Volunteers sought to teach kids about the Constitution
A nonprofit organization that has a mission to “unite, educate, and take action to preserve the Constitution and the principals of our Founding Fathers” is looking for both high school, and adult volunteers, who would like to help spread the word to students in the Lee County School District.
Richard Kudla, a member of Voice of the Constitution of Cape 912, said they teach the Constitution to fifth grade students in the Lee County School District during the annual “Read Across America” program, typically held in March. He said in years past they have read a Dr. Seuss book and then given the students a copy of the Constitution.
Kudla said they began an affiliation with the Foundation for Lee County Schools. The organization, and the Foundation, began the pilot Constitution Essay Program, in 2010, at Diplomat Middle School. The program is now available in all middle schools in the district.
The annual essay contest is held for seventh grade students in the district. There is a prize given to the first, second and third place winner.
“We also give a $500, or so, grant to teachers on an annual basis for them to get goods to be able to teach civics and the constitution to the kids in the schools,” Kudla said.
He said they are a volunteer organization comprised of people who care about the Constitution and work with the schools to be able to present the constitution in multiple ways.
The Voice of the Constitution of Cape 912 is currently seeking volunteers to join them in spreading the word about the constitution to fifth grade students. In addition, Kudla said they are also looking for high school students wanting to attend Read Across America with them to teach the elementary school aged children about the Constitution.
“We want to get adult volunteers to go for Read Across America. In addition to that we want to get volunteers from the high school who can hopefully, more easily, communicate with the younger students,” Kudla said. “We will give the high school students a background in making presentations in front of people. We do have a syllabus prepared for the people that make presentations to the schools, a written presentation and of course they can ad lib if they want, but all about the constitution.”
The Voice of the Constitution of Cape 912 meets on the second Saturday of each month at 11 a.m. at Anthony’s on the Blvd., 1303 Del Prado Blvd. S. There are no membership fees, only a desire to bring the Constitution to the children.
For more information, visit www.cape912.com, or email VoiceConstitution@gmail.com.