"Kids Care Club is the best time at lunch all year! It is the most fun, because I know in my heart I am helping someone."
Kate, Member, Oak School Kids Care Club
Hinsdale, IL

Six years ago, when Teresa Pielet was involved in school sponsored service projects the parents did most of the volunteering. She and other parents wanted their children and classmates to have a more hands-on experience in planning and implementing the projects. At the suggestion and support of their principal, Teresa and a few other parents decided to start a service club where the kids could take action. Thus, the Oak School Kids Care Club was born!

Six years later it is still going strong, with the help of co-facilitators Julie Milan, Valerie Lee and Sue Dressler. The club is very successful and very busy. The 56 club members in grades three through five meet once a month during their lunch hour and plan monthly projects. Co- facilitator, Valerie Lee says, "Working with the Kids Care Club has helped me share a giving spirit with my child and others. It's rewarding to see kids excited about helping and sharing with others." Peyton, a club member echoes her enthusiasm, saying, ""It is my favorite thing to do at school besides recess!"

Over the years, they have taken on many projects and some have become annual projects. For example, every May, the Club sponsors a "Thank You!" breakfast for helpers in their community. It is a great way to start the day. Personnel from the fire and police departments, and library, as well as crossing guards and other town workers come to the breakfast and explain their jobs to the kids. They appreciate the special recognition and gratitude. This year the Club made treat bags for the guests and enclosed a thank you note.

April was a busy month for the Club. At Easter, the Club made placemats and breakfast for the homeless, complete with Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, generously donated by Quaker, Kids Care Clubs' premier sponsor. They also donated water bottles with their Club's name on them to the shelter.

To help fill the shelves at the local food pantry, they did a component of Kids Care Clubs Feed the Hungry -- a food drive. The kids made flyers and posters for the food drive, collected 20 shopping bags full of items, and sorted the food, toiletries, and paper products. Parents helped the facilitators at the meeting and went with the members to deliver the food and supplies.

For the local seniors, the Club used the Kids Care Clubs Community Blooms project to show their appreciation. They copied the poem "Spring" found in the project and attached it to a lolli-pop bouquet. They made lunch for the seniors and played bingo with them. And to the seniors delight, the Club presented them with a "recycled" scarecrow for their retirement home. The club used an old gym soccer ball for the head, pop cans for the legs and arms, and plastic bags to create it.

In addition to making the recycled scarecrow, the Oak School Kids Care Club is very involved with other "green" projects, such as Share Your Soles, a campaign that recycles gently worn shoes and distributes them worldwide. Share Your Soles has shipped shoes to Indian Reservations in South Dakota, to inner city Chicago, IL and to countries like Toga in Africa. The Club organized the campaign on National Walk to School Day, which takes place in October. A natural fit! They collected about 200 pairs of shoes.

The Club also supports the Oak School's Environmental Club's initiative with the lunch composting bins. Their efforts at waste reduction and environmental awareness activities helped their school win an Earth Day Flag from the organization SCARCE.

The Club's favorite project this year was making colorful fleece blankets for a local children's hospital called Hope Hospital. While making the blankets club members imagined how happy the sick children in the hospital would be to receive the soft, beautiful, colorful blankets.

Another sucessful project was Kids Care BookShare -- a book drive to help support their sister inner city school, the William Penn School. For the book drive, they collected books for all ages for 10 days. They sold 283 books for a dollar each and gave the $283 their sister school. The leftover books were divided among the William Penn School, community library, and local service pantry.

Teresa says, "When we get thanks and gratitude from all the wonderful places we have donated, I just get goose bumps knowing that our children are making a difference." Teresa plans to continue making a difference in her community during the 2009-2010 school year. This energetic facilitator, will meet in September, with her dedicated assistants and members to organize more outstanding Oak School Kids Care Club events and projects.

Kids Care Clubs is pleased to be joined by Quaker in providing special recognition for the Club of the Month. Members of the Oak School Kids Care Club will receive a special gift directly from Quaker to share with their families and friends.