CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thousands of students from all over the Kanawha Valley gathered at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center for a popular anti-bullying, anti-drug and teamwork event.
The Charleston Police Department hosted the 4th annual Powerama event on Tuesday for elementary and middle school-aged students, meant to empower children.
“We’ve been learning anti-bullying, anti-drugs, follow your dreams and how to properly dispose of medication,” Maddy Paxton, an 8th-grade student at Clay Middle School told MetroNews.
There were several activities for the students to take part including meeting superheroes like Bat Girl and Spiderman along with talking with local police officers and firefighters. Demonstrations included Charleston SWAT, K-9 unit, Charleston Fire Department, the Power Team, a rock climbing wall brought by military, and speakers such as former football stars, the DEA and even Batman.
Paxton’s chaperone, Clay Middle Vice Principal Barry Payton, said he enjoys bringing his kids to the event because of the messages.
“It’s about character and teaching them things that we are trying to build every day in our schools,” he said. “Some of the challenges our kids face daily. This is a great place to come and raise awareness of that.”
Payton said students around the state face challenges every day outside of school whether it is economic, medical, transportation or housing. He said it’s about trying to support the students and it starts at an event like Powerama where they can be inspired.
“Our kids meet our real heroes like EMTs, fire departments, our police departments,” he said. “Instead of them being scared of them, they are out there learning that they are here to protect us and to help us.”
Students from nine counties in the state participated at the Coliseum with an estimated total number of kids in the door for Powerama at nearly 4,000.