The Executive Roundtable of Indian River County held its first fundraising event – An Evening with John Walsh – last Tuesday at Indian River State College’s Richardson Center. Walsh, host of CNN’s “The Hunt with John Walsh,” recounted the tragic 1981 abduction and murder of his son Adam and spoke about turning that life-altering experience into something positive in honor of his son. Walsh helped establish child protection legislation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and has advocated on behalf of all victims on his show “America’s Most Wanted.”
Roughly 100 guests attended the event to show their support of the Executive Roundtable and its flagship program, Kids at Hope. The group is comprised of community leaders who meet to discuss the problems and possible solutions to situations facing local children and adults. Founded in 2011, the organization is finally getting into its long-distance groove with the addition two years ago of Executive Director Aimee McPartlan and its 501(c)3 non-profit status.
“It’s a tremendous organization which blends a unique collection of community leaders to resolve our common core issues and to get kids and families access to key decision makers,” said Board Chairman and Fellsmere Chief of Police Keith Touchberry. “Kids at Hope is the first of many programs we hope to establish.”
Now nationwide, Kids at Hope was developed in Arizona by a group of teachers, social workers and other youth-oriented agencies to help at-risk kids turn their lives around through positive reinforcement in their homes, school and community.
Locally the program was first initiated at Gifford Youth Achievement Center and is currently also used at Dodgertown Elementary, Vero Beach Elementary, the Alternative Center for Education and the Boys & Girls Club of Indian River County. After observing its success, ERIRC hopes to institute Kids at Hope at five more locations each year.
In addition to teaching children to think positively about themselves and their future, the program helps them to develop goals and then plan out how to meet those goals.
“We don’t just ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up, but also what schools they need to go to, what grades they must have to get there,” said McPartlan.
“Kids at Hope has really been about uniting community members; the teachers and staff, and the families to show our support for students, and help them develop a belief system in themselves that each kid is talented and capable of success, with no exceptions,” said Dodgertown Principal Elizabeth Tetreault.
The program continually showers students with encouragement through posters, positive language, goal reinforcement and mentoring. It also holds Tunnel of Hope events where leaders of the community, teachers and parents joyously high-five and cheer the students on to let them know they are not alone on their path.
A special moment in the evening took place as Dodgertown students proudly recited the Kids at Hope pledge of positivity, which they say every morning.
When asked what they liked about Kids at Hope, the children shouted out words such as “supportive,” “fun” and “happy.” One little boy summed it up best, saying: “It puts a smile on your face.”
