There was an abundance of cute little Marios, Mickey Mouses, princesses and fairies at the Early Childhood Education Center’s annual Goodie Gathering, held on October 29.

“This is an ongoing tradition for the ECEC students, family and staff,” said ECEC Family Involvement Specialist Carmen Briones.

This year, 240 students wore non-scary costumes and opened their trick-or-treat bags to receive healthy treats. Staff from the ECEC and Salt River Schools were joined by about 200 parent volunteers, along with volunteers from other SRPMIC departments, who handed out the goodies and blurted out the occasional “Aww!” at the adorable participants.

Briones said that this year’s event was the largest by far of any Goodie Gathering in history, in terms of participation.

“Community employees enjoy giving, and most comment that [seeing] the children’s smiling faces is worth the effort,” said Briones. “The children are excited to see the adults and other students dressed in costumes just as much as [they are excited about] getting the goodies.”

Prior to the current setup, the classes of children would walk to each department and gather the treats. This required coordinating transportation and volunteers, and it was a tiring task for the preschoolers. None of the infants or toddlers participated at that time, according to Briones.

As the kids exited the ECEC courtyard and headed out to the booths on the sidewalk, they were treated to a bubble machine and enthusiastically popped the bubbles.

The ECEC invited the Early Enrichment Program and the FACE Program to the celebration, which allowed their preschool students and parents to attend a safe goodie-gathering event. 

With a mission to “create a balance of exemplary education and the O’odham and Piipaash cultures to ensure a positive future for our children and our Community,” the center serves Community families with children up to 5 years old, with the goal of preparing young children for kindergarten and strengthening families.

ECEC has hosted the onsite event since 2001, shortly after the Head Start school moved from the old location (behind the Community Building) to the current facility.

Briones reminds Community members that ECEC is always accepting applications. You can stop by the ECEC front office or visit http://www.saltriverschools.org/ to access the application.

The ECEC would like to thank the following Community partners and divisions for their assistance: SRS Superintendent, SRS Higher Education and Education Administration, Community Development Department, Community Health Education, Casino Regulatory Agency, Salt River Courts, Youth Services, Veterans Affairs, Education Administration, Tribal Council & Administration, Children’s Foundation, Police Records Division, ECS Administration, Literacy for All, Casino Arizona Staff, Public Works Administration and Grounds, DLR-MayDall, Cultural Resources Department, Human Resources, HHS Injury Prevention, the Salt River Tribal Library, HHS-PRC and Benefits, Family Advocacy Center, Miss Salt River 2024-2025 Sialik King, and the Miss Salt River Committee.

The next big event coming up at ECEC is the Winter Celebration on December 19, which will include fun winter activities, treats and a visit from Santa.