At the monthly meetings for Key Club, a community service based organization, sponsor Kelly Morales, crowns the member with the most recorded service hours. Every other month this year, president David Bruno received this honor, but on Dec. 5, senior Christopher Ellis beat every member with a total of 21 hours recorded from Key Club alone.
In Key Club, Ellis shows his passion for volunteering at almost every event.
“I wanted to join Key Club to make a difference and meet new people,” Ellis said. “I always feel very proud of myself and others after we finish helping people in need.”
Ellis participated in over 100 different community service projects. Key Club sponsored about 50 percent of his community service projects. He volunteers most frequently at the Hubbard House, where he cooks dinners for the families of people staying in the Orlando Health hospital.
“My favorite service project I have ever done, and I still continue to do, is volunteer at the Hubbard House,” Ellis said. “You get to learn new life skills, such as cooking, all while helping out people who need it.”
Ellis also participates in Anime club movie nights and cosplaying, and Magic: The Gathering club, where members play Multiverse, a fantasy card game.
Tuesdays after-school, Ellis collects recycling from teacher’s classrooms with the Environmental Club, another service project he enjoys.
It is not hard for Ellis to find motivation to keep helping others.
“The sense of making a difference and understanding you are contributing to something bigger than yourself is all the motivation I need,” Ellis said.
Although he spends much of his time volunteering, Ellis knows it for the good of the cause.
“Chris is one of most motivated and caring key clubbers I have ever met. Everything he does is with kindness,” president David Bruno said. “He is always there when you need him and when you don’t.”
His community service record currently totals 211 hours and he hopes to reach 300.
“The number of hours I have does not make me proud, actually helping out people who need it does,” Ellis said. “Volunteering shows me that a lot more people are willing to help out than I thought. That makes me happy because a lot of people need our help.”