City of North Charleston Making Spirits Bright

By Megan Boisvert, North Charleston Parks & Recreation

There is no shortage of holiday cheer being spread by the staff of the North Charleston Recreation Department during December. The staff spends most of the month doubling as Christmas elves, hosting various events and programs for the community. The holiday season kicks off with the city’s Christmas Festival and Parade, followed by Cookies & Cocoa, Santa events at the Aquatic Center, Senior Holiday Bingo, holiday luncheons, activities during our afterschool programs and so much more! Although the department loves all these events, there is one that really makes our spirits bright and hearts warm!

The Kickin’ with Claus Inclusive Kickball game, is a holiday special that is offered as part of our therapeutic recreation programming. The event is hosted annually at the North Charleston Convention Center and includes students from various local high schools and young adults from group care facilities. At the 2022 event the department hosted 100 kickball players from North Charleston High School, West Ashley High School, and Healing Farms Group Facility. This program is an opportunity for all the City of North Charleston Staff to engage with the community, many members from the Police and Fire Department look forward to playing kickball.

During the event teams, went head-to-head in a kickball showdown, while Santa floated around and interacted with the participants. Following the Kickball games teams were able to enjoy pizza together. This model of engaging with Santa allowed him to spend extra time with individuals that use communication devices and have a more personalized interaction with each person. It also allowed participants the freedom to engage with Santa on their own terms throughout the event. There was never pressure for any of the participants to engage or take pictures with Santa if they were not comfortable doing so.

“We are very appreciative of the Santa who helped facilitate a meaningful experience for everyone with patience and holiday cheer!” says Deputy Director, Kathy Kackley. At this year’s event we had a family attend that has never successfully been able to take a picture with Santa. Throughout the event these participants were able to get more comfortable engaging with Santa, which allowed them to capture that perfect moment on film. It’s the little moments like these that help remind our staff, what Christmas Spirit is really all about! n