By Avery McKinney
A cake walk, a fishing pond and potato-sack races were only a few of the booths and activities that filled the Wilkinson Center Terrace Friday Sept. 19 at a carnival hosted by the Jacobsen Center for Service and Learning.
The Jacobsen Center hosted the carnival for the participants in its mentoring programs as a part of National Disability Awareness week. Volunteers ran all the booths at the carnival.
“My uncle had Down syndrome, and I work with autistic kids back in my hometown, and when I found out that they were doing this, I decided to volunteer,” said Cheri Taylor, a freshman from Columbus, Ohio. “This is something that I want to do in the future.”
The Jacobsen Center sponsors over 30 service programs. The center”s mentoring programs pair college students with children and adults who could benefit from interaction with a mentor.
Sports Spectacular is one such program, where BYU students attend sporting events with children from local elementary schools.
“We specifically pick kids that don”t come from the best backgrounds, and take them to BYU games,” said Will Van Beever, director of Sports Spectacular. “After the game, the kids get to meet the players, and depending on what game it is, maybe try the equipment, play around a little bit with them.”
Outside of attending games, the volunteers are encouraged to spend time with the children by participating in activities, like taking them to the movies, and supporting the child by attending important events, such as the child”s band concert, Van Beever said.
“It”s just a lot of interaction. It gives the kids from the community a chance to be involved with BYU and BYU to be involved with the community,” said Megan Roberts, a member of last year”s committee.
“What”s more fun than hanging out with kids and watching a sport that you”re going to go watch anyway?” she said.
Sports Spectacular is just one of the mentoring programs available through the Jacobsen Center. Other programs include Best Buddies, ACCESS, IMPACT, and Teaching and Loving Children (TLC). Each of the programs serves a similar purpose, but each has a different scope. Some use one-on-one activities, while others take place in large groups.
“They”re doing the same thing, by mentoring someone who needs a mentor,” said Jeremy Jenkins, the community service program director at the Jacobsen Center.
“There”s no better feeling than service,” said Leslie Carlisle, an ACCESS volunteer.
This is Carlisle”s first year volunteering with ACCESS. She was paired up with 7-year-old Jade during carnival activities.
Jade had another mentor last year through the program and said that she enjoyed the activities she did with her mentors.
“Last year, we went to places that I wanted to go, like to McDonald”s and the park. It was fun with them, and I think I”m going to have fun this year too,” she said.
BYU students interested in volunteering for one of the mentoring programs can visit the Jacobsen Center.
