Schools
Flyer Playground Provides Break for Parents, Fun for Kids
A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Children ages 5-14 got a chance to hang out with Lewis University student athletes at the Flyer Playground this weekend.
The fun-filled afternoon, held Sunday in the Fitness and Recreation Center, was a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Kids swam and played basketball, volleyball and floor hockey, and got to watch the movie “How to Train Your Dragon.” Vice President of Lewis Student Athletic Advisory Council Clare Kessler, who is also a member of the women's tennis team, said kids and student athletes also played a game of dodgeball she jokingly described as “pretty much mass chaos.”
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“We just hang out with the kids and give the parents a nice afternoon off,” Kessler said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Associate Director of Athletics Brian Summers said the idea for the fundraiser was inspired by his experience as a member of the baseball team at North Central College in Naperville. The team held a similar event called Kids Night Out as a fundraiser for the team. Summers decided to bring the idea to Lewis’ Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC) for a chance to do some good.
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“They’re (SAAC) really the ones that brought it to life and created it as it is for Lewis,” Summers said.
This year's event, the third Flyer Playground, had a turnout of around 75 children.
Since the first event, which drew about 20 kids, the Flyer Playground has grown, Summers said, adding the university hopes to continue to see participation increase.
Womens swimming team member Catie Reese sees the Flyer Playground not only as a way to raise funds for Make-A-Wish, but also a chance to give back to the community that comes out to support the teams by providing an atmosphere in which athletes can act as positive role models for children.
“That we get to help guide them … and have fun,” Reese said. "It's a great feeling."
“NCAA Division II Student Athletic Advisory Council has made Make-A-Wish Foundation their cause as a national organization," Summers said.
Lewis University’s SAAC has raised close to about $2,000 per year over the past three years, explained Summers, which gets pooled with money raised by other Division II schools. Last year, Division II SAACs nationwide raised almost $400,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
