Services also helped sponsor the event. For more information about the RCFRN, call 304-636-4454 or visit randolphcountyfrn.com.