SK8EVL Receives Donation Check
SK8EVL Receives Donation Check
TreeTops Publishing Presents Donation to Help Fund Learning & Recreation
The Giraffe Team (L-R) Charity Burlingame, Katie Benatovich, Neal Steward, Simone Phillips and Carey Welch present a donation to SK8EVL’s Taylor and Brenda Perks.
Through the power of one book, children here and across the world are benefiting from a local pair of authors who have taken their passion for writing to give back. “Power Poems for Giraffes” made its debut last weekend at the Ellicottville Memorial Library, presented by authors Katie Benatovich and Charity Burlingame, and illustrator/designers Carey Welch and Neal Steward. This group of like-minded advocates share mutual feelings about the importance of education and physical activity amongst our youth and have made it their mission to cater to those two important needs.
During the Open House, the public was invited to come explore the book, talk with its creators, and participate in a number of SEL activities outlined within its pages. SEL (social-emotional learning) is a method of promoting holistic child development by teaching students skills such as self-regulation, persistence, empathy, self-awareness, and mindfulness. The multilingual book, published by TreeTops Publishing, is quickly becoming a wonderful resource in the classroom, and it’s no wonder why. Today, more than ever, our children require these skills in order to grow and become successful within themselves.
“Power Poems for Giraffes focuses on poems as narrative therapy - thinking about the way poems make us feel,” explained Benatovich. "Poetry is a way to interpret and process what we experience as humans every day. Exploring emotions and ideas through poetry is a way to work through the difficulties of life.”
Saturday’s event did more than just showcase a beautifully written and creatively illustrated book. The Giraffe Team, as they are affectionately called, structured the sale of Power Poems for Giraffes so that $1 from each book sold will help fund the educational needs of an orphanage in Uganda. On a local level, the Giraffe Team has also chosen to donate $1 from the sale of each book to SK8EVL, the volunteer group spearheading the Ellicottville Skatepark project. As lead advocate for SK8EVL, I was honored to accept a donation check from the Giraffe Team in the amount of $100, which our organization will apply towards providing future skateboarding opportunities to the youth of our community.
These articles always tie back into that one, very special, super important word: Community. On behalf of SK8EVL, I’d like to thank the Giraffe Team for their dedication to the classroom and outdoor recreation. How lucky we are to have this core group of individuals doing what they love for the greater good of us all. Thank you Katie, Charity, Carey and Neal. And thank you to Bella the Giraffe, who of course, was at last weekend’s Open House as well. If you missed out and would like to purchase a copy of the book, head to treetopspublishing.com.
Speaking of skateboarding, if you’ve walked by the Village Park this week, you may have noticed that crews are back at work on the outdoor skatepark. The concrete park is projected to open by the end of June… watch for more details in future issues of ellicottvilleNOW. We can’t wait!
