KidsPark Child Care

Give Back With Us: From Kids Park Kids to Kids Park Leaders

We’re the KidsPark Summer Interns, and we went to KidsPark as preschoolers. Now we’re the counselors, and we’re raising $1,000 to give today’s little ones the same awesome summers we had.

Our story

Not that long ago, we were the ones exploring the Mississippi River, taking the Green Line to go to the Sun Ray Library, and going to the State Fair to watch cows being born. Now we’re the counselors. Coming back to KidsPark as summer interns has been one of the coolest things we’ve ever done. When we were preschoolers, our KidsPark group was called the Kapers. Today it’s called the Rockets, and we come back each summer as volunteer interns.

This Give to the Max Day, we’re running this fundraiser to give back to the program that helped shape us. We want every kid at KidsPark to have the kind of summer we remember.

Some of our favorite KidsPark memories happened out in the city, getting there by bus with our friends.

“When I went to KidsPark, I met my best friend Clara! One day we walked all the way to the bus to go on a field trip to an indoor pool. I remember having so much fun, making lots of new friends, and growing closer with the friends I already had.”
— Frankie, Former KidsPark Kaper

Those adventures taught us more than we realized at the time.

"Once, after the day had ended, I wanted to go to one of my favorite restaurants, but my dad had the car. My mom said we had no way to get there. I told her, ‘Well, mama, I know how to get us there from here by taking the bus! We go by it on our Kids Park adventures!’  That's what being a KidsPark Kaper meant to me!"
— Matteo, Former KidsPark Kaper

Being a counselor has taught us a lot. We’ve learned how to be patient when a little one is having a hard day, how to keep a group together on a busy bus, and how much it means to a kid when someone really listens to them. We’re becoming leaders, and this fundraiser is a big part of that.

“One of our Rockets ran around and gathered everybody for ‘the show.’ He rolled toy trucks down the big slide and off sand jumps, then put us ‘big kids’ in charge of rebuilding the jumps. Meanwhile, he handed out tickets, checked them, and ushered everyone to their seats. It was the cutest little circus ringmaster event I’ve ever seen.”
— Matteo, Rockets Intern for 2 Years

We also know how important it is for kids to see someone like them in charge. When our preschoolers look at us, we hope they think, “That could be me someday.” Because it was us, not that long ago.

“One of my favorite moments this summer was seeing Clara’s and my photos from when we were little, still on the wall! I love Kids Park because the community is so amazing, and kids can grow up to volunteer or work there.”
— Frankie, Rockets Intern for 1 Year

How can you help:

Our goal is $1,000. Every gift helps keep the KidsPark summer program strong, so future kids can have the same adventures we did. Your support helps cover things like transit passes and entry fees for field trips, and whatever else the program needs to keep running well. Just 20 gifts of $50 gets us all the way there!

Every gift brings us closer to our goal. Thank you for believing in us and in the kids we get to lead every summer.

Give today and help us pay it forward!

— The Kids Park Summer Interns

About Kids Park - Reliable, flexible and affordable child care available at KidsPark!

KidsPark is a Reggio Emilia influenced, professionally staffed, state-licensed drop-in, hourly child care facility caring for infants through preschoolers in the Twin Cities. KidsPark's mission is to provide infant through preschool children in the Twin Cities with a safe, nurturing, developmentally appropriate education and play environment, while providing their families with professional, flexible and affordable child care solution.

The goal of KidsPark is to enhance the quality of life of families who require flexible child care by delivering a relationship-based experience to the children and increasing the sense of community for participating families. KidsPark has served area families for nearly 30 years, initially a program of the Macalester Groveland Community Council and now an independent 501c3 organization. KidsPark is staffed by teachers who are professionally licensed child care workers, supported by the KidsPark Parent Advisory Council (KPAC) and overseen by a Board of Directors