Today is the last day of K-Kids Week (Feb. 13-17). K-Kids Clubs worldwide like the club at Hamilton Heights Elementary School are celebrating the impact of some of the youngest servant leaders.
K-Kids is the largest service organization for elementary school students with more than 1,200 clubs worldwide. Club members, supported by an adult advisor, have the opportunity to discover their passion to serve, desire to lead, and ability to engage and collaborate with others to make a positive impact on their school and community.
Heights’ “student-led” K-Kids Club is a part of the Kiwanis International Family and is sponsored by the Cicero Kiwanis Club. The club, founded in 2010, provides opportunities for working together in service to develop leadership potential, foster strong moral character, and encourage loyalty to school, community, and country.
Several members of HHES K-Kids Club raised money the Penny Wars project for Angel Tree shopping to help make the holidays a little brighter for those in need. (Photo provided)
Tracy Zachary, a 1996 graduate of Hamilton Heights, has been working for Heights as a special education teacher for 22 years and serving as the K-Kids Club sponsor for the past five years. Club membership is open to any fourth-grade student who wants to learn leadership through planning and participating in service projects that help make the school and community a better place to live.
Zachary said the biggest way the K-Kids Club is making a difference is by starting small serving the local elementary from packing food backpacks to recycling. Projects this year range from participating in the annual Cicero Kiwanis’ Veterans Day celebration, holiday food drive, Penny Wars for the Angel Tree, bus driver appreciation, and the bicentennial celebration parade in the spring to name a few.