Rainbow Days Partners with Texas A&M MSC Spencer Leadership Conference to Mentor Homeless Children and Youth
On Feb. 8, the Texas Rangers Youth Academy was visited by a very special group of guests: 47 children and youth experiencing homelessness from local motels and shelters joined student delegates from Texas A&M University for a day filled with fun, bonding and one-of-a-kind experiences.
Such a wonderful outing was made possible through Rainbow Days’ longstanding partnership with the Texas A&M MSC Spencer Leadership Conference. For years, student delegates from the annual conference have joined Rainbow Days for special events focused on serving, mentoring and bringing joy to children and youth experiencing homelessness and adversity in the Dallas community.
This year was no different; the kids in attendance had the unique opportunity to experience the Texas Rangers Youth Academy at the Mercy Streets Sports Complex firsthand. All children were paired with individual student mentors from Texas A&M with whom they toured the facilities, played wiffle ball, made friendship bracelets and enjoyed lunch while bonding and discussing their goals for the future.
“For these children, special one-on-one time with encouraging mentors helps them feel more confident about their hopes and dreams,” said Kelly Wierzbinski, Rainbow Days’ Director of Family Connection. “We are grateful for our friends at the MSC Spencer Leadership Conference, who continue to help us create positive experiences for homeless children and expose them to what their own futures could be like.”
The day prior, all of the Texas A&M student delegates attended the MSC Spencer Leadership Conference, which is hosted annually in Dallas. For this prestigious conference, Texas A&M sends a select group of sophomore students to learn from top business professionals about leadership, ethics, mentorship and service. Thus, a day spent with the children of Rainbow Days was the perfect way to end the conference; through this direct mentorship event, the delegates put what they learned into practice by encouraging, mentoring and impacting the children and youth and creating special memories to last a lifetime.
Rainbow Days would like to thank the following individuals and organizations that made this memorable event possible: MSC Spencer Leadership Conference; Taylor Dubey; Texas Rangers Youth Academy; and Ray Casas from the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation.
ABOUT RAINBOW DAYS: Rainbow Days is a 501(c)(3) Dallas-based nonprofit organization. Founded in 1982, Rainbow Days has a mission to help children and youth in adversity build coping skills and resilience to create positive futures. Through support groups, camps, mentored events and tangible items, Rainbow Days serves 9,000 at-risk children and youth in the Dallas area annually. For more information, please visit www.rainbowdays.org or call (214) 887-0726.