For four hours, local parents will have the opportunity for peace and quiet and will have free reign to do whatever they want.

An Eastern programming in recreation administration class is allowing parents to drop their children off Saturday afternoon at McAfee Gym to get a few hours for themselves.

Susie Kaspar, one of the students coordinating Parents Day Out, said parents will be able to leave their children with the class between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. so they can get a few holiday chores on their schedule out of the way.

“We figured this was the perfect time to get out and do some holiday shopping,” Kaspar said. “(Parents) could also get out and put some Christmas lights out or do whatever they want to do.”

The group will be using the event to raise money and will be charging $2 an hour per child and $5 an hour for any family with three or more children.

Because the students have little experience working with very young children, they ask to have only kids who are potty trained.

Cathy Engelkes, a Charleston parent, plans to bring her children for the four hours and is happy to see something like this coordinated.

“I’m going to try to get some Christmas shopping done, and, hopefully, some wrapping done,” Engelkes said. “It’s good for the parents to actually get out and get things done without the children.”

Kaspar said there will be several different activities for the kids to participate in, including movies, arts, crafts and board games.

The idea was brought up by Christina Neven, a senior recreation administration major, who was looking for a way to both learn and raise a little money for the student association for recreation.

John Pommier, one of two faculty members who will be assisting the students, credits Neven for all the work and dedication she has put into the event.

“Christina Neven did a really good job of making this work,” Pommier said. “She just kept working on it and probably spent about 40 hours for this. She was definitely a major player in getting this operating.”

Pommier said he is glad the group will be able to gain from the experience of working with the children while also helping out the community.

“I feel that a lot of times people fundraise, but there aren’t learning experiences involved,” Pommier said. “Hopefully this will be a good chance for them to gain money and skills.”

Though this is the first time the fundraiser will be held, Kaspar hopes it will not be the last.

“Because this is our first year, as long as a couple handfuls of people show up we will be happy,” she said. “If this works we can keep doing this every year.”

News editor Matt Williams can be reached at [email protected].