Ribbon cut for bike path
2-car crash injures child
Kids reenact Thanksgiving
Smith Park puts youngsters on learning track
United Way agencies collaborate on Smith Park project
Friday, September 26, 2008
Kara Love (left), of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County and a United Way volunteer, and Theressa Griggs, chief operating officer of the Butler County United Way, paint letters on the walking path Wednesday, Sept. 24, at Smith Park at Tytus and Verity Parkway in Middletown. They are working on a project for children, preschool to age 6. MIDDLETOWN — A hopscotch encourages walkers to skip. Red, blue and orange posts and designs along a trail encourage kids and caregivers to "get up and moving," learn shapes and the alphabet.
The additions at Smith Park are part of the Born Learning Trail, a joint effort by the United Ways in Butler and Warren counties, plus Cincinnati and Dayton that will be unveiled Saturday, Sept. 27, at the park at 500 Tytus Ave. in Middletown. United Way officials will be present from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Theressa Griggs, chief operating officer for the United Way, said the purpose of the 200-foot trail is two-fold: to enhance early childhood education and to boost activity between children and parents.
"This is a place where parents, day care providers and even grandparents can come and play and learn," Griggs said. "Hopefully, they can take the lessons they learn here and implement them at home."
The trail also marks the first time area United Ways have worked together on a project, she said, and is an attempt to see if a proposed regional United Way — merging the four agencies — could work.
Kara Love, a coordinator at Big Brothers and Big Sisters, was one of several volunteers who helped design the trail. She said the Saturday event will help raise awareness about area needs and teach caregivers ways to foster relationships with children.
"We hope it will teach parents and children to interact in ways that they may not have thought of before," Love said.
The first 100 children to complete the trail will receive a free book, and children who attend the event will receive a medal.
