Fifty Maryland Boys & Girls Club kids gathered Wednesday at the Gaylord National Resort at the National Harbor to celebrate National Unity Day — a day dedicated to kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
“One of the things that we strive for on a daily basis at every Boys & Girls Club, no matter who you are, no matter what you’re walking into a club from, you’re walking into a club where you’re safe, where you feel surrounded by adults that care about your well-being and where you are part of a greater community that is all committed to kindness and unity,” said Derek DeWitt, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club for Harford and Cecil counties.
This event was the launch of the Gaylord National Resort’s “Spread Kindness & Shine Bright” campaign, aimed to end bullying. During the launch, kids met with Santa and Rudolph and wrote their own promises to spread kindness on special Shine Bright Stars, which will be displayed through the entire holiday season.
“I want to make sure that everybody just remembers to be kind,” said Santa. “Put some little token on your dresser so that every day when you walk into your bedroom, you’ll see that token and remember to be nice to somebody — that will help you.”
Santa added, “if you’re on the nice list, I get to come see you.”
The kids attending the event were a part of Title I, a program that supports low-income students.
Timika Thrasher, CEO of Frederick County’s Boys & Girls Club, said it’s their mission to make their children feel supported every day, hoping it encourages them to do the same for others.
“A lot of the kids that we serve come from very unstable homes, and they don’t have that support,” said Thrasher. “And they’re dealing with trauma in all different ways. And so us being kind and being supportive to them, regardless of what they’re going through or what they look like or what background they come from — it helps them see that they’ve gotten that support from us.”
At the end of the event, there also was sneak peak of ICE! — Gaylord National’s annual ice sculpture display. Gaylord National plans to donate 100 tickets to the Boys & Girls Club of Maryland, along with 100 tickets from The Capital Wheel for the children to return for a holiday adventure.
Gaylord National will donate $1 from every ticket sold on Twinkle Tuesdays — Nov. 21 and 28 and Dec. 5 — up to $10,000, to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maryland.
“You’ll see it at Gaylords across the country,” said Dan McKeon, area general manager of Gaylord Hotels. “It’s an incredible time frame for us. It’s Nov. 19 through Dec. 31, and we have a 17,000-square-foot display of two million pounds of ice carved by carvers from China, who are now busy at work right now to create Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer display for you to walk through and enjoy as part of the Christmas Village.”
