Good feeling has K-Kids hooked on service

K-Kids from Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Chula Vista, California, described the feeling as “kind of warm inside.” It was, of course, the feeling that comes from knowing they had done something good to help someone in need.

Thurgood Marshall K-Kids proudly display the toiletry items that will aid homeless children.

This particular “warm fuzzy” came from working with their sponsoring Kiwanis Club of Bonita to collect toiletries for a program that serves homeless children.

“I was looking in a closet, and I saw some (travel-size) toiletries, and I thought ‘hey, everyone has these,’” says club advisor and Bonita Kiwanian Peter Matz. So, he took the idea of collecting toiletries to the K-Kids club, who voted to support the project and brought the idea school wide.

They collected 1,700 items and donated them to Stand Up for Kids, a San Diego “drop in” program that provides homeless children through age 18 with showers, meals, counseling, and more. And, after listening to a presentation by a representative from Stand Up for Kids, the K-Kids decided to make the toiletry collection an ongoing project.

“(The K-Kids) live in a nice area, and they don’t have a lot of experience with situations like (those served in Stand Up for Kids) live with,” says Peter, who also is the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School principal. “The representative was very careful about how he explained their situations.”

Most surprising, he says, was the reason given as the main cause of children’s homelessness: single moms who have new boyfriends, and the children no longer fit into the picture.

“I was surprised!” Peter says. “And the kids were surprised and intrigued. They really wanted to help out.”

The K-Kids club, he explains, is only three years old, and their experience helping Stand Up for Kids is exactly why he wanted to build a K-Kids club at the school.

“There is a belief that there is limited opportunity or understanding at the elementary age for kids to help others,” he says. “But they do understand, and, if given the opportunity, they can make a difference.”

“My hope (in building the K-Kids club) is that kids will get hooked on service and how it makes them feel—that they’ll want to join Builders Club next, and on to Key Club, and Circle K, and Kiwanis.

“You can’t start too young getting kids interested in service.”

In addition to the toiletries project, the Thurgood Marshall K-Kids also stage an annual food drive and have set up a coin collection to assist a fellow student who is ill with cancer.

To access resources for building a K-Kids club, click here.