What can five minutes do? It can help change the world. This is the main message that went home with 160 members of the KCS community after the Encouraging Dialogue Speaker Series presented by Kingsway College School in partnership with the KCS Parent Network.

Volunteerism: Choices That Make a Difference featured a panel of non-profit leaders sharing their experiences and engaging in lively discussion with the audience. Alex Robertson, CEO of Camp Oochigeas, Kristine Gaston, Executive Director of The Leacock Foundation, Martha McClew, Provincial Director for The Terry Fox Foundation, James Noronha, Program Director for Special Olympics Ontario and Gohulan Rajalingham, Special Olympian were joined by keynote speaker and host of the evening, Canadian football legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons.

With a focus on instilling the habits of volunteerism in our children early to follow them through life, panelists encouraged the audience to help children find their passion and to teach by example. Feel uncomfortable and feel nervous. Show your children that is how you are feeling and show them that volunteering can be hard. And show them that it’s all worth it.

Pinball and our panelists issued a challenge: start with five minutes a day. Just five minutes to make someone’s day better. Soon, those five minutes turns to twenty, then an hour. Before you know it, a habit has formed that will help our children become volunteer leaders of tomorrow.

What is truly remarkable about our passionate KCS community is the level of volunteerism we see at the school every day. This event, for example, was made possible by the generosity of two volunteers from the KCS Parent Network. Parent volunteers who devoted hours of their time to ensuring that this annual event was the best one yet and provided our community with an unforgettable experience.

It just takes five minutes to help change the world. What will you do with your five minutes today?