Gabby Bowes '25 and her teammates on the Germantown Academy girls basketball team hosted a fun carnival to support Athletes Helping Athletes, a local group whose mission is to connect local athletes with special needs with mainstream student-athletes in a spirit of friendship for their mutual benefit, 灵感, 和尊重. 

Bowes said that she has seen the impact that groups like AHA can have firsthand, as her sister was Vice President of the group at her school and she has an aunt with special needs. Madison Kerest '24 also expressed interest in volunteering with this group and came up with the idea of a carnival.

在活动中, volunteers either partnered up with a buddy from Athletes Helping Athletes or ran one of the stations. The athletes with special needs were able to walk around, play whichever game they wanted, and pick prizes from the prize table. Bowes added that they had a DJ and photo booth as well, so everyone was able to take pictures with their family and friends. The carnival ended with a dance party for all involved. 

Bowes said that the event took months to plan. She said that it was a lot of work figuring out which games would fit the carnival theme, hoping to get everyone involved, what food to provide, and how to get people to sign up. However, the effort was worth it in the end.

"It is such an amazing feeling to leave knowing I was able to create a fun carnival event for these kids and bring a smile to their day,鲍斯说. "The thing I enjoyed most about the day was seeing all the kids smile and having so much fun!"