With the help of superheroes, the Christmas spirit continues to grow among the youth. The Kiwanis Club of Logansport held its Christmas party on Dec. 16 at Dentzel Carousel and invited the LHS Key Club to support as disguised superheroes.
Since 1919, the Kiwanis Club of Logansport has been a service-oriented program that helps children in the community through events, fundraising and projects. It first started this annual Christmas party in 1934. This year, over 70 children were expected to attend the party.
“Kids will arrive around 11:30, and they immediately get in line to ride the Dentzel Carousel and try to catch the ‘gold ring,'” President of Kiwanis Club of Logansport Stephanie Helton said. “Once the kids get done on the carousel, they will come into the McHale area, where they get to enjoy pizza as well as snacks and drinks.”
This event is made possible with the help of multiple club members: Christi Hubler Ford, McCORD’s, Woodbridge Health Campus, the Key Club and more.
“Partnerships in this town are amazing,” Helton said. “We are truly blessed with how much support and how much people give when it comes to making our Christmas party special.”
Some of the partnerships helped purchase and store gifts for children based on their Christmas lists. On the other hand, the Key Club is asked to dress up as superheroes, so the children get to see their favorite characters, including Santa Claus.
“The Key Club students get a chance to dress up in their costumes and try their best to love the different kiddos,” Key Club sponsor Julien Gaumer said. “Spider-Man is this kid’s favorite character, or this person really loves Captain America. Some of them will say some really interesting things like, ‘I know you’re not the real Spider-Man, but if you see the real Spider-Man, will you let him know? I love watching his shows.'”
Around 18 to 20 Key Club members had the opportunity to do something special from a different perspective, according to Gaumer.
Coming back for another year, senior Maeda Bradbury dressed up as Supergirl.
“We’ll sit with them, play games with them, just to keep them entertained,” Bradbury said. “We get to the part where we hand in their gifts. I love doing it last year because of seeing them get so excited, and they think we’re real superheroes.”
The “less fortunate,” as Helton said, were chosen by each school’s guidance counselor to participate in the party.
“I obviously have never been in a position where I needed people to give me gifts like that,” Bradbury said. “That might be the only gift that those kids get this year, and it’s really awesome to see that. Somebody would love to have what I don’t appreciate.”
Once the children receive their gifts at the end of the party, they lined up for their buses as the superheroes wave goodbye.
“It’s so much more beneficial to give than to receive,” Gaumer said. “Sometimes you don’t see that truly till you’re an adult, but this is an opportunity for young people to see it too.”
