Jenks Special Olympics Fundraiser By Karly Keeton With the Coronavirus, Jenks Special Olympics can't have our weekly practices or our annual Christmas party. No chance for our usual games, snacks, and gift-giving celebration this year. So we go virtual! In recent weeks, Jenks Project Unify, a partnering club to Jenks Special Olympics, has begun weekly storytime videos on social media that premiere every Friday at 7pm for our students with special needs. It's not the same as seeing each other in person, and we wanted to do a bunch of in person stuff this year, but we manage with what we have. Zoom calls are okay, but we only get about 40 minutes, and there are always issues. It's really difficult for our students to pay attention to what's going on, especially those with disabilities that involve following instructions. Through no fault of their own, this just isn't the way to get their attention. So what does our club do? Most, if not all, of our students are immunocompromised, and we just can't risk it. Without the ability to practice in person, we now have to get creative. On practice days, our president, Karley Keeton, livestreams on Twitch starting at 6pm. (The link is https://www.twitch.tv/ikarleyk if you want to watch) Every year, we have a Christmas party. The safety of our athletes, peers, coaches, and parents is in our best interest, always. Understandably, regardless of what we want to do, it might come to fruition that we do our Christmas party over Zoom this year. Regardless of what we do, it is of course better than nothing. We hope we will be back to in-person school by the time of our party. If anyone would like more information on our upcoming events and changes to our schedule, please follow us on Instagram (@jenksprojectunify), Facebook (@JenksUnify), or Twitter (@JenksUnify). The best way to know about our activities is to sign up for the Remind (@jpu2021). We will also be posting on the Key Club website. As of right now, we do not have a date for our Christmas party, but will update on Remind and through social media.
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