The Lady Bisons softball team volunteered to work with the Boys and Girls Club at their annual fall picnic Saturday.
This was the first year the softball team has worked with the Boys and Girls Club. The team assisted with a variety of activities including arts and crafts, face painting, hula hooping, kick ball and many other outdoor games.
“We wanted to do something different this year,” said Head Coach Kristen Ryman. “We wanted to work with a different organization.”
Ryman said the Boys and Girls Club is a great organization, especially since it gives older people the opportunity to mentor a younger generation.
“It makes you realize there are people out there that are always looking up to people like us,” Ryman said.
The girls on the team said they had a great time being around the kids and getting to play games with them.
“It was good to just be a kid for a day ourselves and, at the same time, do something for them,” said junior Bridgette Begle.
Begle and several other girls said they enjoyed face painting with the kids. Sophomore Gracey Aguirre was the celebrity of the day, doing the majority of the face painting.
“My favorite painting was this little shark I did for this little kid,” Aguirre said. “He was having a blast with it, and I truly enjoyed it all.”
Several team members said it was easy to connect with the kids by playing games with them.
“I loved working with one little boy who loved to hula hoop,” said junior Kristen Sturdivant. “It was really fun getting to hang out with all the kids and play games like that.”
“I think it’s great to get to work with the kids in the community and see adults wanting to help out,” said junior Ashley Anderson who also joined in the face painting portion of the day.
Anderson said volunteering helps the team grow closer to the community and each other. “Every volunteer thing that we do helps bring our team closer together,” she said.
Ryman and the team said they enjoyed the entire day of working with the club.
“I definitely think we will work with this group again,” Ryman said. “It was just a fun day overall, and I definitely think it was worth it. And it was fun to see these kids enjoy themselves.”