The Gardere Initiative hosted its second annual Kitefest on the last Sunday of March. It was a beautiful day to fly kites and build community at the Hartley-Vey Park in Gardere.
“Last year, the kites were just a part of our event and the kids and the community loved them so much that we just decided to scrap everything else and just stick with the kites,” Cindy Sonbuchner, Operations Director with the Gardere Initiative said.
Kids and adults alike laughed and played while bright kites flew in the sky. There were kites and a kite making booth for those who didn’t bring the flying toys. The event also had fun jumps, food, music and much more.
“So, our parents spent all day yesterday cooking food for this event and blowing up balloons for our huge balloon arch and they have just been looking forward to this for a long time,” Sonbuchner said.
Most of the families at the event are a part of the Gardere Initiative, including Shannon Wiley and her children who told Tiger T.V. how the Gardere Initiative has helped them over the years.
“They provided a lot of support with us being in the community. They helped my kids outstanding and I really appreciate everything they do for them each and every day,” Wiley said.
The initiative was created to ease tensions between Gardere natives and folks who moved to Gardere from New Orleans after Katrina. Now the program has become a staple in the community
“We have entirely free programs that support the children and families living her,” Sonbuchner said.
According to Operations Director, crime rates in Gardere have gone down more than 70% since 2006. They’ve spent over 2500 hours matching kids with caring adults and want more students to volunteer.
“You don’t have to be great at math or great at reading, sitting next to them and holding a book open and just being a caring adult in their life makes a huge difference,” Sonbuchner said.
Frederick Douglass once said, “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” To work fun events like Kite Fest and to help build strong children with the Gardere Initiative, head to their website GardereInitiative.org.
