Group has goal of healthy children

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

SAVAGE

Promoting children’s health and cultural awareness is the goal of Kids Around the World, a half-day program to be held at Three Star Mall on Saturday.

Sponsored by the McMinnville and Boyd Interact clubs, as well as the McMinnville Youthact club, the event will feature an array of games, entertainment, health screenings and consultations and a pen pal booth for children in grades kindergarten through five.

Like Rotary International, of which they are branches, Interact and Youthact take as their guiding motto “service above self.” This project, said McMinnville Interact secretary Kendra Savage, fulfills both the service and international aspects of Rotary.

In addition to food, face painting, carnival-like games and door prizes, the day will feature free weight, height and body mass analyses for attending children. Other free screenings include those for vision and hearing. Local dentists and pediatricians will also be on hand to talk with children and parents.

To help local children learn about their counterparts in other cultures and expand their cultural horizons, the event will also feature a booth at which the children can obtain pen pals from two schools in the African countries of Rwanda and Uganda. It is at these two schools, said Savage, that the Interact club is partnering with World Harvest Mission to build two new wells for the local populations.

Representatives from Kids of the Community, Magness Library, the DARE program and River Park Hospital will also man booths at Saturday’s event. Additionally, Clear Channel Radio will be available to discuss the Amber Alert System.

There will be no admission charge. However, each child is asked to bring an item than can be shared with a less fortunate child in another country. Savage said acceptable items include toys, school supplies, clothing and the like.

Kids Around the World will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Three Star Mall. All children in grades kindergarten through five, and their parents, are encouraged to attend.