Is it really April already? The months are flying by and the snow birds have once again left us. I will really miss Pretzel and Candy Bar. Pretzel for the ease he has in mingling with children and adults and making them laugh at his antics, and Candy Bar for her wonderful magic skills!
March was quiet for “Clowns on Call.” We do have 2 events in April. This edition will come out too late to invite the community to the Easter Egg Hunt at The Club on April 4th. I hope many of you hear about it and attend, as we love to see lots of kids enjoying the various activities. We will all be there, in our Easter best, twisting balloons, giving out stickers and favors, and of course performing great magic tricks. In the past, many of the children were dressed up for Easter and it was a joy see them. Las year a number of the summer camp kids were there and we invited them to join us in making balloon hats and dogs. That was very exciting! I will give you an update in next month’s issue.
On April 11 we attend the “Healthy Kids Day” at the YMCA just a few blocks from here. We have been volunteering at this event for at least 7 years and so many of the little ones remember us from our Red Nose Readers visits. It’s so wonderful to see the familiar faces a little more grown up. There are 2 sets of twins from 2 years ago, 2 boys and 2 girls, and I remember how shy all 4 were initially, yet last spring they hugged us and were so happy to see us again. That’s what makes clowning worth it! There are usually a few thousand people at this event and we are really busy doing our various activities. Juggles is always really popular between his juggling and the huge bubbles he creates, and I’m so happy he is part of our group. Our newest clown “Giggles” is having a great time and will join us in balloon twisting. That’s all for April right now.
I started thinking about how much clowning has contributed to my life over the past 30 years, and why I keep recommending it as an activity for seniors. I am in my 90’s and still able to take part in most clown gigs. Sure I don’t walk long distances to a site, do a lot of bending down or squatting as I used to do, I get tired sooner, but it hasn’t prevented me from thoroughly enjoying what I am doing. The satisfaction and happiness we feel when we see kids smiling and responding positively to our interventions is always so gratifying! Every one of us feels this way and that’s why our group continues to perform and give of ourselves. It’s very different from other types of volunteer activities, probably because we don’t look the same, so we don’t have to act the same as we do out of clown. And that ability to be as silly as we want and creating a new persona changes the way we come across which allows us to be a different person. I’m not sure this makes sense, but I wanted too share it with those of you who read my article, and I’m not going to stop trying to tempt some of you to try clowning as a volunteer activity! Remember, we will train you, mentor you and never suggest you try an activity you don’t like! Bye for now! Don’t forget to wave if you see a clown on campus!
