In Point Loma, there is a group of dedicated elementary- and middle school-age children trying to embody and heighten awareness of community service and volunteerism. They are part of the Kids Korps Liberty Station chapter. Group members focus on environmental and social issues of the day. They look at how life is impacted by and can be enhanced by lending a hand. They initiate park/garden cleanups and volunteer their time serving elders and the underprivileged on weekends when their peers are at play. To further children’s self awareness, Kelly Moore, Liberty Station Kids Korps chapter leader, realized it is equally important that children are taught to give back. She established the Explorer Elementary School Kids Korps chapter in 2007 and this year, with the help of chapter leader Jana Fortune, Moore has created a Liberty Station Kids Korps chapter to promote membership throughout the Point Loma/Liberty Station community. “My family were active Kids Korps members from the time my daughter was seven but were not affiliated with any particular chapter,” Moore said. “So when my daughter was attending Explorer Elementary, I realized that it was the perfect place to establish one. “I approached Kids Korps USA and our school principal for support at school where we had a strong community but no ongoing community outreach. Bringing in an established youth service organization was a perfect fit and we had an overwhelming response our first year,” she said. The Liberty Station chapter falls under the umbrella of Kids Korps USA, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth volunteer organization that engages young people ages five through 25, in community service. The mission is to instill in America’s youth the spirit of giving, while providing valuable education in leadership and responsibility. Kids Korps USA partners with more than 250 national and local non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, Head Start Preschools, children’s hospitals, homeless shelters, senior centers, animal shelters and environmental agencies. The Liberty Station Kids Korps chapter has more than 50 members. Some of the agencies and projects they have supported are:  the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Three-Day Walk, San Diego Food Bank, San Diego Downtown Senior Center, San Diego River Foundation, UC San Diego Medical Center Bannister House, San Diego Humane Society and the Helen Woodward Animal Center. In addition, the chapter has also created its own projects by establishing Liberty Station Clean Up Day, garden preservation at Explorer Elementary, Souls 4 Soles with Point Loma Sports Chalet, and Toiletries for Troops with Pacific Beach Middle School ROTC. “It is truly amazing to watch kids serve meals to seniors, clean up local nature areas and collect needed items for disaster victims,” Moore said. “Kids can do so much more than we often give them credit for. Our parent members join in and supervise efforts when needed, but truly, it is the children that do the work.” While the chapter receives administrative/project support from Kids Korps USA, the goal is to work in a grassroots way with more local, less-supported agencies in central and downtown San Diego that understand just how much children can contribute, according to organizers. “To me, Kids Korps means helping the environment and making it better,” said Liberty Station Kid’s Korps member Emma Moore. “It means working together to put smiles on seniors’ faces. It means helping out around town to make it the best it can be. It’s writing letters to the soldiers and putting together toiletries so they can have the typical things that we have every day. It is going to a river and pitching in to clean it for visitors. Kids Korps is friends helping others out. It’s things most people don’t think of doing on their weekend, but we do.”   For more information, visit www.-KidsKorps.org. To join the Liberty Station Chapter or to discuss how they can help your group or organization, e-mail [email protected].