On April 30th (Kindness Day), West San Gabriel Valley Boys & Girls Clubs and East Side Clubs, led by JR Dzubak, invited the Salesian Family Youth Center to their first annual Kindness Carnival. The event took place from 11:00AM to 5:00PM near Boyle Heights City Hall. This Kindness Carnival came about as a response to many children and young people feeling alone and lost due to the pandemic. With this festival we have sought to continue inspiring young people to feel grateful and motivate them to develop empathy.

West San Gabriel Valley Boys & Girls Clubs decided to dedicate a celebration to members who have shown compassion, respect, empathy, resilience, determination, understanding, and most importantly, kindness. This was the driving factor for the Kindness Carnival and that the children, teens, and Staff of the Salesian Family Youth Center have been invited.

The Salesian Family Youth Center was present with more than 100 participants, including boys and girls from the After School Program “We Care”, adolescents and young volunteers from the Saturday Oratory, Counselors and Head Staff of the Summer Camp “Camp Salesian ”, young people from the Confirmation Program and some parents who were in the area.

Throughout the day there was a variety of entertainment for the participants like a Mariachi band, wonderful Magic Show, and raffles for the students to win prizes. One of the Youth Center students won a season pass to Universal Studios! Then the children and young people of some Boys and Girls Clubs delighted and impressed us with their talent in various dances and with live music.

But the artistic and musical presentations have not been everything, there were also: Food Trucks, Face Painters, Caricature Artists, Balloon Artist, Rides, Petting Zoo, Game Booths, and other fun and educational activities.

The mission now is to be able to bring back to the clubs, programs, and the Salesian Family Youth Center all the good and pleasant experiences of this Saturday. Because as has been expressed on several occasions during this Carnival: “Kindness matters” and Kindness is an incredibly important element for the Salesian educational system, since everything must be done with love and kindness, since “education is a matter of the heart” as Don Bosco used to say it.