Kids 4 our Community: Denver, Colorado
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Sathya Sai Center of S.E. Denver, Colorado, like many other Sathya Sai Centers, transitioned to offering virtual programs, including their Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) classes. For the older SSE students, it was a wonderful opportunity to take the lead by teaching inspiring online SSE lessons on gratitude and positivity to their younger classmates.
Inspired by the lessons, Kapil and Sunand, fourth grade twins, along with their first-grade brother, Rohan, built an online website titled “Kids 4 Our Community”. Motivated by an earnest desire to uplift the spirits of the most vulnerable and the elderly in nursing homes who they could no longer visit during the shelter-in-place, the trio designed an appealing website using colorful art, encouraging letters, musical tunes, and informative videos, even one detailing how to make a mask at home. The website also provides information on ways one could volunteer as well as valuable community resources for seeking help.
The galvanizing point was when the three SSE teachers and twelve classmates got involved, thoughtfully creating letters of gratitude to essential workers and encouraging artwork with positive messages to be posted on the website. “We just want to make people happy by sharing our love, especially during such a hard time,” a student offered. “It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to practice their artistic skills and the values of gratitude, happiness, and leadership that our lessons have focused on,” confirmed one SSE teacher.
Soon, Channel 7 News Denver got wind of these young boys with big hearts and interviewed them, spreading far and wide the news of their website of service to the community. Indeed, they began to receive postings from across the nation and India. Their mother, Dr. Vidya Bhandaram, is pleased that the boys had used their time productively while their school was closed during the shelter-in-place. “We intend to share the site with local hospitals, nursing homes and healthcare facilities, to lift the spirits of patients, residents and staff,” she added.
In gratitude to all essential workers, hard at work during this pandemic, the latest addition to their website is to honor and interview humble heroes. Their first interview, on April 15th, was with the Sheriff of Arapahoe County (https://kids4ourcommunity.wixsite.com/kids4ourcommunity/videos). Sheriff Tyler Brown explained that one way their office helps the elderly and vulnerable is by providing resources such as the “Kids 4 Our Community” website. “Your selfless service through this site is one of our helpful resources, so thank you,” Sheriff Brown affirmed. It is safe to say these three brothers, inspired by their SSE training, are making a meaningful contribution to their community. You can explore their website here.