A few years ago my son Adrian launched a local service initiative in our city of Guelph called Science of Echoes. The general idea was to ‘pay it forward’ to do kind deeds as one walked through their day. One of the more substantial areas that he and his friends focused their attention was on a program called Kidsfest, an organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in Canada among children.  In fact, Start2Finish (their new name),mission statement says,

Start2Finish’s mission is to break the cycle of child poverty by providing ongoing educational support to Canada’s at risk children throughout their school years, nurturing mind, body and social health so they are empowered to succeed and become role models for change.

We are moving into our seventh year with our local program. I  must say it gets exhausting but seeing the joy our kids experience and seeing the difference in their health and overall well being eclipses any feelings of fatigue I may have.

One of the ways we do our part to ‘eliminate poverty cycle’  is by providing a vigorous, fun and balanced program of physical fitness, reading tutors, and healthy snacks, topped with some amazing mentors who devote two to three hours a week at this after school program.

If you have never volunteered for a program like this, do yourself a favour and find a local program. Google “Start2Finish’–Running and Reading, and see where the closest program is to your area. If you live in the Guelph area, we would love to have you join us.

Check out this video piece that was done a while back and features footage from across Canada, but primarily from our Guelph program.

Watch this video about people running, reading, and having a general blast while making a huge difference in children’s lives.