High school has been used as a place of growth both mentally and emotionally. Students discover not only what they want to pursue in the future but it is also a place of building morals and growing as an individual. Most students find themselves driven by a sense of community among their classmates as they build memorable moments with each other. One of the best ways to do this is through extra curricular activities. Fargo North does a great job at providing many different varieties of clubs for all kinds of different people, however one club in particular takes the community to a whole new level.
This club is called Key Club International, a student-led service program that focuses on teaching leadership and serving your community. Since 1925, Key Club, partnered with the local Kiwanis Club, has provided High Schools students encouragement and opportunities to lead as they graduate and become future leaders. Fargo North Key Club is a highly regarded program and has a large interest among the student population, as it currently has a total of 83 enrolled members. Within the club senior Jaden Zander holds the president position alongside seniors Gabrielle Kramer and Josie Hell, who both hold vice president positions.
“I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to help lead such an amazing club with both Jaden and Gabby. This year we have done so much for not only our school but also the community and it’s a great thing to be a part of,” said Hell.
A typical Key Club meeting takes about an hour, usually 15 minutes of updates and an occasional speaker will come in sharing things the group could potentially be a part of\; most recently a speaker from the Legacy Children’s Foundation spoke to the group about serving volunteer hours by delivering food to families involved in their program who are unable to afford meals. Similar to this, the club recently made hotdishes to provide Fargo North’s open door, which helps families within our school provide a meal when they are in need.
“Our club’s priority is helping others\; we find ways to make a direct impact to those in need. Sometimes we don’t realize that our own friends within the school don’t always know if they have a meal at home. This is our way of making sure we are helping fellow students in our own community,” said Hell.
Not only do they make sure they are spreading positivity within the school, they also use their resources and provide for local organizations or programs that need help. This year they have made two types of care packages, one filled with some basic essential needs like toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner etc. and the other was made before winter became too severe. Those were filled with water, hand warmers and other winter needs.
“ This year we have received an overwhelming amount of support from the students. They are coming to meetings regularly and are extremely enthusiastic about all the services projects our group provides and that’s why we are able to help our community,” said Hell.
The club is also known for making fleece blankets for both veterans at the Fargo VA hospital and Roger Maris Cancer patients, the annual penny war that takes place at the school, and also putting on activities for Kindness Week each year.
Key Club’s goal is to encourage students to take their values and provide them an outlet to use it in order to help the community. Students are taught leadership skills, inclusiveness, character building and empathy as they dive into serving others with the utmost humility and gratitude of those around them. The students within the club are continuing to make great strides in creating a better community and they hope to encourage others to help in achieving this goal.