Vol. 19, No. 32

May 25, 2000

College mentors entertain students from Girls Inc.

An ice cream social rounded off Ring in the Spring Week at Girls Inc., all coordinated by UD students. The students are enrolled in a course on good programming development, taught by Elisa Diller, Delaware Center for Teacher Education and director of the First State Mentor Corps. "The children at Girls Inc. are from kindergarten to eighth grade, and it was their spring break week from school so it seemed a good time to hold some special programs for them," Diller said. Many campus organizations and students volunteered to help. The Deltones gave a concert and then broke the children into groups and taught them to sing, with everyone taking part in the grand finale. Austen Rowland and Dave Hindenlang from the basketball team played basketball with the children and talked about the value of team work. Keith Richards and Brian Jackson from Kappa Alpha Psi gave a step dance demonstration. Students for the Environment demonstrated the effect of acid rain on plants, and Master Gardener volunteer Melora Davis talked about the value of worms. Representatives from Eta Sigma Delta, the hospitality honorary society, did a program on healthy snacks from fruit shakes to wraps to veggie dips. The Animal Science Club brought some baby lambs to visit the children. "The children enjoyed all the extracurricular activities and learned while having fun. The students gained hands-on experience in organizing the programs and sharing their talents and expertise with the kids," Diller said.