Olga Gonzales is a proud Teamster, tried and true. She follows the mission statement of the organization and works tirelessly for Local 79 in Tampa as the bookkeeper.

She also proudly wears Teamster gear wherever she goes, including to places like the grocery store or movie theater.

As Gonzales has learned, however, not everyone is as proud of the Teamsters Union as she is—in fact, there are many people who don’t know what the Teamsters are or what they do.

So, Gonzales decided to do something about it.

“I was tired of wearing my Teamster shirt and having people in the supermarket line ask me if I’m a horse trainer or if I work at a zoo,” she said. “I took it upon myself to start educating young people.”

Gonzales, who is also president of the Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Florida Chapter, created a Teamster-related activity booklet for young children. The booklet contains images of the Teamsters logo, along with fun learning tools like time tables, animal names in Spanish and English, a map of the United States and a Teamster word search.

Each activity booklet comes with a ruler that has the Teamsters logo printed on it along with a package of made-in-America Crayola crayons.

To distribute the booklet, Gonzales and members of the Teamster Hispanic Caucus Florida Chapter have teamed up with local Shriners to pass the activity booklets out to children in hospitals. The results, Gonzales said, have been phenomenal.

“Even the adults like the booklets. They encompass everything the Teamsters stand for, from education to solidarity and even information about how to join a union.”

Gonzales has even used the booklet for organizing purposes, handing it out to the children of prospective Teamsters.

While children—and maybe even adults—are able to enjoy the booklet’s fun pictures and intriguing games, the book itself has a deeper meaning for Local 79 and the future of the Teamsters Union.

“I decided to approach younger people with this idea because I wanted them to become familiar with the Teamsters and the Teamster logo,” Gonzales said. “Kids recognize a checkmark and they know it represents Nike. They see other horses and they know that stands for Budweiser beer. Why can’t people see our emblem and know that we’re the Teamsters Union?”

Gonzales hopes members of other locals will be inspired by her booklet and reach out to youth in their own way. Educating youth, Gonzales said, is the only way to ensure the Teamsters Union has a strong, healthy future.

Anyone interested in obtaining information about how to make booklets, or for a copy of Gonzales’ booklet, can contact Gonzales at (813) 621-1391.