Each and every day, kids throughout Henrico schools are volunteering to make their communities a better place to live and their schools a better place to learn. Through Kids 4 Kindness, we are celebrating those special students who give so much to others.

Jaynie Rogers, an 11th-grader at Glen Allen High School, is always the first one to step up and help out anyone in need no matter what she has on her plate. She is a softball star, is involved in theatre, takes honors classes, and has a job, but she still manages to find time to give back to the community.

Not only is she a member of CATS Foundation, a service club at Glen Allen HIgh, but Jaynie also helps out at the battered women’s shelter, goes to Freedom House to feed the homeless, and is a teen counselor and volunteer during the summer with 4-H, the nation’s largest youth development organization.

“Starting really young, when I was in elementary school, my mom got me involved with feeding the homeless in Monroe Park,” Rogers said. “Ever since then I have been really involved with trying to help people because I know there are a lot of people who are less fortunate.”

After high school, she wants to pursue a career in psychology because of her love of children and her want for them to have someone they can relate and talk to about any problems they might face.

“There are a lot of kids that don’t have someone to talk to and they have a terrible life, and I want to be able to help. I want to help kids grow up to have a life where they can support themselves.”

The library staff at Glen Allen has nothing but positive things to say about Jaynie. According to librarians Angie Branyon and Rebecca Hardin, Jaynie always thinks of others first and is one of the most considerate students they know.

“Jaynie is one of those rare kids who sees something that needs to be done and does it,” Branyon said.

“She is always just thinking about everyone else and everybody’s feelings and how other people would be affected by something,” Hardin added.