This July, WMU-Cooley Law School hosted its 16th annual Cooley for Kids Day. It was another sunny, perfect day. Hundred of kids shared in the festivities of the day, including the traditional parade around the outfield, pre-ceremony activities, and an afternoon to relax and take in a Lansing Lugnuts ball game.
What was unclear was who was having more fun – the kids or the law students!
Everything about the day is about the kids. But the fun begins well before the actual day. Kids spend the weeks before Cooley for Kids Day designing amazing and colorful student-made banners, all to be proudly displayed during the walk around the outfield as part of the parade festivities.
Kids are asked early in the summer to write essays for the chance to be selected for the nine-person Dream Team. Winning team members, nine kids and nine law students, get to run together from the dugout to their designated ball player on the field before game start. A child and a law student also get to throw out a first pitch as part of the pre-game celebration. This year, Andrea Woods was the law student who had the privilege to sing the national anthem.
After the Dream Team runs off the field, the children receive a gift bag from WMU-Cooley, then join the rest of the kids to spend the afternoon taking in a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game, which includes lunch and a memento of the day. Law students get to join other faculty and staff in the Owner’s Suite to enjoy the game and lunch, and a well-deserved break from their studies.
Every year, we look forward to Cooley for Kids Day. It’s always an amazing, fun time, and we know we can count on a beautiful day with great weather. After all, in 16 years we are batting a thousand!
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