Kerkstra middle schools EarlyAct club packs 2376 meals for hungry Haitian children.
 
Working with Feeding Children Worldwide, a non-profit humanitarian organization, the Rotary EarlyAct Club of Kerkstra Elementary School packed 2376 meals for hungry children in Haiti.  Members of the Ridge Early Childhood Center made cards to include in the packages.  15 to 20 thousand children die each day around the world due to lack of food, medical help and clean water. Feeding Children Worldwide works daily to provide life saving meals to help with the nutritious needs of children.  The food pack was sponsored by the Oak Forest Rotary Club.  Kerkstra was the first elementary school club founded in the Chicagoland area.  John Keane, co-chair of the Rotary EarlyAct District Committee, describes Kerkstra's club as, "Overwhelmingly the most productive club in the area, which serves as a role model to others in the Rotary district."  EarlyAct Clubs are sponsored and supported by a local Rotary Club and are school wide service clubs for elementary students 5-13 years of age.  EarlyAct engages students in character building activities and prepares them for leadership roles to identify and carry out projects which benefit their school, local and global communities.  This project was only one of many that the school has completed this year.