Special Games Drive Thru

By: Danielle Jones ’21 and Ellie Tavanian ’22 – MD Scarlet Scroll On Saturday, March 27, Mater Dei hosted its Annual Special Games, an outreach event that typically has 250 special needs athletes who enjoy a day of games, dancing, and activities in the outdoor athletic complex. After being canceled in 2020, this year’s event was re-imagined into a drive thru parade to maintain safety for everyone involved. Attendees enjoyed lunch from TK Burger, greetings from Frozen and Marvel characters, the Santa Ana Police and Fire Departments’ comfort dogs, dancers from the Tupua Polynesian company, a DJ, and a commemorative Special Games t-shirt.

In describing the event’s design, Christian Service Director and Special Games Coordinator, Mrs. Stephanie Hopkins, shared that the main intention was to use the campus space to welcome and celebrate people while keep them at a safe distance. Hopkins likened Special Games to Disneyland’s “It’s A Small World” ride where participants and their families experienced the various attractions from the safety of their own vehicles. “We modeled after what we saw at other [drive thru] events…so we decided to make it very visual and auditory depending on what is sensitive for you,” she said.

Unfortunately, this year’s Special Games was not a large student volunteer opportunity. The student buddy program was too risky and not in compliance with social distancing guidelines. Despite that, the limited number of students that were able to come help were led by student directors and seniors Isabelle Tran and Thien-Nhi Tran. “All we had to do was show up with a smile on our faces to welcome everyone,” Isabelle Tran said. Campus Ministry commissioners and football players worked to check-in cars, take photos of families, and hand out T-shirts. Members of the cheer team were also there to bring out school spirit and energy.

“Most of the people who come in always have such genuine smiles, and it’s refreshing to interact with people who are so unabashedly themselves,” Nhi Tran said. Hopkins shared that she was worried if the event would go as planned and feared of low attendance. However, the exact opposite happened. The excitement and joy on the faces of families was clearly evident. “What made this year special was how Mater Dei really went out of their way to create an event for the community. I just love how fast and efficiently we adapted to everything,” Isabelle Tran said. “And also, I love to see everyone come. Everyone’s spirit was high and they were so excited. It just made me so happy.” While the wish is for Special Games to return to its normal format, the future is still unknown. Mrs. Hopkins shared what she learned from this year’s event and plans to adapt accordingly for next year. Whatever the format, the most important goal was accomplished – spreading joy to our special needs community. “Everybody [was] so desperate to do something and to do something good and to make people smile,” Hopkins said. “That’s basically what we’re trying to do: [make] people smile and have a nice lunch to go.”