Kids get a taste of reality at local fair

Children and teens milled around "reality stations" at a Reality Fair for Teens held Tuesday night at the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington.\nThe event was sponsored by Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Club, and was staged to help participants understand the reality and expenses of adult life. \nLiz Grenat, Bloomington director of Big Brother/Big Sisters, said it was a bigger success than expected.\n"I'm really pleased that this is such a good turnout," Grenat said.\nMany of the participants attended the fair with their parents or their big brothers or sisters.\nMike Sims attended the fair with his two daughters, ages 10 and 12. He said it was important to attend so the kids could come out and see what it's like.\nAbout 12 stations staffed by volunteers circled the gym, and had names such as Transportation and Banking.\nAfter participants checked in, volunteers asked them what kind of grades they made and what type of job they would like. Based on that information, the volunteers matched the youths with a career and corresponding monthly salary. \nThe teens then visited the different stations, where monthly expenses for certain items were deducted from their budget. Some expenses were mandatory, like clothing expenses and having a will, but other areas were left for the teens to decide. Participants chose between different cars and selected the type of home furnishing they preferred.\nIf the monthly budget was exceeded, the youth had to return to certain booths to eliminate expenditures, like switching from a new to a used car.\n"I'm gonna learn a lot about stuff," 12-year-old Robert Arthur said. Arthur said he makes A grades and wants to be a police officer. He had planned to have no children, but after visiting the Life Surprises station, volunteers told him he would have an unexpected child. \nThis forced him to go back to the medical booth for more health insurance and to the childcare station to add that expense. \nParticipants carried a card which the volunteers at each station signed to verify that all booths were visited. Cards that were completely filled were eligible to be entered in drawings for door prizes.\nBecause this is Red Ribbon Week, an awareness week for drugs, alcohol and tobacco, there was a Life Vices station showing what the expense would be for a one-pack-per-day tobacco addiction.\n"Joe Chemo" was also on hand, wearing a traditional Joe Camel costume, but seated in a wheel-chair with an I-V drip. He held a sign that said he got cancer from smoking.\nMany of the volunteers for the event were IU students. \nSophomore Kristi Love said she was finishing 10 hours of service learning that are required for her Communication in the Classroom course.\nShe said the participants didn't really understand how much schooling was required for certain jobs.\n"They don't really know how it lines up," Love said. "They'll say, 'I want to go to college for eight years,' but they want to be a cook."\nSophomore Ali Frank said she was also interested in the way the teens and children made their decisions about their careers.\nOne boy, who Frank said she guessed to be about 12-years-old, told her that he wanted to be a football star. He suggested that for future events, a professional athlete should be a possible career option, because he expects that a lot of the kids will turn out to be athletes.\nMany of the IU volunteers were there either with the Kelley School of Business Civic Leadership Development program or with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters First Mentors.\nFirst Mentors are not actually big brothers or sisters, but help with planning and coordination. They are a sort of auxiliary group for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Grenat said.\nBrenda Trent, Smart Moves coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club, said the event had a greater attendance than what was expected. She said she ordered more food for the event while it was taking place.\n"It's a nice problem to have," Trent said\nThe event has been in planning since August and was modeled on similar events that are held at local middle schools, Trent said.