THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE ARTICLE BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Danville Area Community College Child Development Center staff and children donated more than 200 pounds of food to the DACC Foundation’s food pantry. The food pantry is available to current DACC students who need food for themselves and their families. The pantry also has hygiene products. It’s located in Lincoln Hall, Room 224.
DANVILLE — Danville Area Community College’s Child Development Center is participating in the main campus’ back-to-school block party on Wednesday, and having its own public event on Aug. 17.
The development center’s Building Blocks event on Aug. 17 will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the north parking lot at DACC and involve block-themed activities, as well as Touch-a-Truck with construction vehicles and an ambulance.
Teacher Rebecca Balla and one of the center’s college students organized the event to engage the community and also earn student internship hours.
It’s focused on why playing with blocks is so important for young children, Balla said.
“It’s Building Blocks for young children. It’s going to educate parents on what block play can do for children and how it offers math and science and social emotional skills. So, you can get a lot from block play,” Balla said.
This is their first time trying the event. Organizers would like to have it annually, and involve the early childhood program, she said.
The center’s cook, Anthony Engel, has 3D printers, and has made a lot of DACC items, such as magnets and mascot jaguar heads. Child Development Center Director Melissa Hollingsworth has items displayed throughout her office.
Hollingsworth said they will have a table at the event to sell the 3D-printed items as a fundraiser for the center.
She’ll also be at the DACC block party on Wednesday, which runs from 5 to 8 p.m., in DACC’s Main Street parking lot. That event will be child-friendly as well, with face painting, inflatables, carnival games and more. Food trucks will be on site.
There also will be vendors set up at the Building Blocks event.
”It’s going to be awesome …” Balla said.
She encourages people to attend and bring the entire family.
In other Child Development Center activities, the school-age children this summer collected food and money for a food drive for the food pantry on DACC’s campus. They went to the grocery store on Friday to shop for items.
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