Corporate Kids Events partnered with the Arthritis Foundation, a nonprofit organization, on March 11, 2019 for their annual Juvenile Arthritis Advocacy Summit.  Corporate Kids Events has done several events for The Arthritis Foundation over the years and have more scheduled later this year. It brings us so much joy to see these kids having fun with each other and participating in all the organized activities.

The Arthritis Foundation is a nonprofit organization that leads the way in providing support to children with juvenile arthritis. The Foundation was holding their annual Advocacy Summit in Arlington, VA, with the mission to to influence Congress and raise awareness of the impact of arthritis.

Kids and teens were welcome, too! Corporate Kids Events allowed families to bring their children with them to this 1 day conference and enjoy their own side event with the theme of Arts Extravaganzza and Self Advocacy while the parents also learned about juvenile arthritis advocacy. The kids got to listen to several guest speakers and learn more about JA.  We organized many age appropriate activities for the children including Team Building activities and activities to help prepare the children for speaking at Capitol Hill.

Corporate Kids Events hosted 55 children for this 1 day conference childcare extravaganza, managed by our own Stacey Woodzell, Jeremy Myers and Amanda McCormick, “My favorite part of this event was watching the children meet new, first-time friends they can relate to,”reports Stacey.

One of our veteran childcare staff, Christopher W. said, “I had so much fun with the kids and the scavenger hunt. We split up into teams and had to look for items all over the hotel. My team also got all the bonus questions correct and we won. It was fun to help them with the hunt and see them having such a great time!”

The Team Building activities and hearing guest speakers from the Arthritis Foundation JA Staff, allowed kids from pre-K through 12th grade to connect with each other, while learning how to advocate for themselves and take action. Activities include playing games, creating materials to present to congressional offices, talking with health care experts and learning how to speak to politicians.

Above all, kids and teens get to meet with state and federal lawmakers to talk about the devastating effects of arthritis and the issues most important to them; such as, lack of funding for arthritis research, the shortage of pediatric rheumatologists and the burden of costly medications. Children in pre-K to eighth grade join their parents for visits to Capitol Hill, while teens ninth grade and up form their own advocacy groups to voice their concerns.

This JA Advocacy Summit was located at the Renaissance Capital View in Arlington, VA. You can learn more about The Arthritis Foundation by visiting their website, www.kidsgetarthritistoo.org

We look forward to hosting many more conference childcare events with Arthritis Foundation in the future! Thank you for your trust in Corporate Kids Events!