Youth group creates space for kids at Crossroads Mission
Children currently staying at the Crossroads Mission family shelter will be getting a surprise this weekend following the completion of a project by the Kids Cuddle-Kit Closet Youth Board.
On Saturday morning, members of the board, along with the help of others, created a space in the shelter filled with games, books, arts, crafts, furniture and a flat screen television for children who are currently staying at the shelter. A new cactus landscape mural was also completed for the space as part of the project.
According Kristan Sheppeard, co-founder of the local non-profit organization Kids Cuddle-Kit Closet, the Youth Board was formed about two years ago and is presently comprised of about ten members.
“Kids Cuddle-Kit Closet has a mission of reaching out to kids in need of kindness and has had several programs since 2008, but in the last couple years we started a new Kids Advisory Board,” Sheppeard said. “For the last three months they’ve been brainstorming on how they could create an area at the family shelter that was for kids. They are kids and they know what kids like.”
About three months ago, the youth board decided to embark on the project for the shelter.
“It gives us a space to work with that children can be kids,” said Renee Sonoqui, Crossroads Mission Shelter director. “It’s
a pretty chaotic building. We have over 100 people at any given time and the kids just need a place sometimes just to get away from all that.”
Sonoqui noted that the space is to also serve as an area where mothers and parents can visit with their children.
“We do have a lot of cases where our mothers are residing here in our rehab program or they are homeless and their kids are in care with somebody else,” Sonoqui said. “It allows them to come in and have that visit with their child. We are really appreciative of all the work and the efforts the kids and the adults put into the area itself.”
Every year, Sonoqui said the shelter sees 300 to 400 children and anywhere from 30 to 50 kids stay at the shelter each month. Rebecca Goodwin, youth member of the Kids CuddleKit board who periodically volunteers at the shelter, said that she simply hoped to brighten the lives of the children.
“I just like to make little kids that really don’t have everything in the world smile,” Goodwin said.
Sheppeard noted the children orchestrated the project with the help of the community.
“Lisa Brazeel from Fortuna Florist designed the space, the mural was painted by Jenny Sulpizio, the furniture was provided by Ashley Furniture and the TV was donated by Chili Pepper,” Sheppeard said. “Our adult board is very proud of these kids and so grateful to the community. We are excited to see what future projects hold.”
“We all believe there is not really anything more important than kindness and being kind to one another,” Sheppeard added. “These children are in an opportunity to help kids and inspire others to spread their kindness further.”
The Kids CuddleKit Youth Board is free to join and members range in age from 5th grade to 10th grade. The board meets monthly and works on various projects to better the community and spread kindness.
For more information on the board, call (928) 246-9108 or email KIDS@cuddlekit. org.
Kids CuddleKit Closet also has a website, www. cuddlekit.org.