Kids Corner: Kids' Big Hearts Help Country Heal

Children in the United States and around the world have responded with great love, kindness and generosity toward the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedies and their families. As always, you make us proud.

We’ve read about kids writing heartfelt letters, collecting teddy bears and toys and holding car washes and other fundraising events. Maybe you and friends or your classmates have taken part in some of these activities.

If you’re looking for a way to help, we’ve made a list of ideas. Some activities are being coordinated by Free the Children, the organization we told you about in the last issue of the CWA News.

Here are some suggestions:

• Write a letter or a poem to give comfort to families who have lost loved ones. You can also send letters and poems to the brave firefighters and police officers who have worked so hard to save lives.
  
• Draw pictures or create artwork honoring the victims and the rescue workers. Free the Children is collecting children’s art for a memorial exhibit that will be part of a United Nations traveling gallery.
  
• Write letters to or draw pictures for the firefighters and police officers in your own town. Let them know how much you appreciate their hard work and willingness to risk their own lives to save others.
  
• Create a memorial at your school using students’ artwork.
  
• Invite someone from United Way or the Red Cross to come to your school or Sunday school class to talk about what you and your families can do to help your own community in a time of crisis.
  

If you want to send letters and poems to families affected by the tragedies, Free the Children will make sure they get to agencies that are delivering them. You can e-mail to: youth@freethechildren.com or send by regular mail to: Kids Can Free the Children, 26 Prospect St., Waterville, ME 04901. That’s also the address to use if you’re sending artwork for the memorial exhibit.