Valentine's Family Festival

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Contributor: Ryan Batley, General Manager at Best Western Premier Bridgewood Resort & Conference Center in Neenah

Smiling children, face painting, clowns, a photo booth, carnival games, books, goodie bags, cookie decorating...all this and MORE for FREE! United Way Fox Cities Emerging Leaders are proud to be hosting our Annual Valentine’s Family Festival for the community youth and their families on February 9 at Maplewood Middle School in Menasha. For 10 years, we have provided this fun event. Families of all income levels come to enjoy a morning filled with smiles and entertainment out of the cold winter weather. It has been very rewarding to be able to provide each child with giveaways such as books, along with a fun and energetic morning. Other activities at the festival include: dancing, arts and crafts, cookie decorating and balloon making with local company mascots. We look forward to providing this great family friendly event for many years to come. Thank you to United Way Fox Cities Emerging Leaders and local businesses who help make this event possible.
 
Although the event may appear to run seamlessly, it has been 10 years in the making with lots of effort and planning from Emerging Leaders Liesl Britzke and Lori Kaufman, along with other members of the Emerging Leaders Group. Volunteering for the Valentine’s Family Festival is a very satisfying experience. This effort is all worth it once the doors to the gym open, as we have seen upwards of 800 kids and their families enjoy a morning of fun with opportunities that they may never have experienced before. 
 
The Valentine’s Family Festival is important to me because children of all backgrounds and income levels can participate. Having volunteered at this event for many years, it has been neat to see many of the same kids come back year after year and how much they have grown and changed. 

I encourage your company to see how they can get involved with United Way Fox Cities Emerging Leaders and help make a positive impact on the children in our community.

The Valentine’s Family Festival will take place on Saturday, February 9 from 9:30-Noon at Maplewood Middle School in Menasha for ages 2-12.