The Falconer Central School District recently created a new program, K-Kids. The program is similar in style to Builders Club and Key Club. The program began in January and will continue through June. P-J photo by Jordan W. Patterson

Inside Fenner Elementary School, fifth-grade students took the lead standing in front of other elementary students coordinating the K-Kids program weekly meeting.

The meeting for the international community service organization, similar to Builders Club and Key Club, began with a pledge:

“As a K-Kid, I promise to serve my neighborhood and my school,” the students said reciting the pledge. “I will show respect towards my environment and I will try to make the world a better place in which to live.”

The group, which is made up of 33 elementary students, is led by fifth grade student officials. The program is currently working on a service project where students are donating items to the Child Advocacy Program. The service began with the students and their families donating pillows and stuffed animals and then transitioned into a more hands on activity.

The students began making tie fleece blankets from scratch. During last week’s meeting, several students were working on cutting one of those blankets. Later in the week, the donations will be given to CAP.

The CAP donations are the program’s first “big” service event, while the students have previously participated in smaller scale projects like writing “thank you” letters to faculty and staff, as well as writing letters to veterans. A tall box placed in the hallway of Fenner was filled with homemade tie fleece blankets, pillows and stuffed animal toys. The students are also collecting snacks to donate to CAP.

K-Kids is advised by Sarah Wagner, school social worker, with additional help from Jane Fuller, community volunteer, and Elizabeth Champlin, Jamestown Community College student intern. The group is also sponsored by Kiwanis.

When the program was created, Wagner sent information home to parents regarding K-Kids.

“Parents are really excited about things like this so we usually have a lot of involvement,” she said.

Wagner reinforced the idea that the students lead each meeting and brain storm their own plans for their community service events. On Thursday, benefiting from warmer weather, the K-Kids were able to venture outside to begin cleaning up the Fenner Elementary School campus. Equipped with gloves and trash bags, the students strolled around the school picking up trash left over from the winter.

Because of the size of the group they meet every week, but a different subset of students meet every other week. On Thursday, the third- and fourth-graders met with the fifth grade student officials and the upcoming Thursday meeting will only be the fifth graders.

At the end of the meeting, the students began brainstorming ideas for the following service project after the CAP project was finished.

“They’re coming up with their own ideas and then they vote on it,” Wagner said.

“It’s kind of neat because they decide their own destiny on what they’re going to end up doing service wise,” she continued.