GCC’s Child Development Center (CDC) held its annual Spring Fair on Saturday to raise money for playground remodeling and for the kids to have a good time.

Entertainment for the children included music by the Hollow Trees, a guitar and upright bass duo that sing children’s songs, as well as face painting, miniature golf, basketball and a variety of carnival games.

“It’s good for the kids,” said Julio Fong, a parent of twin 5-year-old boys.

“Shooting basketballs is fun,” said Fong’s son Justin.
The primary form of fund raising was the sale of raffle tickets for gift baskets. The contents of the baskets ranged from vacations to Disneyland, San Diego and Sea World to bottles of wine and DVDs.

“I applaud the parents’ participation,” said Araseli Perez, a Glendale College alumni and teacher at the CDC who was selling raffle tickets during the fair. “They went around to the different companies to gather the raffle prizes, as well as planning the whole event, especially Monica Italia.”

Italia is the parent of two children at the CDC and this is the second year she planned the fair.

“The money raised here will go to rebuilding the playground for the kids,” said Italia. “This is a great event for the children and great fundraiser for the school.”

“Monica Italia is the hardest working woman here,” said Joanna Saporito, a parent and sociology teacher at GCC. Saporito offered her sociology students extra points if they volunteered at the fair.

“Kids rock,” said David Benitez, one of Saporito’s students who worked the basketball booth. “It’s important that we invest in development because they are the future.”

“The kids seem to enjoy the fair,” said James Ford, whose son was in the program for four years and whose daughter will start in the fall. “It’s nice for the kids to see each other in a school experience outside of school [doing] something that is fun and unstructured.”

“It’s also a great opportunity to bring the parents together,” said Perez. “All they usually do is drop off and pick up their kids; it’s nice to get them to socialize.”

And it’s not just doting parents and students wanting extra credit who attended the fair. Siblings and former students also joined in the festivies.

“The fair is very lively,” said Sofia Pardave, whose brother goes to the CDC. “It is a good way to raise money for the school.”
“More important than the fundraiser is the community,” said Mike Dulay, father of two and Assistant Chair of the Social Science Department at GCC. “It’s a good way to get the community involved in community college.”