"I swear..." - five minutes with a child

by Bill Unaitis, Public Relations and Marketing, for the Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg

Somewhere out in Yellowstone there is a Park Ranger who makes a bigger impact on folks than he probably realizes, especially on young children. You see, he administered a Junior Ranger Oath to my five year old granddaughter last year, and gave her a ranger pin for her hat.

She swore, "I, Katie Haines, Pledge to be a good Junior Ranger, to learn about national parks and protect them from harm. I will help others have fun learning about the history of the Park, and appreciate the plants and animals that live there. I will do my part to obey the Park rules and act in a safe manner."

Now, at a grammar school half way around the earth, she has started a "Junior Ranger Club" with her mates in Australia. Complete with membership cards, pledging to protect the animals, plants and environment. A great start for some first graders, influenced by somebody in Wyoming. Five minutes of someone's time.

Last week, Nathan Hill nearly moved me to tears at our Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg meeting. He only spoke for two minutes about how he was moved and rewarded by reading to four and five year olds at the Head Start Program. Reading is a weekly Kiwanis event. That was the first time he read. Five minutes. He is now a weekly reader and is recruiting his wife to read also. Not only has he impacted the children, they impacted him.

While living in Toronto some years back, I coached T-Ball. At one game, I put the catcher's equipment on our smallest player, Kevin Wolfe, age six. The chest protector not only covered his chest, it covered his whole body down to his ankles. Twenty years later, while visiting his mother, she talked about that event and what wearing the catcher's gear meant to him. When I met with him, his first comment was "you are the coach who let me wear the catchers gear". Five minutes, a lifetime memory, his and mine.

Drew Brees is coming to town this summer. I am sure he understands his impact on youngsters. Caren Schumacher's ten year old grandson has been impacted. Drew Brees, his favorite player, recently autographed a New Orleans Saints baseball cap, which was given to the youngster by one of Drew's offense lineman, a friend of a friend. Personally delivered. Five minutes. Picture that, 6'8"/340 lbs handing a cap to someone 4'8"/75 lbs.

Think about all the times you stopped to talk, help or just listened to a youngster. Continue that role, expand it to multiple times, multiple minutes. Your impact is great. We at Kiwanis have a mission "Change the world, one child and one community at a time, beginning right here in Williamsburg." We would welcome you to come join our mission, but more importantly, we thank you for your time with youngsters. You do have an impact.