Aurora's Wesley UMC to host food, crafts, take-home kits for kids

Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora will offer children lunch and crafts outdoors plus take-home activity kits on four Mondays.

Church volunteers will lead the weekly series from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. July 12 to Aug. 2 at the Fox Valley Park District's Blackhawk Park, Galena Boulevard and Blackhawk Street.

The public is invited. Admission is free. No registration or identification is required.

Box lunches at the park will be supplied by Geneva-based Northern Illinois Food Bank in its Meals on the Move program. A mobile route, Meals on the Move distributes summer meals to Aurora children to age 18 at six Aurora parks Monday through Friday. The outreach is part of the USDA's Summer Food Service Program.

Michelle Curiel, Wesley director of praise and worship and children and family, said hands-on activities will be offered to children in first through sixth grades. Volunteers will host crafts, drawing, creative writing projects and an in-person reading corner. Guests are invited to borrow books and donate books to Wesley's Little Library, a free-standing outdoor library.

According to Curiel, take-home kits will focus on nutrition and community development. The Monday, July 12, kit is "Create Your Own Food Truck." With the kit, children can build and design their own food-truck business and create a plan to give back to the community.

On July 19, the "Waste Not!" kit will be teaching how to reduce kitchen waste to help conserve the planet and household food. On July 26, "Grow Your Own!" will school kids in at-home gardening and starting a tomato plant. Seeds and grow kits are provided. On Aug. 2, in "Design your own Bag!," kids can decorate their personal backpacks.

Curiel said, "We're excited to be working in our community to provide a fun and safe outlet for the children in our neighborhood."

Call (630) 896-1033 or email michellecuriel.wumc@gmail.com.