The Fresno Bee and Children?s Hospital of Central California sponsor a Kid’s Day newspaper edition every year to raise money for the Valley?s children in need. The Bee printed thousands of special edition newspapers and hundreds of volunteers across the city sold them for $1 on the street corners of Fresno and Clovis on March 14.

?I was really excited about getting up really early and supporting the children in the hospital,? Claire Kister, ?08, said. ?Taking time away from my day helps me realize how lucky I am to be healthy and alive every day.?

The student leadership class split up into groups and scattered around the major street corners in Fresno to sell the special edition. Overall the class raised $573 between paper sales and donations for the 19th annual Kid’s Day drive.

They sold 300 papers in less than two hours, netting almost an extra dollar for each paper sold. The previous high was about $450 in 2004.

?This is one of the opportunities student leadership has to be apart of the community,? Josh Tosland, student leadership adviser, said. ?The cause itself is enough for Valley Children?s. We just want to help more.?

People who buy a Kid’s Day paper sponsor kids in the hospital who are in many kinds of medical conditions. Over 4000 volunteers raised around $348,000 for the hospital. Over $2.4 million dollars has been raised since the first Kid’s Day in 1988.

?Giving to these children should come from your heart and not be a chore,? Katrina Stevenson, ?06, said. ?I have realized how many things I think about everyday about school, family and friends and most the children in the hospital think about if their going to live or die each day.?

By practicing selfless giving, the leadership class has discovered service acts should not be a chore, but a gift or humility.

?It is important to give back to the community,? senior Tara Albrechtson, student body president, said. ?It is all for a great cause. Plus you get to have a lot of fun when you know you are doing something for a meaningful purpose.?

Leadership members arrived on their designated corners?along with other schools? and begin sales in the dark and braved the 45F cold at 5:30 A.M.

?This project directly impacts our community and the kids who need help the most,? Tosland said. ?I feel that it is the job of every school to be apart of a program like this. It creates a good atmosphere between the school kids from our own school as well as those from other high schools in the Valley.?

For more information on Kid?s Day, go online to www.childrenscentralcal.org and click on Kid?s Day Volunteers in The Giving Guide column. A hospital representative is also available at 1-800-73-CHILD or (559) 353-7100.

Student leadership can be reached by e-mailing Tosland at [email protected] or call Tosland at 299-1695, ext. 152.