Gwen Haubrich paints a flower on the “Born Learning” trail in Burlington Saturday morning. (Photo by Jennifer Eisenbart)
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Saturday dawned sunny and warm, and for a select group of people, it was the perfect weather to turn into a day of, well, caring.
Saturday’s United Way “Day of Caring” went off without a hitch, with volunteers installing the Born Learning Trail at Echo Park in Burlington – one of numerous projects taking place throughout Racine County.
The day kicked off United Way’s 2013 pledge campaign. In addition to the “Born Learning” trail going in, volunteers did various clean-up projects at Camp Oh-Da-Ko-Ta, and ran children’s activities at Union Grove’s Super Saturday.
“The Day of Caring went terrific,” said Western Racine United Way Manager Colleen Benkendorf. “It was better than we could have imagined.
“We had a lot of positive feedback.”
The response at Echo Park to the Born Learning Trail – which is a series of 22 activity stations designed to encourage adults to interact with their young children on a variety of educational activities – was immediate. Some children could barely wait for the paint to dry on the hand-drawn artwork on the asphalt before running over to take a look.
“I think it’s great,” Benkendorf said. “I think it’s going to give kids a chance to take every day experiences and turn them into learning experiences.”
Joanee Meyerhofer, United Way’s Western Racine County Associate, came to the park early to mix the paint for the sidewalk art, and got to enjoy the enthusiasm from a group of volunteers who represented a variety of organizations, including Racine County Executive Jim Ladwig’s office and local churches.
“Things couldn’t have gone any better on Saturday,” said Meyerhofer. “We had an amazing group of volunteers, and the trail turned out better than I could have imagined.
“I love the Born Learning Trail,” she added. “In an age when everyone is so overconnected with cell phones, iPods and other portable electronic devices, this is an easy way to unplug and spend some time interacting with your kids.
“It’s all about making simple, everyday moments into learning moments.”
The signs in the park are in both English and Spanish, and work on getting parents or guardians to take in the local environment and turn it into a way for children to learn. One of the signs, for example, asks parents to tap into a child’s imagination and encourage them to tell a story about a bird, or something else they see in the park.
“Even the simplest of interactions can make a difference,” Meyerhofer said.
Funding for the project came from the Burlington Community Fund and the Burlington Parks Department. Those kinds of partnerships had Benkendorf excited.
“We are just really excited to work with all these great businesses and organizations,” Benkendorf said.
The Born Learning Trail is officially open for use, but United Way will host a grand opening ceremony Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The ribbon cutting will take place at 10 a.m., and there will be various children’s activities, including balloon animals, face painting, an arts table, a children’s resource fair and cooking demonstrations with kid-friendly recipes.
Thrivent Financial, the Burlington Jaycees and AFSCME/AFL-CIO Local 807 are sponsoring the free event.
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