Peyton Wood, 3, sat next to her mom and other family members as she ate her spaghetti lunch - with a smile on her face. Young children with spaghetti-filled plates packed a room at Callaway Head Start Wednesday for the 100 Man Luncheon. The luncheon is an opportunity for each child to spend time with a male role model.
For many of the children, that special guest or male role model was a parent. However, community members attend the lunch to ensure that each child had a guest. Seventy-six parents and other community members attended Wednesday's lunch. Children ate lunch and visited with their guest before reading a book together.
Among the community members who stopped in were a group of William Woods University students who are on the university's baseball team. Members of the university's baseball team volunteer at Head Start each month during the school year. Each student on the team volunteers one hour of time every month to work with the children as well as to help out with maintenance things around the Head Start center.
William Woods baseball player Dakota Smith, junior, has volunteered an hour of his time at Head Start each month for the past three years. He and his teammates, he said, enjoy the opportunity to mentor young kids.
"It's been pretty rewarding for all of us. It keeps you grounded," Smith said.
Community service, he said, is more important than self service. He said the children's eyes light up when he and his teammates stop in to volunteer each month. Typically, for their volunteer time, Smith said they play games with the kids, have dance parties and "just act goofy."
Melanie Stotler has organized the 100 Man Lunch at Callaway Head Start for the past four years. She said kids need a males involvement in their lives. The luncheon, Stotler said, is a great way to encourage male involvement in young children's lives and is an opportunity for the community to get involved.
"Just to let them know how we value male involvement and getting our community involved," Stotler said.
Smith described the 100 Man Lunch as rewarding, as well.
"On days like today, when you see this many people from the community comes out to support (Head Start). It's rewarding to see," Smith said.
Stotler hung quotes and statistics around the center Wednesday as a reminder to those in attendance of the impact a positive male role model can have on a child.
"So people can understand the value of male role models," Stotler said.
Children with good male role models, she said, are statistically less likely to get involved in crime. Additionally, the event had a literacy component to emphasize the importance of reading.
SERVE Inc. donated books for each classroom so that children had a variety of books to pick from at the luncheon. One boy listened as a Fulton firefighter read him a story about firefighters and firetrucks - the boy's personal favorite story subject.
SERVE let the center keep the books for its classrooms after the lunch was over. Stotler said the kids always enjoy the 100 Man Lunch.
"They love the one-on-one interaction and getting to share our classroom," Stotler said.
Stotler said she is thankful to the community members who support the 100 Man Lunch each year. This year's free lunch was spaghetti and salad, donated by the Thirsty Hog; cake, donated by Mosers and drinks, donated by McDonald's. Westminster College donated tables and chairs for the center's guests to sit at during lunch.