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1 June/July MEET MANATEE S THE COMMUNITY CENTER SOAR IN 4! -KIDS! A PASSION FOR PALMETTO THE GIFT OF A SMILE $4.99 US WIN FOUR TICKETS TO LEGOLAND FLORIDA! INSIDE: WHY FAMILIES IN NEED ARE IN GOOD HANDS

2 8 Meet Manatee s

3 For 20 years, Judge Ed Nicholas has helped inspire the leaders of tomorrow WORDS: Lela Rast Hartsaw PICTURES: Whitney Patton The students sitting at desks in our elementary schools today are the leaders of tomorrow. No one sees that more clearly than the Honorable Ed Nicholas, former president and long-time active member of the Bradenton Kiwanis. Judge Nicholas, for the past 20 years, has been involved with the Kiwanis K-Kids Club in Manatee County. Along with dedicated advisors at a handful of local elementary schools, he has watched proudly as students become inspired in K-Kids, move on to Builder s Club in middle school, and then Key Club in high school. One example Judge Nicholas likes to share is the story of a young man who was voted president of his Miller Elementary K-Kids Club, then went on to become president of the Manatee High Key Club, before being elected student body president at the University of Florida. How does being involved in K-Kids help inspire and prepare students for community service and leadership roles? The answer can be found just by reading the K-Kids Pledge: As a K-Kid, I promise to serve my neighborhood and my school. I will show respect for the environment and I will try to make the world a better place to live. K-Kids is the Kiwanis sponsored service club for elementary students. The idea, according to Judge Nicholas, is to instill in grade school students the virtue - and fun - of service to others, giving back to their communities, and their world. The K-Kids Club at Braden River Elementary is the first ever for that school. At their induction ceremony, imagine the kids watching the majestic figure of Circuit Court Judge Nicholas

4 strolling into the room in his full, flowing black judge s robe. He explained to the parents and the students present that K-Kids Club is about giving back. In his speech to the first group at Braden River he said: We have a lot of gifts, a lot of blessings. The idea is to share those gifts, those blessings, with those who are not as fortunate. Judge Nicholas was proud to induct that group at Braden River after getting the call from Michele Rezpa, who volunteered to be their advisor. He would like to see a K-Kids Club in every one of Manatee County s 32 elementary schools. At present, there are only clubs at the following seven schools: Miller, Palma Sola, Stewart, Samoset, Braden River, Willis, and Anna Maria. These are sponsored and monetarily supported by the Bradenton Kiwanis Club, except for Anna Maria Island Elementary, which is sponsored by the Anna Maria Kiwanis Club. To get a club in every school would simply take a leader to step forward and agree to be that school s advisor. Each school has someone, a guidance counselor, administrator, or educator, who has chosen to volunteer with the program. Individual school clubs are a little different, and the club chooses the activities they wish to pursue, which makes each club unique to the students who participate in it. The projects the clubs choose to do all have purpose derived from conversations held in the initial K-Kids Club meetings. One club chose to raise funds to purchase a therapy horse for children with autism, because there was a student in their school with that specialized need. Another school does an annual canned food drive for folks in their community who might otherwise struggle with feeding their families. In December, Willis Elementary initiated a Teddy Bear Roundup to collect bears for children hospitalized over the winter holidays. Miller Elementary K-Kids Club actually teamed up with the Key Club from Manatee High and created and constructed a reading garden. We could have a shepherd at every elementary school. explains Judge Nicholas. I feel passionately about Manatee County. I think it is the best place to live and raise a family. Yet, amongst all this natural beauty, there is great need. What if everyone got into the habit of looking out for their neighbors? K-Kids is a fantastic way to instill that mindset in the next generation. However, K-Kids is only one component of the charity work done by Kiwanis. Just about everything good in Manatee County, Judge Nicholas proudly states, has Kiwanis fingerprints on it. If you would like more information on how you can get involved with K-Kids or Kiwanis, visit their website at

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7 A Passion For Community Service Here is what the fabulous Kiwanis K-Kids Club advisors at some of our local elementary schools say about this amazing program. What value do you see K-Kids providing our community? The greatest value to the community is instilling in young people the value of helping others, which will hopefully last a lifetime! Each project helps some aspect of the community - all in very different ways, but each project leaves students feeling the pride and joy one gets from helping others, and the most common question when we are done is, What can we do next? Sarah Mitchell, Samoset Elementary The K-Kids Club provides several benefits to the community. First and foremost, the children themselves are challenged with leadership and service opportunities that invest in their future. Secondly, there is the tangible improvement provided by the projects the children come up with, such as their projects that they chose this school year that include running a coin drive to raise money to buy Christmas presents for families at our school and making Christmas cards for patients at Johns Hopkins All Children s Hospital and Valentine s cards for a local nursing home. Michele Rezpa, Braden River Elementary What do you see the students getting from participation in the program? The students involved in this program have gained a real sense of pride in their school and community. They are enthusiastic and diligent when it comes to tackling our community outreach projects. They use their own time to create posters and banners to hang around the school advertising and encouraging students to participate in our events. Emily Ross, Steve Sajewski, and Phyllis Morales, Willis Elementary I love K-Kids because it gives students their first taste of community service and what it feels like to help. I ve always told them it s better to give of yourself rather than take away! Over the years I ve had parents, staff, and community members say how much they appreciate their work and the enthusiasm the students have for each project. My hope is that they carry this passion for service throughout their life. Kim Nicholas, Miller Elementary Can you briefly describe your favorite K-Kids Event? We have excellent participation at our school events. We held a Fall Festival here at Stewart in September. Every member was responsible for running a game or a food booth. It was heartwarming to see our members develop confidence and practice excellent social skills with their peers and the Stewart community. Michelle Savchuk, Stewart Elementary Palma Sola does a food drive for the E.F.E.L.T. (Elks Feeding Empty Little Tummies). The entire school participates in providing nonperishable items for the program, which in turn offers bags of food on Friday for needy families at our school and other local schools. K-Kids get to organize the drive, collect, count the items and then delivery the food bags each Friday. It allows them to see the whole cycle of helping others. Marzena Murphy, Palma Sola Elementary