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May 30, 2012
Mattie Rhodes Center will be bustling with activity Saturday, June 9, with the Día de la Familia (Day of the Family) festival and youth summit.
In addition to the usual slate of activities, Mattie Rhodes has added health screenings to the free event, compliments of Truman Medical Center and Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center. Health screenings will measure blood pressure, height, weight, glucose levels and cholesterol. For children, the screenings will also include a vision test. Children will also receive a voucher for a free eye exam and a pair of eye glasses.
Other activities will include face painting, crafts, Zumba and cooking demonstrations, raffles and soccer. In addition, there will be a live remote with a Spanish radio station, refreshments and booths set up by area community organizations.
“We’re trying to provide a little bit of something for everybody,” said Susan Garrett, director of community services for the Mattie Rhodes Center.
Día de la Familia will be held outside at Mattie Rhodes, 148 N. Topping Ave., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Youth summit
In addition to the Día de la Familia festival, Mattie Rhodes will host a youth summit from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., which will be held inside the building. The youth summit is open to sixth through 12th graders and includes a free lunch. There is no cost to attend. Opening session will include a guest speaker followed by lunch. Three break-out sessions will focus on public safety, gang activity and area culture, Garrett said.
“We live in a neighborhood that’s very diverse, and among our youth we see that sometimes our cultural differences can really cause some tension and friction that can ultimately lead to things like bullying or in worst case scenarios, some violent actions,” Garrett said.
Mattie Rhodes will engage the youth during the summit and will help put their ideas into action, she said.
“We want the summit to be very interactive and engage youth,” Garrett said. “We really want it to be a dialogue – not just listen to a bunch of speakers and leave for the day. We really want to hear what they have to say.”
Following the break-out sessions, a dance disk jockeyed by DJ I.S.R.A will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. During the dance, raffle tickets will be drawn for prizes like an Xbox, iPod, Sporting Kansas City tickets and more.
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