Interact Club Promotes Community Service Among Local Students

Interact is looking to make a big impact – domestically and internationally.

Whether it’s a collecting Halloween candy or raising money for clean water efforts in developing countries, this fledgling service club of 15 members strong is energized to work together toward achieving broad and far-reaching goals.

Sponsored by Avon/Avon Lake Rotary, Interact is open to students at Brookside, and high schools. It got its official start in January but students were eager to get started and participated in some impromptu events such as collecting Halloween candy for the troops in the fall, said Gina Eschke, president of the local Rotary.

For its spring project, the organization will work with Lorain County General Health District’s weeklong event known as the Buckle Up Bowl, a competition among local schools to raise awareness about the importance of wearing seat belts.

 “We’re brand new so it’s baby steps,” Eschke, who also is the group’s advisor and a counselor at Brookside High School where the club is based, said. “We’ve got a really strong group of students who are very interested in giving back to the community.”

Enter Taylor Stevens, club president; Brooke Stafford , vice president; and Zach Griffiths, treasurer of the club. All three students are juniors at Brookside High School.

Stevens, who participated in service camps over her summer break, approached Eschke about the possibility of founding a community service club with an international focus.

“I told her the perfect match would be Interact. I brought it to my club’s attention, we decided to sponsor this kind of community-based club so all three high schools in our service area could participate,” Eschke said. “Our rotary has a passion for youth so this (club) seemed like a natural next step for us.”

In addition to promoting service, Interact gives students the opportunity to make new friends, improve their community and develop leadership skills.

Stevens said her ambition was to get more of her fellow students involved in community service.

“A lot of people look down upon it or think it’s more work than it is anything else,” she said. “I learned that it’s something that you should be excited about – changing lives and helping people.”

Griffiths said he joined because he liked the wider appeal of projects that weren’t always focused on his school or immediate community.

“You can help people around the world and I like that aspect,” he said.

Stafford understands the importance of community service.

“It’s a way to give back to the community and help people,” said Stafford, also a junior at Brookside. “It’s fun and it’s a good way to meet new people and do different things that you wouldn’t normally do and get out there.”

The group meets the first and third Mondays of every month.