AbilityFirst is an organization out to serve adults and children and with special needs, “looking beyond disabilities, focusing on capabilities, and expanding possibilities.”
The Stroll and Roll was basically a 5k, but very wheelchair and stroller friendly.
I got to work the Mega Bloks booth. After the race, kids (and adults too, if they wanted) got to come build things from Mega Bloks – and then take their creations home!
When I first got to the booth, the other volunteers suggested we make things so kids can see a finished product. I started building something, but then I realized when all the pieces were thrown about the table, there was no way to see what I was doing. So, I went to town organizing my table.
At first it was hard to organize, because there wasn’t a ton of space… Of course it dawned on me – “Wait a second. These are stacking blocks. I can organize by stacking like ones together!”
The person from the booth next to us came over and joked that he wanted so badly to knock down my table since I was working so hard on getting it organized.
The woman in charge of the volunteers came over to check on us, and definitely gave me a look with a tiny bit of “are you a little crazy?” in her eyes. But, she didn’t seem against it. She said, “ah, I see. They can get pieces they need here.”
Sure. They can do whatever. I just know that I have a hard time envisioning the possibilities if I don’t know what I have to work with… It’s possible that kids are more creative than I am. I’m sure some people would argue that seeing neat stacks of blocks stifles the creativity that would come from blocks strewn about all haphazardly on a table – where anything is possible, not just towers.
But, my table was the neat one. And it was the first one to have all the blocks taken. So, take that for what it’s worth. (Of course, *stands up straighter, gives the side-face glance* I take it as as though my table won, because we were so conducive to creativity that people just had to work in that clean space.)
The rest of the Mega Bloks volunteers all came from the same school, but when they took a picture together, they specifically walked over to get me and invite me to be a part of it. I thought that was incredibly sweet. They don’t know me. They all knew each other. Yet, they included me, and I really appreciated that and thought it was quite kind.