[ back ]
Service projects keep Interact Club busy
(by Sue Hoffman - December 15, 2010)
Service projects keep Interact Club busy
By SUE HOFFMAN
The 300-plus cookies they were boxing for a soup kitchen in downtown Cleveland after school last week comprised just one of the community service projects of the Kenston High School Interact Club during the holiday season and all year-long.
"I like the idea of helping others," senior Brody Leon, who serves as Interact president, said. "They're easy opportunities, open to everyone. Anyone can join in and help."
The fact that Brody is a post-secondary student at Kent State University hasn't slowed his daily commitment to community service. Now in his third year of membership in Interact, he represents the service group at weekly meetings of the Chagrin Valley Rotary Club, volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and tutors children regularly at Chagrin Falls Park Community Center.
"Our ultimate goal is that we want kids dedicated to helping others," he said. "It takes a lot of dedication."
Just this month, Brody and Interact Club members have run the district-wide U.S. Marines' Toys for Tots collection. They rang the bells for nearly 10 hours for the Salvation Army in front of two Bainbridge stores one weekend, helped with the Silver Bells Holiday Boutique and evergreen sale at Timmons Elementary School and volunteered at a winter dinner fund-raiser for Habitat for Humanity at Adam Hall in Auburn.
In other projects during the winter holidays, junior Mae Cahill, Interact treasurer, said the group is planning to raise funds to sponsor an abused child through Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau in Shaker Heights and adopt a family through Womensafe in Munson.
For Thanksgiving, Interact donated $200 to the City Mission in Cleveland to provide dinner for needy families and co-directed a food drive with the high school's chapter of National Honor Society.
Community service, from tutoring at Chagrin Falls Park in Bainbridge, to serving in Big Brothers Big Sisters and providing food and assistance to the soup kitchen, continues throughout the year. The group also has engaged in some special projects. A couple of years ago, Interact purchased $600 of livestock through Heifer International to help people in countries abroad.
The group meets twice monthly after school to plan and coordinate projects.
"Every weekend we have something going," English teacher and Interact adviser Annie Brust said. "My entire group has been really good, going above and beyond." She said the students seem to have "a realization of what's going on in the economy and society" in offering their time and effort.
Mrs. Brust's husband, Jason, who's a chef, donated the dough for the cookies, and the high school kitchen staff baked them for the recent delivery to the soup kitchen.
To her, helping the soup kitchen is "one of the best things we do. We often donate food or items and we go down there the second Saturday of every month." Mrs. Brust, who shares the students' passion for community service, takes her three sons to help.
Many other community service projects are in progress in the Kenston School District during the holiday season, Katy McGrath, director of community relations, said.
Gardiner Early Learning Center, Kenston Intermediate School and the high school are conducting a "mitten tree" collection to benefit children at Chagrin Falls Park Community Center. Gardiner and the middle school are conducting a food drive for Bainbridge Area Food for Friends and all of the schools are involved in the Toys for Tots collection.
Timmons School has collected donations for the Cooper Family Fund through Huntington Bank. Earlier this year, the Cooper children's mother, Janet, died away from cancer.
The high school's Peaceful Environment at Kenston ambassadors are coordinating the creation of holiday cards for senior citizens at several assisted-living facilities, and student council has an ongoing program of sending care packages to troops in Afghanistan.
[ back ]
