Second annual Children's Day celebrated at Jackson City Hall
Aiming to spotlight children and their importance in the community, the City of Jackson hosted its second annual Children's Day event on Friday.
The celebration featured a North Parkway Middle School band performance and displayed artwork from students at Alexander Elementary, Lincoln Elementary, Nova Early Learning Center and Thelma Barker Elementary.
City of Jackson Neighborhood Specialist Elvia Trejo says that the event creates a needed space for children, for whom the value of their presence is often overlooked.
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"A lot of the time we, in a way, neglect children or children's activities because we say 'they're our future, but it will come later.' They're our future, but they're also our present so investing in them right now, highlighting, nurturing their art and watering their music, I think that's very important."
Mayor Scott Conger encouraged attendees to take a moment to spend quality time with the children in their lives and noted that it is the community's responsibility to guide children to a brighter future.
"It's imperative that we lay the groundwork today so they may thrive to contribute tomorrow, so they can be our future leaders," he said.
An addition to this year's ceremony was the implementation of the Outstanding Youth Award. Presented on behalf of the Mayor's Youth Council, the award honors a student who has influenced a positive change in their school and community.
Dallas Weddle, a junior at South Side High School, was the first recipient.
Trejo says she hopes to see the Children's Day celebration continue to expand in years to come with the goal of giving scholarships to students in partnership with local organizations.
"We're keeping it light right now but we're hoping to do community events next year and the years after that and encourage business to do things like this as well," she said.
"At the end of the day, they're not just another child in Jackson, they're citizens of Jackson so they have rights, they have anything that an adult would have."
Sarah Best is a reporter for The Jackson Sun. To support local journalism, subscribe to the Daily Briefing here.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: The City of Jackson celebrated its second annual Children's Day event
