Some say children should be seen and not heard.
But Heartworks Kids in Walton County encourages the children to speak up, be heard and take the lead.
The ?heart? behind Heartworks Kids is South Walton?s Lauren Romano, who founded the organization in April 2008.
?My dear friend Megan McDowell had started a women's group called Heartworks in New Jersey,? Romano told The Sun. ?The group was inspired by the outpouring of love her family received after 9/11. The group's mission was for women to gather together in the spirit of faith and compassion, spreading acts of kindness.?
A teacher by trade, and feeling a desire to work with kids again while still being available to care for her own children, Romano gathered ideas to create a kids version of Heartworks in 2008. On April 16, 2008, those ideas became a reality.
?It is child inspired and family supported,? Romano said. ?Heartworks Kids is an opportunity for children and their parents to directly give back to their community. The kids are encouraged to share their ideas and it is the parent?s role to help bring those ideas to fruition. Heartworks Kids is not a religious group. It is a spiritual endeavor.
The group meets once a month and always has several ?giving opportunities? for families to become active participants.
Heartworks Kids will host a $5 a plate Pancake Breakfast fundraiser from 8 to 11 a.m. March 26 at Point Washington United Methodist Church?s Family Life Center to raise awareness about the organization and to support giving opportunities throughout the year. The fire department will be invited for a free breakfast to thank them for their most recent efforts during the March 4 Point Washington fire that threatened homes.
?The children help to serve and clear the meals,? Romano said. ?Because of their ages, I don?t think they will reach the stovetop to do the flipping, so we have enlisted a few dads to take care of this task. Last year they received rave reviews.?
Children in the group range in age from preschool to fifth grade, but meetings, held at 3:30 p.m. the third Friday of the month at the Coopersmith Lane Park in WaterSound, are open to everyone. All that is needed is to have a genuine concern for others, Romano says.
During brainstorming sessions, the children discuss who might be in need of help from Heartworks Kids. Sometimes they work with another organization, such as Alaqua Animal Refuge, The Muscogee Nation, or Food For Thought. Other times they may be aware of an individual or family who is in need because of illness or loss. The group also celebrates firefighters or police officers who provide serve the community.
?The idea is that the child is involved in the giving process from beginning to end,? Romano said. ?If a meal is to be made for someone who is in need, the child plans the menu, shops for the food with their parents, is involved with the food preparation and will be with their parents when it is delivered. If the idea is to share their clothing with other children, they go into their closets and pick out items to share, bring them to a meeting, sort and organize the clothes and then deliver them to the kids in need.
?There are many wonderful organizations in our community,? Romano continues. ?Ours is unique in that the child leads the way and is involved in each step.?
And the kids love it.
?I feel like helping other people will make them just light up and be so happy,? said Isabella Squiers, and 8-year-old. ?And I help them because it's heartbreaking what they've been through.?
Ten-year-old Gigi Romano said, ?I like to help people and animals in need? while 7-year-old Dalton Romano said it is ?Radical, because I don?t want people to have nothing.?
Seven-year-old Jack Capote added, ?I like working with Heartworks because it makes my heart feel good that I'm helping other kids. Sometimes I have extra stuff that I don't really need, but maybe another kid does."
During the last year, Heartworks Kids has been involved in numerous projects. One of them included gestures of kindness for a woman who had lost her baby five months into the pregnancy. Heartworks Kids gave grief books to her and her older children as well as an angel card they painted.
Other projects included giving school supplies, clothing and shoes to some elementary age schoolchildren in South Walton and holding a clothing drive for children in Bruce. During the holidays, clothing and presents were given to needy families with children.
Currently Heartworks Kids is helping Food For Thought. On Wednesday afternoons, families shop for 20 loaves of bread and 40 to 60 pieces of fruit, which are then delivered to the food pantry at Good News United Methodist Church. Also, every Thursday, they can meet at the church and sort and pack 20 backpacks for the week.
Those who have helped say ?our hearts are smiling afterwards,? said Romano. ?If you?re in need of a smile, give it a try.?
And what can adults learn from the children?
?To be present in the moment, while giving from the heart,? Romano said. ?As parents, we are the caretakers of our children?s souls. Our job is to allow them to grow and flourish, polishing them ever so gently with loving boundaries and genuine affection so that they may shine, with all their brilliance, to illuminate the way for other souls to follow.?
Romano believes that the giving experiences of a child early in life will become a part of their life forever.
?It feels so good to give,? she said. ?If the kids have that opportunity now to see how they can make a difference in the world, I believe they will be empowered to continue this into their future endeavors.?
