Materials for Activity

• Computer with Internet access
• Newsprint, markers, and tape
• 4 sheets of construction paper

Preparation for Activity

• Explore this PBS “Zoom” website and other reputable sites that suggest projects kids can do when they join together as a group to help others.
• Find out about service projects others in your congregation or community are already doing to help support people’s basic needs. Talk to project leaders about how a group of children from the congregation might participate.
• Set up a computer with Internet access. Access the websites you want to show to the group.

Description of Activity

Show participants projects that other kids are doing. Encourage them to create a club with the purpose of helping others achieve their basic needs. This can be a single event or become a group that meets more often.

Gather participants and say in your own words:

Who can remember what the four basic needs for people throughout the world? (food, shelter, clothing, love)

Let's write those four words on construction paper and place them around our room.

Write the words on the individual sheets of construction paper or ask volunteers who can write to do it. Have other volunteers place each sign in a different part of the room.

Then say:

We're going to find out about some kids who really care. They get together and find ways to help others.

Show pictures and read the stories you find online. You might say:

Wow! Aren't there millions of ways to help others? Let's see how we want to help others. Remember the four basic needs; food, shelter, clothing, and love. We put signs around our room with those four words.

Re-gather the children. Invite them to sit, close their eyes for a moment if they are comfortable doing so, and choose which of these four basics they would like to work on as a Kid's Club. Pause a moment, then say:

Okay, now, open your eyes and go to the sign of the basic need where you would like to help.

Have them go to the sign with the "need" they prefer to help with. Then say:

Let's look at this together by answering these questions:

• How many people are standing by the food sign?
• How many people are standing by the clothing sign?
• How many people are standing by the shelter sign?
• And how many people are standing by the love sign?
• Which sign has the most people standing by it? This is the need we will work on in our Kid's Club.

Lead the group to plan a project:

Do we want to design a project to do? Let's use the newsprint and marker to decide together what our Kid's Club will do.

Post blank newsprint. Take notes as you lead the group to process using these questions:

• The basic need we chose to help with is ___________.
• Do we want to collect something to help in our community?
• How much time do we have to give to this project?
• Do we want to do it alone or with other people? [Share what you know about projects already underway in your congregation. Tell the children you will ask about how a Kids’ Club can help.]
• Are there ways to connect to other groups in our congregation?
• What should we do next?

At this point, a decision has to be made as to whether the group will complete a project now or plan another event after choosing a project. The compromise and choosing is important to emphasize fair, peace-filled deliberation.

Including All Participants

All ages and abilities can do the processing and process-choosing. Fit the scope of the project to the abilities of the participants.