“It was like a wonderful birthday party with 900 of your closest friends,” said Lee Sizemore, administrator of McKean County Department of Human Services, describing the Kids Fest held April 29. “It was fabulous.”
The event, sponsored by the McKean County Collaborative Board and the YMCA, started in 2013 with 337 children and parents. This year’s numbers are tallied, and there were 730 children and parents and a whopping 169 volunteers.
“There were 240 developmental, vision, hearing and dental screenings conducted on 114 children under age 5. Developmental concerns detected were referred to appropriate resources in our community,” Sizemore explained.
Twenty children out of 57 screened showed some hearing issues; 10 of 43 showed some child development; 5 of 60 children screened showed some vision issues; and three of 80 screened showed some dental issues, according to data compiled by the Collaborative Board.
“We do always want to hold onto the focus of young children because of how important it is to do screenings and identify concerns early,” Sizemore explained. When concerns were identified, “our early learning professionals got together, contacted the family and followed-up, helping connect them to the resources they need.”
There were 52 display stations — or fun stops — to help parents understand health, safety and child development. “All the vendors had been used to promoting their agency” at information fairs. Expectations are Kids Fest are a little higher. Sizemore said, “Now they come with a topic they are teaching about.”
The Bradford Area High School criminal justice club had a booth with information “teaching parents gun safety,” while the Bradford Rotary Club offered information on “how important it is to have the right shoes when you are learning to walk,” Sizemore explained.
“There were a lot focusing on reading aloud, how important it is to read books to kids. There were a lot of book giveaways. Everyone did something creative, from gun safety to sun safety,” she added.
“Everybody did so well,” she said.
Sizemore said Tina Martin, executive director of CARE for Children, and Brent Raabe, executive director of the Bradford YMCA, along with Bob Esch of American Refining Group and CASA of McKean County, were central in planning the event.
Raabe and Martin submitted a joint statement to The Era.
“Kids Fest represents the largest collaborative effort of our local non-profit community, and civic and government partners. Over 50 organizations and 169 volunteers came together to promote early learning, healthy development, and child safety in the hope of highlighting the importance of a bright and healthy start for children in our community,” the statement read. “This event would not possible without these partnerships.
“The Bradford YMCA, the Collaborative Board and the Kids Fest committee is grateful to the generous sponsors who support this event with funding and in-kind donations. We also appreciate the many parents, grandparents and family members who brought their children to Kids Fest. Family is the foundation for these children and Kids Fest is all about family.”
The statement concluded, “The outstanding attendance at Kids Fest is hallmark of the caring in our community and represents that children are an important priority in McKean County.”
Sizemore echoed her appreciation as well, and said, “What struck me the most was how much the volunteers got out of it. It’s almost like a block party. The sense of community was the biggest reward.”
She added, “We look forward to doing it even ‘bigger and better’ next year on the last Saturday in April.”
