When I first entered Dunlap Grade School, I was pretty shocked. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was still an elementary school, but it was decorated generously from ceiling to floor. I volunteered at this carnival last year, but I still had the same reaction. There were posters and backgrounds of prominent fairytale characters, from Robin Hood to Snow White to the Mad Hatter. There were vibrant hangings from the ceiling, and even the games had the whole “fairytale” theme going for them, with archery (my station), ring toss, Nerf guns, and, of course, one of the highlights of the night, the Cake-Walk.
I was assigned to the Robin Hood Archery station, right at the front of the door. I started around 3:30 p.m., so there wasn’t much of a crowd. Initially, I did have my doubts about whether people would actually show up or not. But as soon as a few kids came in, there came a storm of kids, one after another, and pretty soon, the school was bustling.
The line for my archery station got longer and longer as kids flooded the area to shoot an arrow through a ring and win a prize. My volunteer partner and I took turns helping each kid with the bows, since they were initially a little more complicated than I had anticipated. But it was so worth it, seeing the laughs on the kids’ faces when they shot an arrow through the hoop and got to take a prize.
The number of familiar faces I saw was insane, and around 6:00 p.m., it felt like half of Dunlap was at that carnival. Many of my friends came to volunteer as well, and it was nice doing something engaging and fun with a bunch of my friends. We helped each other out when needed, and we laughed at the hilarious ways we tried to demonstrate shooting an arrow (and failed miserably). I even befriended some of the kids and convinced them to sneak me some desserts from the Cake-Walk for an extra prize. It was a win-win situation.
By the end of the night, I was exhausted, yet triumphant. I earned a decent number of volunteer hours by helping kids shoot an arrow, handing out some prizes, and munching on a few very delicious chocolate chip cookies and other desserts. The experience was absolutely amazing and truly encapsulated the feeling of a fun, lively, and exciting small-town carnival. My friends and I made a pact that we’re going to volunteer here every year, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how it’s going to be in the years to come.
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