A community-led celebration

On April 25th, more than 1,000 community members gathered to celebrate Día del Niño. Families spent the day enjoying performances, connecting with local organizations, and celebrating our children.

More than 40 organizations participated in this year’s celebration, alongside over 100 performers, including students from Marco Forster and the San Juan Hills High School Dance Team. Seeing so many families gathered together throughout the day was a reminder of what can happen when a community builds something together.

Our resident-led Event Committee was central to shaping this year’s celebration.

From the beginning, they helped guide the vision for what this event could be. They shared ideas, raised concerns, asked difficult questions, and constantly brought the conversation back to what families in our community would want and deserve from a space like this. Their voices helped shape decisions throughout the entire process.

They also gave an incredible amount of time. Over several weeks, committee members showed up to meetings, spent hours helping with setup the day before the event, returned early the morning of, and stayed through teardown after the celebration ended. Their investment in this event could be felt in every part of the day.

One of our newest committee members shared that this was her first time being involved in planning an event with Unidos.

“I felt really welcomed,” she said. “Being part of the committee made me feel connected to the community in a different way.”

Día del Niño came together because people chose to give their time, effort, and care to something larger than themselves.

Miriam Zuniga

Adult Program Director