"On October 27th, 2012 the unimaginable happened to our family: we lost our little boy, Richard Edwin-Ehmer Specht (Rees) to a drowning in our backyard pond. In the wake of that loss my wife Samantha and I started a foundation called ReesSpecht Life. The foundation, and my school presentations, represent our commitment to make the world a better place in his name.  We can all work together and do the small things that make a big difference.

Our primary goal is to remind people, especially school aged children, the importance of community, compassion and respect.  Initially our way of accomplishing this was through “ReesSpecht Life Cards”. We hand out the cards every time we perform an act of kindness. The hope is that each person in turn will then also carry out an act of kindness and a chain reaction will ensue. To this date over 280,000 ReesSpecht Life cards have been distributed worldwide.  We believe we can make this world a better place, one Rees’ Piece at a time."

Kids and staff will be reminded of the importance of community, compassion and respect. After the presentation they will each be given a Pay It Forward Card and instructions to track their acts of kindness.