Everyone knows what special disabilities are, but experiencing them first hand gives
true understanding. Being involved with students with special needs has more benefits than reading it online or in a textbook.”I worked at a day camp with kids, and being a student with special needs ‘special need’ kid, I have a place in my heart for them,” said senior Julia Daniele.
400 volunteers and 700 children with various disabilities attended Greensburg Park and Recreation’s event on October 7, 2015 at Twin Lakes called You’ve Got a Friend Day. Different school groups attend. Students with special needs from Greater Latrobe School District attended the event. Eighteen volunteers from Greater Latrobe Senior HIgh helped at the event. Members from child development class actualized the book work from the course.
”This would be the second year that the high school’s autistic support classroom has gone to You’ve Got A friend Day and I love it, “ said Miss Landy, Autistic Support Teacher at the senior high.
You’ve Got a Friend Day is simply involved around the students who have special needs and disabilities that vary. “The day is to show and gain understanding of different types of disabilities,” said Landy. It’s also a day for students with special needs to have fun and participate in activities with a buddy. The day benefits both regular educated students and students with disabilities. If a students is going into special education as an adult,You’ve Got A Friend Day is a perfect hands-on experience.
The fun all-day event started at 9:00am. The kids were given a buddy for the entire day to do fun activities,were given a buddy from local schools.. Luckily enough , the students from within the Greater Latrobe School District were paired up with each other as buddies. For the high school volunteers, it was a full day of learning experience.
“Awe it’s so nice to see smiles on their faces,” said Alyssa Heining as she watched kids from school on one of the amusement rides.
“It made me feel good to see people with disabilities do things they usually can’t do and have an entire day around them,” said Katie Douglas, sophomore.
The whole entire day wasn’t just sitting around and getting to know about each other, but instead the day was full of activities. Some activities include paddle boating, magician, a D.J., two amusement park rides, fishing, a clown balloon maker, and a hayride. In addition to these activities the kids were able to feed the farm animals in the petting zoo. These activities were offered unlimited times throughout the day.
“It made me feel happy to see the children smile and having fun, and I would definitely do this event again, because it really opens up your eyes to things such as disabilities. It is a great day for those kids to feel more involved,” said Zoe Merrihew, junior.
You’ve Got a friend day is a day for learning and being able to have fun with no worries for both volunteers and the children with disabilities.