If you've got an hour or two a week that you just don't know what to do with, this message is for you.

If you've developed a hankering for contributing more to the community than paying your taxes and parking tickets on time, this message is for you.

If you've already lapsed on your New Year's resolution and are looking for a second chance before next January, this message is for you.

If you like the smell of chalkdust the way some folks love the smell of napalm in the morning, this message is for you.

If you believe that children really are the future, tastes in music and fashion notwithstanding, this message is for you.

If you think there's more to helping those same children than buying Girl Scout cookies and magazine subscriptions, this message is for you.

There are wonderful kids that go to Middleburg Elementary School and some of them need a little bit of extra help.

Every Monday and Thursday during the school year, from 3 to 4 in the afternoon, a group of students and local volunteers gather to work on homework and practice basic math and reading.

That's where you come in.

Since 2004 the Windy Hill Foundation, in partnership with the Middleburg Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, has sponsored a one-to-one tutoring program known as the Study Buddy Program. There's no quantum mechanics, string theory or non-Euclidean geometry involved.

What is involved is giving the students a bit of extra time to work on basic skills: reading, writing, spelling and math.

You can do this.

Trust me.

The program is always looking for tutors, and now is no different. You don't have to go twice a week, though a number of tutors do. I go once a week; you could do that. Some people sign up as subs; you could do that. The point is it's remarkably easy to help.

So you can do this.

Really.

Teachers notice the results. The kids notice the results. It makes a difference. The program works. That's the bottom line.

And you can be part of it.

Ask yourself if there was someone who made a difference in your life when you were younger. Someone who helped or listened or cared. Someone who took the time to give the time. What did that mean? What did it mean to you then? What does it mean to you now?

You can do the same thing. You can be the person that makes the difference.

Not because you have to. Not because it's your job.

Do it because you can.

Do it because you want to.

Do it because it's the right thing to do.

It's an hour a week.

For the student you help, it could be all the time in the world.

For more information on the Study Buddy Program and what you can do to be a part of making a difference, contact Pat Heimgartner at (571) 221-2887 or patheimgartner@yahoo.com