A cure for boredom

“I’m bored!”

No doubt, parents everywhere have heard this refrain from children who are home from school and quarantined during COVID-19.

Captain Candice McMillen, known affectionately as “Captain Candi” at the Cambridge, Ohio, Corps, came up with a creative solution by distributing “Boredom Buster Bags” in her community.

“We found that we had a lot of stocking–stuffer–type toys left over from Christmas, so we put them in a bag,” said McMillen, a former pre–school teacher. “We also copied our Orange Sunday School material and purchased new books. We included some board games and game cards (such as UNO) to encourage families to work together.”

An assortment of other goodies are in the bags too, such as Play–Doh, coloring and puzzle books, crayons, small cars, craft kits, checkers, kites, and bubbles as well as age–appropriate COVID–19 information sheets.

McMillen said that by late April, 75 bags had been distributed to families with children. About 26 kids involved in corps programs also received bags.

McMillen ordered 200 books from First Book, which provides free books to children in need. All the corps had to pay for was shipping.

“We got books that we knew were positive or familiar to the kids,” McMillen said. “We wanted to get books into their hands since the libraries are closed. A lot of families just don’t own books, so it was a great way to also keep the kids reading.”

The Cambridge Kiwanis Club, of which McMillen is a member, donated $2,500 to help pay for the books and food for the boxes.
“Cambridge is a small community, and everyone has really stepped up during this crisis,” she said. “The Kiwanis are very supportive of our corps. We’ve been able to keep our pantry well-stocked because of their generosity.”

McMillen said that when the schools closed, her thoughts immediately went to children. She wanted to keep them busy and positive.

“We just wanted to make sure that kids who are at home have something to do. We included games so the families could participate together as everyone goes through this,” she said.