2009 Great America Getaway!!!

Hard work pays off! Just ask the 15 students who attended Cabrini Connections' Annual Great America Trip yesterday. All of the students who had 75% attendance or better during the 3rd quarter (Spring Quarter) of the tutoring/mentoring year earns the opportunity to attend the Great America Trip every summer! And I say hard work because although the students really enjoy and benefit from being in our program they have the options of joining other program throughout the year and/or they just might decide to enjoy the warm weather of the Spring months over attending the weekly tutoring/mentoring sessions. But I am proud to say that we had nearly 40 students who were eligible for the trip this year!!!

This opportunity was much more than just going to Six Flags; the majority of the student signed into the center around 8:30 or 9am and they were treated to a breakfast and free time in the computers before hearing some brief announcements and future opportunities. We then boarded the bus and headed to the park, and once there we provided the group with a complete lunch before the fun began inside of Six Flags Great America.

For over 5 hours the group rode rides, ate food, played games, watched shows, and just enjoyed all that Great America had to offer. This was also a great opportunity for students in the program who didn't know other students to get to know each other in a fun environment. And although the rain came towards the end of the trip and cut out outing a little short, I can say with confidence that this year's Great American Getaway was a success!

I call this trip the Great America Getaway because its just that; it's s getaway from the neighborhoods and communities that many of the students in our program are living in. The students get to get away from the gangs, guns, drugs, and other social evils they observe on a daily basis, to do what kids are suppose to be doing at their age...HAVING FUN!!! And that is what we aim to provide with this event, a fun-filled day at Great America, and although the trip is completely free for the youth that attend, it cost an average of about $80 per student to attend this trip. We would definitely like to continue providing this opportunity for all of the students in our program, and would greatly appreciate YOUR help by being willing to donate to the Cabrini Connections' program. Your generosity and support can and will lead to our youth doing what they should be doing at their age...having fun and being care free, if only for one day.