Young Hands, Big Hearts: Kids At Growing Kidz Learn The Power Of Giving With Food Drive

Giving is something that can be done at any age, and that's exactly what children learned about at Growing Kidz Child Development Center.

With animal stickers, dots of paint and lots of crayon scribbles, the kiddos at the center learned about the art of giving.

The colorful turkeys were all part of a bigger picture that the kids would have a small hand in.

"As we move into the holiday seasons with Thanksgiving and Christmas, we want to teach the kids about giving back and also helping them understand that helping other children and other families is a positive thing to do," said Mindy Burkhardt, director of the Growing Kidz Child Development Center. 

Partnering with the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, the Growing Kidz Child Development Center held a food drive to collect items to give to families for Thanksgiving.

"One in six people in our state have food insecurity, that means they just don't know where they're going to eat today, and so with that great a need, we have a great need for food to go out to people and so as much as we can get in, especially during the holiday season, this is a big time of year for us," said Dwayne Sheridan, education manager of the food bank. 

Drawing and gluing, the teachers hoped every little hand turkey held a bigger lesson.

"The younger that they learn about giving and sharing, giving back is important as they grow through their years knowing that they can help others in some small way to the best of their capability I think is really, really important," Burkhardt said. 

Each tiny hand would be a small gesture that would brighten someone's holiday season.

The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma encourages other schools and organizations to host food drives as well. You can visit the food banks website here to learn more about to you can get one started.