Marietta Girl, 9, Sends Nearly 800 Cards To Military Troops

MARIETTA, GA — When Amie Burke asked her then-8-year-old daughter to write an acrostic poem as part of her homeschool curriculum, Burke said she was completely caught off guard by the completed assignment.

“She did it in less than two minutes,” Burke said. “I said, ‘What is it?’ and she said, ‘It’s the word 'KIDS' and stands for Kindness In Doing Service.' It stopped me in my tracks.”

After reviewing it, Burke immediately asked Jaida to explain what she meant.

“She said, ‘I just want to start a group where kids get together and do community service projects,’ and I gave her a high-five and was like, ‘Let’s do it.’”

They came up with the second half of the name together. CARE stands for Connecting and Respecting Everyone.

KIDS CARE was incorporated in January, and it kicked off its activities with a book drive, collecting over 1,000 books. Its most recent project was a handmade holiday card drive that began in July at the Marietta Square Artesian Market. Participants collected 180 cards that day, and from there they began setting up at different local farmers markets and putting drop boxes in businesses. In the end, they collected 739 handmade cards to mail overseas to military troops. Through the assistance of nonprofit Hugs for Soldiers, the cards were sorted and shipped to different locations around the world. Troops will receive them in time for Christmas.

“We had a lot of retired and military families stop by, and they were so moved by it,” said Burke, adding that this project opened up important conversations between parents and younger children about the military.

“I could hear parents start conversations with their children because the kids would be like, ‘Well why don’t they get to come home?’”

The notes were mainly written by children, and everyone was encouraged to do more than just a signature and write something thoughtful.

As for what’s next, Burke said she’s leaving that decision to her daughter.

“I keep asking her what’s the next big thing, but I don’t know what’s coming yet,” she said.

In between the large projects, they do smaller volunteer opportunities. Most of the events are designed as small, one-time things, Burke explained.

They’ll work with Keep Cobb Beautiful for a Jan. 4 event helping people recycle Christmas trees. Also, KIDS CARE is working to schedule a park cleanup day and something at a local animal shelter.

Burke said her hope is that they continue to grow their group of volunteers and incorporate projects on a larger scale in collaboration with schools and other organizations. There's no commitment to join the group, and all are welcome.

For Jaida, this has been a learning experience. She’s hands-on with every aspect of the nonprofit.

“She’s learning all sorts of things, like how to start a nonprofit versus a for-profit, all of the paperwork and just everything that goes with it,” said Burke, adding that she even helped design the website and assists with the social media posts.

“I sit her down and ask, ‘What pictures do you want? Where do you want it?’ so she’s really been a big part of it. I let her take the lead.”

As for how Jaida became interested in service projects, Burke said maybe she had some influence, but this is all Jaida, refusing to take credit. She’d tag along with her mother when she’d volunteer over the years, but that was it.

“I wasn’t forcing her to do anything,” Burke said. “She’s just had an innate drive for it.”

When she’s not busy serving others, Jaida is like any other kid her age, her mom said.

“She’s a really well-rounded kid and also likes to get outside and play in the dirt. She rides horses and does karate.”

Learn about upcoming volunteer projects by following KIDS CARE on Facebook and visiting their website.