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Ask Dylan Carper, 9, why he gives to the needy and he tells you right away: ``Because my
grandpa and my mom had cancer and I just know how it feels with other kids.'' ``I feel
really bad for the people who are poor,'' adds his friend, Devin Carter, 9. The two are
fourth-graders at Jack D. Gordon Elementary in south Miami-Dade - and budding philanthropists
of tomorrow. THEY'RE LUCKY They count themselves lucky their school has a club to help
others, Kids 4 Kids. Now in its fifth year, the club has about 200 students, from second
to fifth grade. They meet early every other Wednesday to carry out charitable projects,
from making Halloween goodie bags for homeless children to preparing to send buttons they
made for the troops overseas. In December, the club will adopt 85 homeless families and
hold a holiday bash for them. ``Eighty-five families will meet 85 strangers and leave as
friends,'' says the club's founder, Beth Davis, a science teacher at the school. She
was ahead of her time: Now there is a movement to get kids started as early as possible
in giving to others. It's a lesson that will last a lifetime, says Jack D. Gordon
Elementary Principal Mar’a V. Pabell—n, a big supporter of Kids 4 Kids. And it's a
lesson that carries over to adults, rekindling their compassion, often buried by the
busyness in today's lives. ``Our children are teaching the adults who have forgotten to
help others in need,'' Pabell—n says. ``It shouldn't take a tragedy to help your
neighbor.'' STUFFED BACKPACKS The club's biggest event is raising money to buy
backpacks stuffed with school supplies for thousands of children - many of whom have
never had new crayons, says Davis, the club's founder. It's a project dear to her
heart. Her grandfather, an immigrant, struggled. ``He was six when his parents
died [in Russia],'' she says. ``He slept on their snowy graves, barefoot, because he
had nowhere to go.'' Yet, ultimately he became a successful businessman in the United
States, because of the kindness of others: An uncle gave him a boat ticket to America
when his own son died. Once here, people helped him get started, buying china and other
wares from his pushcart. He later opened his own lamp shade company. It's that kind of
concern that can motivate children to rise above tough surroundings, she says. ``If kids
receiving our backpacks know what we are doing,'' she adds, ``then they know someone
cares.'' Last month, Davis was named to the Eckerd 100 Salute to Women for Community
Volunteerism. She is also one of three state finalists for this school year's
Presidential Award for Teaching Science, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
But one of her best rewards, she says, is seeing how students enjoy giving to others.
Stephanie Richman, a third-grader, is one of those. Not only does she like to help
people, but she likes to make the crafts that go to people in need. Her favorite:
Drawing blue flowers on a postcard that was sent, with others, to rescue workers at the
World Trade Center site. ``It cheers them up. They will be happy and be glad that
people care for them,'' she says. Monica Skoko, a fifth-grader who has been in the club
since second grade, is grateful that she has already had years of helping
others. `There's a lot of people who need help and it feels really good to help them.''
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