Addison Miller
Staff Writer
October 24, 2022
It’s the little things that count - The Care Like Cate club decorates bags for the Joseph Maley Foundation and their fall festival.
The service clubs at WHS are passionate about changing the community for the better through volunteering and their works of charity.
There are around 14 service/volunteering clubs offered at the high school, which all have a variety of missions and special causes. For example, Senior Gigi Iovino, the president of Care Like Cate, stated how her service club gives all proceeds earned to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital and puts on multiple events throughout the year to benefit them such as a toy drive at Christmas.
“While our club is not solely focused on the hospital, we also do many service projects around the school and our community,” Iovino said. “For example, we often make cards and bracelets for the nursing home across the street.”
Service clubs not only benefit those in need, they benefit the doers as well. Sophomore Layla Ryan is a member of the Service Over Self club, a volunteer organization where all profit goes towards charities and non-profit organizations. She stated that even one person doing volunteer work makes a big difference.
“While it may feel like a small action and quick and easy to me, it could help a lot of people and make a big impact,” Ryan said.
Along with helping those in need, Ryan stated how volunteering is super fun and a great way to make friends.
“SOS has a great environment with some super kind people,” Ryan said. “People all have the same intentions to help and give back, so there’s a lot of common-minded people.”
Another service club is Best Buddies, which is dedicated to providing inclusion amongst students of all abilities. Sophomore Sofia Prikhodko said the service club is a great environment to be with everyone and laugh away anything that might be happening.
“This club is all about kindness, inclusion, and just having fun,” Prikhodko said. “Best Buddies makes sure people that have disabilities are included and feel much more accepted where they could get made fun of.”
Some clubs teach new skills along with providing for others. Project Hope is a club that helps those that are less fortunate, and according to the president, is more action based. Sophomore Asha Adhikari, the founder of Project Hope, said her favorite thing her club does is the knitting and crochet drive.
“We’re teaching a bunch of people how to knit and crochet their own hats and scarves to give out to the homeless community so that not only are we giving back, but we’re all learning new skills,” Adhikari said.
There are many more service clubs offered at the school, each with its own activities, mission, drives, and charities. Service clubs offer not only a way to give back to the community, but also an opportunity to show kindness solely from the goodness of one’s heart. Overall, joining a service club can benefit one in many ways. Iovino said people can benefit from being in a service club because they can meet many people and have amazing experiences that can teach valuable life lessons.
“It allows you to be a part of something that is so much bigger than yourself,” Iovino said. “You can see the positive effects you can have on people’s lives.”