WHAT IS KIDS 4 KIDS?

The Kids 4 Kids Fill a Backpack

Campaign was a project that was taken

on by the students of the Jack D. Gordon

Elementary Community School in Miami,

Florida. The goal of the campaign was to

fill new backpacks with school supplies

for 500 homeless children living in

shelters and attending public school in

Dade County Florida thus making the life

of a child in need a little brighter. Students

in the club, as well as students in school,

became so inspired in making a difference

for other kids, that at the end of this first

annual campaign, 1,000 backpacks were

collected and filled.

Before school started students and

teachers personally delivered 580 filled

bookbags to homeless shelters. The

remaining 420 were sent to Abused and

neglected children in protective custody

as well as children who suffer from HIV

& AIDS. Students learned that each and

every day another child is infected with

HIV & AIDS. Students voted to make

the campaign an ongoing one and to

direct their efforts on a weekly basis to serving

children in need. Out of their brainstorming,

the Kids 4 Kids Club was formed. Every Tuesday

from 7:45-8:30 a.m., 50 students in grades 3, 4

& 5 meet to develop projects that they know

will help another child. They have become pen

pals with 50 students from a shelter that serves

children whose parents are in jail or have a

drug addiction and can't take care of their

children. Once month, they take time to

write to their new friends. They also made

coloring books to deliver one Saturday a

month along with crayons and balloons to

sick children in nearby hospitals. They

made Halloween bags with letters, pictures,

and candy for an agency that serves

children with HIV& AIDS. Students in the

club also brought their pen pals from the

shelter to the school and threw a holiday

party for the complete bunch with gifts,

music, ice cream, and pizza. At the party,

club members learned that the only

difference between themselves and the kids

in the shelter was their lack of housing. Club

members made Thanksgiving baskets with

the fixings for complete meals. They also

made Valentine bags with goodies and

cards for kids in nearby shelters. Their most

recent project involved the collection of

toiletries, beanie babies, and books for the

victims of the Kissimmee tornadoes. The

theme was something they need, something

to read, and something to hold. Students all

felt it didn't matter how old you are, if you

lost everything, you would want something

to hold on to. They voted that soft cuddly stuffed

toys would make the tornado victims feel better.

In all,100 shopping bags were filled and shipped.

These students are on a mission

to be a ray of sunshine for kids

who can't always see the sun.