Building blocks

Fifth-grade LaGrange Park girl leads student service club

Kathryn Nadkarni of LaGrange Park never had to be dragged to her mother's Kiwanis Club meetings.

Rather, she found it so inspiring listening to the volunteer efforts of members that she wanted in on the action.

Last fall, the S.E. Gross Middle School fifth-grader looked into Kiwanis' program for youth called Builders Club. It claims to be the world's largest service organization for middle school students with more than 40,000 members around the globe.

Kathryn applied to start a chapter and enlisted the support of S.E. Gross Principal Todd Fitzgerald to get it off the ground.

"As an administrator, anytime there is a student that's being proactive like that, I love to see it," Fitzgerald said. "It fit really well with what we're trying to do as a school community."

About 20 of Kathryn's classmates signed up during a September informational meeting. She had expected some of her friends to join, but she admits surprise at the interest from peers she did not know as well.

The group went to work right away, participating in the annual Kiwanis Peanut Days fall fundraiser. The took collections from patrons outside local supermarkets and commuters at the Brookfield train stations, raising $800 for needs close to home.

"We donated money to two (S.E. Gross) families whose children died to pay for their funeral costs. One was a seventh-grade girl and the other was the brother of a seventh-grade boy," Kathryn explained. "I felt pretty good about that."

In October, the Builders Club held story hours for 75 children in preschool through third grade. They also threw a Halloween party for residents of British Home Retirement Community in Brookfield and made Thanksgiving dinner baskets for disabled people in the area that live independently.

Perhaps Kathryn's most rewarding project to date was making holiday cards for U.S. soldiers overseas, female victims of domestic abuse and homeless people. In addition to the mostly fifth-grade club members, students from upper grades also turned out on a December Saturday to hand-make the cards.

"We only expected about 75 cards and we got 200," she said. "I think it was great that kids at school would give up their Saturdays to help out."

A recent book and DVD drive generated more than 200 books and at least 40 DVDs for a Chicago children's hospital. Kathryn's mom, Lynda, suggested that young people have an underrated capacity for reaching out to those less fortunate.

"I really believe that kids today will respond tremendously if given an opportunity to serve the community," she said.

Fitzgerald believes that the seeds planted this year through Kathryn and the Builders Club will bear fruit for many years to come as new students are introduced to the power they have to enhance lives.

Kathryn intends to be active in the club her next three years at S.E. Gross. A new president is elected each year, and she looks forward to others taking on leadership roles.

Having exceeded many of her expectations this year, she is excited about the future. Mostly, she is happy to be part of a youth movement that everyone can celebrate.

"I think it's just an opportunity to do things that you'd think a kid couldn't do," Kathryn said. "In my view, you're never to young to make a difference."

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