The 18th Annual Lake Day: A Summer Tradition Worth Celebrating
Every August, children and families from our Foster Care Neighborhood look forward to one of the best traditions of the summer: Lake Day. This year marked the 18th annual Lake Day, bringing children together for sunshine, swimming, tubing, good food and plenty of time to simply enjoy the last days of summer.
“Lake Day has been a highlight for children. It is a memory of many first-time experiences for the majority of children; first time on a boat, jumping off a boat, and tubing,” Bill Atherton, Coyote Hill CEO, said.
“Lake Day is a very special place to Cindy and I, and our family. Being able to share it with kids that wouldn’t be able to do that, it’s just a fun experience.”
Throughout the day, children swam, played in the water, tubed behind the boats, and jumped off the dock . There was no shortage of laughter as friends splashed one another and made the most of their time at the lake.
“For some of them, they’ve never been in a boat or have never been on an inner tube,” John said. “And they get to do that.”
“It is a day where the weight of being in foster care can be laid aside for a time. When a child can be seen and feel like a ‘normal’ child. Lake Day creates a piece of normalcy and a chance to be free from the burdens that await them back home.”
There were also plenty of those classic summer moments that make Lake Day special: children racing back toward the dock, friends splashing one another, long afternoons in the water and everyone trying to fit in just one more ride before it was time for dinner.
“I don’t know that I have one single favorite memory because, you know, it kind of runs together,” John said. “But when you look back [at the tube] and you see kids just laughing or when a child’s riding in the boat with you and then they decide they need to talk to you about some things… It’s just very gratifying.”
As the afternoon continued, everyone eventually made their way back up the stairs to the Glennon’s’ patio for dinner. After hours on the water, children gathered together to enjoy a meal, prepared just for them, before the day came to an end.
While the children are the heart of Lake Day, an event like this takes a lot of work behind the scenes. Boats have to be prepared, food has to be donated and cooked, the property has to be ready, and countless details have to be handled before everyone arrives.
We are especially grateful to John and Cindy Glennon for continuing to open their home and lake to the children and families in our Harrisburg Foster Care Neighborhood. Their generosity has helped make Lake Day a tradition that children can look forward to each summer.
John said the tradition has become something everyone involved looks forward to year after year.
“Everybody always talks about how much fun they have doing it and look forward to next year,” he said. “So, you know, it’s just a good ongoing thing.”
The origin story of Lake Day goes back to John’s friend, Kenny Rall, who had spent his childhood attending Kanakuk and wanted to create a similar experience for children at Coyote Hill. Rall had a farm with a lake near Harrisburg and approached John about hosting a special day for the children.
“He really wanted to do something that kind of resembled a Kanakuk day for the kids at Coyote Hill,” John recalled. “And so he talked me into doing this Lake Day at his farm. I got there, and everything was perfect. It was like a scene out of a movie.” The first Lake Day was a huge success. Tragically, later that year, Rall passed in a farm accident. John and Cindy decided to carry on the Lake Day tradition in his memory at their home on Lake Champetra.
“By far, Lake Day is mentioned by children as one of their favorite days while they lived in our neighborhood of foster families.”
For John, that idea extends beyond Lake Day. It’s about finding the unique opportunities we have to offer and sharing them with children.
“If you’ve got some unique experience, if there’s something in your family that you can share, find a way to share it with the kids at Coyote Hill. Whether it’s season tickets to Chiefs games or it’s Cardinals tickets or it’s MU tickets or it’s going up and fixing dinner one night at The Hill or just whatever you can do to kind of add something to a child’s day.”
John and Cindy are the first to tell you, they don’t host Lake Day alone. Many individuals have helped over the years to make Lake Day a continued, loved tradition for Coyote Hill foster families. We would like to thank everyone who helped make that tradition possible in 2026. Eric Glennon, Jennifer Kemper, and Lisa Dresner served as boat drivers throughout the day, helping children get out on the water and enjoy tubing.
A huge thank you goes to Patt and Cheryl Stansberry for donating food for the event, as well as Lee and Aaron Vollrath for donating hamburgers. We are also grateful to Cindy and Jeff Parshall for cooking and preparing the food for everyone to enjoy.
And a final thank you to Tim and Aliesia McAnany for helping John and Cindy with all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into preparing for the day. From getting everything set up and preparing the boats, to mowing the yard and taking care of the many miscellaneous tasks that come with hosting Lake Day, their help was greatly appreciated.
As another summer comes to an end, we are grateful for a Lake Day filled with sunshine, laughter, new experiences and time for children to simply enjoy being together.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the 18th annual Lake Day possible!