What if …

... Everyone who jogs daily gave an hour a month to helping kids?

... Everyone who goes to a beauty salon or a barber shop donated $1 a month to helping kids?

... Everyone who goes to a gym brought a kid with them one day a month?

... Everyone who hit the malls brought a kid once a month to McDonalds or Burger King or someplace? How about taking four kids in a group to a movie once every four months?

... Hikers and bikers took a kid on a walk through nature? Maybe pack a lunch.

... Everyone brought a kid to dinner at their house once a month? Use the best china and silver, and don’t forget cloth napkins.

... A local church group sponsored a yearly trip to the planetarium at the Museum of Natural History in New York City (I took three kids there once; the kids blew me away more than the star show.)

... Everyone saw the ocean through the eyes of someone whose eyes have never seen anything so vast and blue and amazing.

... Ten of you out there gave away your cell phone and tell a kid that they could call you anytime at all. Make sure you answer the phone when they call, make the big commitment and do it for a whole year.

... You taught a child to milk a cow? Or ride a horse? How about feeding the chickens?

... You took a child and their dog to obedience school? Picked them up and drove them home.? Bought the dog and the kid matching hair brushes?

... You surprised a kid on their birthday by bringing 25 balloons and all the makings for a banana split.

... You drove your car through the Hill, filled it with ice-cold pop and the best cookies ever, stopped at various places, said “Who's hungry” and passed it out (Don’t forget the napkins).

... You held an enormous cookout in Central Park and put up a sign that says “All Welcome. Free Food,” but made everyone clean up.

... You bought a little girl a party dress and Mary Janes and took her to a live show at Proctors.

... You took a little boy to a pro baseball game. Don’t forget to buy him a baseball cap.

... We all came up with your own what-ifs? What if everyone really followed through?

Want to see real progress In Schenectady? Want to see neighborhoods be neighborly again? It all starts with someone holding out their hand and saying, ”Come on, I’m waiting for you” and “I can do this, it’s easy and fun.”

Remember the old saying, ”It takes a village to raise a child”? What if we became the village and all its children were ours?

QUEST is a community-based organization that provides a safe environment, free meals, counseling, art and recreation programs that keep Hamilton Hill children in school, out of trouble and on track for better lives. For more information on QUEST, visit www.questkids.net.