An SF State student organization, Jumpstart, hosted about 500 preschool age students at the Seven Hills Conference Center and the surrounding grounds Tuesday (April 20) for its annual celebration called Jumpstart for a Day.

The children came from 13 preschools in San Francisco to enjoy the 14 literacy games and activities Jumpstart volunteers from SF State had planned for them at the Seven Hills Conference Center.

According to Yvonne Aurich, the Leadership Core Coordinator of the event, Jumpstart for a Day is put on every year to give 3- to 5-year-olds a free day of fun and learning and to give their teachers and parents ideas for making learning fun.

“Learning doesn’t have to be boring,” said Aurich, 55, a liberal studies major.

Tuesday’s celebration coincided with the Week of the Young Child, which runs from April 16 to the 24. San Francisco’s celebration of this week will end this Sunday at Dolores Park.

Jumpstart regularly sends its members, made up of about 70 SF State students, to preschools in nearby low-income neighborhoods, but this event brought the preschool to campus.

The conference center and the areas just outside were bombarded with the excited children, many of which ran about as volunteers corralled, observed and interacted with the young students.

“It looks like everyone is having a good time,” said Aurich.

Activities, held in the conference center as well as a tent and the nearby grounds, were designed to help students develop skills to prepare them to learn to read, such as how to recognize letters and practice using their motor skills.

Jumpstart member, Jen Zamora, was among several SF State students at the event’s registration table. “As always it’s super stressful. But seeing the kids here, it’s really exciting,” said Zamora about the event.

Zamora, 23, a senior majoring in Child and Adolescent Development, said she and the other planners for the event spent about three months organizing, fundraising and executing the event with

“We want quality. But when it comes down to it, the kids just have fun,” said Zamora, who also noted that sometimes parents have even more fun than their children.

SF State students ran activities such as face painting, playing with drums, fishing for letters, and listening to books being read. There were many other games and art and craft activities.

Among the highlights was the San Francisco Fire Department, which let children explore a 65-feet long truck with a 100-foot ladder. The SF State University Police showcased their dog, Officer Tobijo, and handed out badge stickers.

The activities were all labeled in colorful signs with English, Spanish and Cantonese translations. According to many Jumpstart members who planned the event, this was done because of the large numbers of Spanish and Cantonese speaking communities that are served by the organization.

And the event attested to the diverse background of the preschoolers and their parents. Jumpstart members also represent a diverse population, with 51 percent of its members being African American, Asian, Hispanic or Latino.

“I’ve never seen a more motivated group,” said Jumpstart team leader Nichole Schultz, 21, a junior majoring in Child and Adolescent Development. “And we do it because we love the kids.”

Jumpstart for a Day at SF State is just one of several of the organization’s nationwide events, which start April 16 and ends April 24. Other events for the week are planned in cities around the nation, including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Jumpstart, founded in 1993 at Yale University, is one of the country’s largest AmeriCorps programs. The organization is in 18 states, partners with 50 different colleges and universities and works with 160 Head Start and other early learning centers. And it continues to grow. This year, Jumpstart grew by over 400 members to reach over 1,600 children.

This early literacy organization has hosted President George W. Bush, Senator Edward Kennedy, children’s author Rosemary Wells and NFL player Champ Bailey, among others. Senators John Kerry and Hillary Clinton made a similar visit earlier this month to Jumpstart children at a Head Start center in New York.

Jumpstart was recognized earlier this year by Fast Company as one of the top 20 social capitalists of 2004 for “its vision to solve the national teaching shortage and help disadvantaged preschoolers,” according to Alison Pitzer of Jumpstart. The magazine featured Jumpstart in its 2004 January issue. For more information about the award, visit this Web site.

For more information about Jumpstart or on how to join, visit www.jstart.org.