Saturday, Dec. 15, was an absolutely beautiful day. With snow on the ground and a temperature hovering near zero many youth were out for a fun Christmas Wonderland Day organized by the community.
Usually White Bear School sets up a Christmas/winter celebration for students; but, this year the entire community came together to organize a fun filled day for their youth.
The day consisted of a variety of activities youth could partake in. Everything from writing letters to Santa to face painting, crafts, and crazy carpeting were done by the youth. Hot chocolate was served and marshmallows were roasted over a campfire.
Later in the evening supper was had, which was followed by fireworks and finally the arrival of Santa. Many youth were terribly excited for the day of fun and had huge smiles on their faces as they took in the different activities organized by the community.
That night children also received gifts. It was truly a Christmas Winter Wonderland Day.
Volunteers consisting of Bear Claw Casino workers, parents, and the general community helped make the day a great success.
"It couldn't happen without everybody here [in the community]," Angela McArthur, one of the organizers, explained.
With the use of the Care Lodge and White Bear School there was lots of room for all of the events they had planned for the day.
McArthur also explained there were a number of people who had volunteered to cook the turkeys for supper. It was a complete community effort to organize the fun.
The day was also a part of the YTCCFS (Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services) as something for the youth to take part in as their mission is "Protecting the best interests of our children and enhancing the well-being of families," their website says.
Margaret Bear, Health and Wellness Coordinator at Bear Claw Casino, was present as a volunteer for the day. As the coordinator of the volunteer program at the casino she had helped to find a number of volunteers to help.
"It's all about giving back to the community," Bear explained. "We are grateful for our community's support and we try to show our appreciation by giving back."
"We're here to assist helping with food preparation, children's activities, supper servers it's one way of saying thank you to our communities that we serve," Bear stated, as the volunteer program is one that SIGA promotes within all of their casinos.
Many children were out for the fun-filled day. Between the events inside and out there were many laughs heard from the many youth in attendance.
