A Day at St. Mark

by Jon Aguilar, Communications Specialist

Yesterday was truly beautiful for a number of reasons. 

In the morning I saw Beth inspire a room of young people to be heroes in their own way and to fall in love with our kids. Every young adult at Mazzuchelli was engaged and clung on to Beth’s words from the moment she asked them to turn to their neighbor and say, “It’s good to see you.”

Floods of young people ran up to Beth after to share their excitement for helping our kids.  

“It’s so good to see you!” Beth McGorry, Director of Donor Relations, inspires a room of 8th-graders from Mazzuchelli Middle School to share their talents with our kids at St. Mark.

Then, later that same afternoon, I traveled to Peosta Elementary and, oh my heart.

As part of their Mission to Mars project, students at Peosta Elementary get an opportunity to ask someone from NASA their questions. Questions included, “Do you get any rewards?!” and “How do you balance your personal life?”

You see, I wasn’t just moved by the sights of young people dressed as little old people for their hundredth day of school, nor those littles playing with kittens from the Humane Society, nor seeing another group light up as they talked to someone from NASA via a web feed, no. I was moved most by the sight of every child at Peosta understanding and hearing “It’s good to see you,” not just once but every moment through small interactions between staff and our kids. When two young people started acting out during the NASA call, I witnessed conscious discipline at it’s finest when Ron calmly and ably resolved the disruptive situation.

“I was moved most by the sight of every child at Peosta understanding and hearing ‘It’s good to see you,’ not just once but every moment through small interactions between staff and our kids.”

A few months ago, this young man was afraid to read alone, now he reads to his friends every day at program.

I met a young boy reading to some girls younger than him who only a few short months ago was afraid to pick up a book by himself. Around every corner, I felt the same love and miracles happening as I do when I visit any of our sites.

To all our program staff at Peosta yesterday, bravo, just bravo. To all our program staff who make magic happen every day at our sites, wow. To the volunteers and teachers and schools on our team, you’re incredible. And to everyone who supports our kids these are the moments you make happen every day. “It’s so good to see you.” 

Have the best day.