By Lenaia Powell
Not all clubs at Apopka High School are very well-known, and one example of that is the Interact Club. Although its member’s intentions are ethical, unfortunately, they do not receive much recognition. This is the club that runs our annual blood drive, as well as volunteer for numerous other community service projects. They work with the Rotary Club of Apopka, which essentially unites people that want to give back to the community. Ms. Kelly, who is sponsoring the club for the first time this year, was able to give her input on what the Interact Club is all about.
“It’s just to basically help with leadership skills and volunteering, and giving back to the community,” said Ms. Kelly. “It’s service-based, in school we coordinate and run the blood drives, we also participate in other events that go on, there is the Apopka Fair that we volunteer for, we also did the annual pancake supper with the Rotary Club, which helped give funds back to the school band, we do food drives, we’ve also done Relay for Life.”
Obviously, a lot of events that we are familiar with are run by the interact club behind the scenes, which brings to light just how involved they are.
In addition to helping out in the community, you can earn a chord from participating, if you work hard, that is.
“You must have a 3.0 [gpa], and you also must earn points, which you earn through coming to meetings and also volunteering for different activities,” she explained regarding requirements to earn a chord.
While it is not well known, the club has been established for quite some time now, “I think for at least four or five years but I believe longer because I’ve heard of people that graduated long ago being a part of it,” Ms. Kelly said.
There are currently 45 students involved, the most there has been in years, but Ms. Kelly says that they always want more. So who should join? Jessica Spiegel, senior and vice-president had some input on her experience with the club and on what kind of people this would appeal to.
“My dad has been part of the rotary club, so it’s kind of given me the ability to do that (volunteering) before even high school,” Jessica said, obviously expressing passion for what the rotary/interact club motives are.
“I would recommend it for people who like to work with other people, and that enjoy doing volunteer services and helping others.”
She also mentioned that “being able to work with others and help the community for the better through volunteer services, ” is what inspired her to join.
The activities that we find fun to go to are also fun for the club to run, as Jessica’s favorites are “Either the fair or the blood drives”. While blood drives aren’t necessarily considered “fun”, they are extremely popular, and the students here seem to be eager to donate.
The frequency of their activities varies depends on what’s currently going on in the community, so the next time there’s an event in Apopka, look for the rotary gear symbol on any advertisements. Chances are, the Interact Club is behind it.