You’re never too young to start making an impact on the community or the world around you — that was the advice from Key Club Governor for New England and Bermuda, Sara Sweeten.During a recent visit to the Island, the teenager spoke to student Key Club members at the Berkeley Institute about the importance of their service to the community.Miss Sweeten said: “I think what is great about Bermuda Key Clubs is you get to work locally, but then with [fundraisers like the] Eliminate Project you still get to work internationally and that is really beneficial because it shows the range of involvement that you can have.“Student to student I just encourage and thank all of you for the work that you do. Not only do kids younger than you who are going to be coming into high school look up to you, but there’s a lot of adults who also look up to what you do serving.”She commended the students for showing leadership skills at an early age and told them that characteristic wasn’t something everyone could exhibit.The students have held a series of fundraisers to raise money for the global campaign Eliminate as members of Key Club, associated with the local chapter of Kiwanis International.Organised by UNICEF and backed by Kiwanis International, Eliminate aims to wipe out maternal and neonatal tetanus in 32 countries by raising $110 million by 2015. Kiwanis International is aiming to raise $56 million; Hamilton and St George’s clubs hope to raise between $100,000 and $200,000 over the next two years.Miss Sweeten said: “It really takes a push from someone special [to be a leader], so for all the things you do you really show you are stepping up to the plate to pursue the idea of service and giving back, which is so rewarding.“Just continue what you are doing in Key Club. Definitely push for membership with younger students because those are the ones who will keep the club alive, and join the Kiwanis when you are older, you will have that Key Club experience and the Kiwanis really like the younger members getting involved.”Kiwanis International is a global group of volunteers, which has staged nearly 150,000 service projects and raises nearly $107 million each year for communities and families.Founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1915, it has nearly 600,000 members in 80 countries.Miss Sweeten told students she got involved in the student group, known as a Key Club, during her first year of high school.Today her role sends her to overseas Key Clubs and she works to pursue the idea of service.Calling it “a really cool experience” she said one of her immediate goals will be working to promote the Bermuda clubs to young people overseas.“Unfortunately a lot of Key Clubs in New England don’t even know the Bermuda Key Clubs exist,” she told students.She said she aimed to get a one or two-page spread about the Bermuda Key Clubs in New England publication The Yankee, before the end of this month; she also encouraged students to attend a special workshop taking place in the US later this year.Also present at the Key Club meeting last month was Frank Dennett, Governor for the New England and Bermuda Kiwanis. He said one of his goals in the coming months would be to get Kiwanis Club members from the district to support the Eliminate Project.He encouraged locals to support the fundraising initiative “in whatever capacity”.Useful website: www.kiwanis.org