LASH BACK TO THE 1980S. EVER THE VORACIOUS READER, I WOULD scan the various magazines that arrived in our home for anything remotely appealing to a kid. I was a little precocious, so it wasn’t unusual for me to flip through Time, Newsweek, and my mom’s Ladies Home Journal. There wasn’t much to hook me, but I liked scanning the headlines nevertheless.
By the end of any given week, however, the mail would bring something special—our weekly Adventist Review. I confess I don’t remember too much of anything I might have glanced at. But I do recall making a proverbial “beeline” for the kids’ section. There was always some small goody just for kids in there, and I liked that. Anything that made a kid feel special in an otherwise grown-up world was cool. It still is.
Today, the grown-up magazines arrive in my home addressed to me. But now, I sometimes catch my kids flipping through them. And when I bring the Adventist Review home, there are now lots more for kiddies to enjoy than before. The kids’ columns of yesterday have given way to a full eight-page, four-color magazine called KidsView (for those of you who may not know), and it’s the neatest thing.
KidsView was born in 2002. It is the result of a parent who approached then-editor Bill Johnsson with the request that the Review should create a unique publication just for kids. So they did. This past school year, a longtime dream to widen the reach of this special magazine was realized when we were able to distribute KidsView to every third through sixth grader enrolled in an Adventist school in the North American Division. It’s been a lot of fun for me personally to hear from kids and teachers alike saying how much they enjoy the stories, activities, devotionals, and a special kid-friendly calendar every month.
So now we’ve been dreaming bigger dreams. How great would it be if a new generation of Adventists grew up having fond memories of the Review because they read KidsView as kids? How awesome would it be for them to understand from their early years that they matter to this 160-year-old magazine? That they matter to this church?
We want kids to arrive in their classrooms this coming fall with KidsView waiting for them. And we need to have KidsView in the hands of all our kids attending non-Adventist campuses. We also think it would be amazing if children outside of North America could grow up with KidsView too. The list could go on and on—I warned you when I said we’ve been dreaming bigger dreams.
So here’s my humble plea. It takes about $1.50 to bring KidsView to a child for the duration of one academic year. That’s it. Just imagine what we could do with $50, $100, or $200? To help, go to www.kidsviewmag.org/transaction_donation.php or send your check to KidsView, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
My fond memories of the Adventist Review’s children’s column went way further than giving me something fun to remember from my childhood. It acquainted me with the Adventist Review and instilled in me the fact that I belonged to a church that cares about its kids—more important, that I belonged to a church led by a Savior who is a special friend to children. And that is one of the reasons why I’m still here today.
If time should last, imagine 20 to 30 years from now a new editorial written by someone who might say, “When I read KidsView all those years ago . . .”
_________
