Once a month my local church hosts a BarBQ for the homeless. It is a ten year tradition. The only requirement or payment for attending is to receive a hug.
Suzanne and I decided to bring three of the Real Men of Willow Pond and three of the Wise Women of Willow Pond. We selected kids who have shown great attitudes and excellent behavior in the Kids Club. Three of the girls: Ariana, Kaisia, and Rodnesha, and one the boys, Charles, served in the food line, handing out food to the 100 or so guests who came. The other two boys, Rodrick and Curtis, helped me with the music. We play great Christian R and B and Rap, and the kids were amazed that they actually liked the music. We ended up giving them CDs.
As a Kids Club, we recently adopted a child in Africa, sending him pictures, notes, and small donations. This is up to the kids to come up with, and the funds are made up of pennies, nickels, and dimes. Through this, we have been teaching the kids that many people in the world would call them rich. To walk in to an apartment with lights and running water at your disposal is uncommon in many parts of the world. At the BarBQ, our kids from the Willow Pond Kids Club got to see this first hand.
Through their service, the Willow Pond Kids Club kids were able to see the kind of impact they could have in someone's life with some friendship, food, and music.
Each of the kids was given a t-shirt that read "Determine to Serve." More importantly, they got to experience how a helping hand can touch the receiver and the giver.
Determining to serve, the kids have decided and planned to attend all future BBQ's.
-- Rickey Fanning
