Whiz Kids of the Week: Javier Romero-Heesacker, Isa Heesacker-Romero, and Gil Romero-Heesacker

Each week, Athens Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments.

Names: Siblings Javier Romero-Heesacker, Isa Heesacker-Romero, Gil Romero-Heesacker

Ages: 9, 6, 2

Schools: Javier is in 4th grade at Timothy Road Elementary, Isa is a 1st grader at Timothy Road Elementary and Gil attends Emmanuel Episcopal Day School.

Accomplishments: When the Romero-Heesacker family moved to Athens four years ago, they were looking for a way to give back to their new community. Mom Amy Heesacker connected with Tina Laseter of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. What started as a simple family project has become a tradition. Twice a year, the three Heesacker children sponsor a Food Drive for The Orchard and Kingwood Neighborhoods off of Jennings Mill Road. Relatively simple in design, the Food Drive kicks off with the siblings delivering flyers to their neighbors. Their Spring Food Drive is taking place right now. It will end this Saturday, March 26, with Javier, Isa and Gil collecting bags of non-perishable food items that neighbors have left in their driveways. Javier, Isa and Gil have set a personal goal of collecting 250 pounds of food this spring.

What do they do when they’re not organizing their Neighborhood Food Drive? Javier plays the drums and takes lessons at Athens School of Music. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Isa is a Girl Scout and holds a purple belt in Tae Kwon Do. Both Javier and Isa study at Athens Tae Kwon Do Center. Gil’s favorite book is Good Night, Gorilla and his favorite animals are dogs and owls.

Key to Awesomeness: Helping your community can be a fairly easy and fun family affair. Javier, Isa and Gil hope that other kids are inspired by their Food Drive and get motivated to help out Athens their own special way.