Seeing the suffering of families and kids in the Superdome and other shelters after Hurricane Katrina, I felt very sad and wondered what I could do to bring a smile to a child’s face. I was very blessed to have a clean, comfy home, hot showers, food and many toys. Consequently, my brother and I came up with the idea of Kids-4-Kids program. We thought of gift boxes with toys and other stuff for kids that their parent’s would not be able to afford. Kids-4-Kids was based on a simple math problem: if one person makes five gift boxes, and recruits two more friends to do the same, how many boxes would there be in all? This was the birth of Kids-4-Kids. After all the details had been mapped out, I approached friends from various church groups and 4-H clubs and invited them to participate. Each member was given a form that read, “1. Ask your family and friends to sponsor a kid’s gift box for $6 each (includes pencils, crayons, notepads, candy, flashlight, etc.). 2. Sponsor two more friends to become partners.” Each partner was to raise funds for at least five gift boxes. It was that simple. Once all the money had been raised (more than $600), it was time for a shopping spree. Later, in a large room on Auburn University’s campus all the partners came together for the assembly process. Kids packed the silly putty, pencils, candy and other goodies into shoeboxes, gift wrapped them, and delivered over 106 gift boxes to the local American Red Cross chapter. A positive outcome of K-4-K Partnership was that the Lee County Red Cross invited me to start a youth group, called Club Red. Today, Club Red is a group of dedicated youth ages twelve to nineteen who are actively involved in many community service projects: Measles Initiative to vaccinate African children; Project SHARE, a utility assistance program for the elderly and disabled; and Community Emergency Education Campaign. Recently, club members distributed _____ doorhangers, educating the community about fire prevention and safety. In addition, members receive free CPR and First Aid training and certification. Come join us for fun and service! For more information, call the local Red Cross at (334)-749-9981.