Avery Cotton, News Editor
@averyccourant
Every year, as a slight chill enters the air and the ground becomes littered with ochre-colored leaves, a group of student-run clubs organize themselves to volunteer for fundraisers and other activities to give back to local organizations. This year, clubs are participating in a variety of activities for Thanksgiving, including food drives and fundraisers among others. Through these activities, student volunteers and club advisors hope to drive positive change in their communities.
One club that has geared itself towards community involvement is Feeding 500. “Feeding 500 is a student-run organization that partners with Open Doors Shelter in Norwalk,” sophomore and student leader of Feeding 500 Adelaide Tuff said. “Our club activities include fundraising, food drives, and supporting local non-profits. Our mission is to try to end food insecurity and give students the resources to create change in their communities.”
According to Adelaide, Feeding 500 partakes in a series of volunteer events throughout the year. “We had an event at Walter Stewart’s for a day where we handed out papers with a list of food, and customers of the store would buy a few things on that list and bring us the items on their way out,” she said.
Feeding 500 is also involved with the Turkey Trot, a Thanksgiving-themed race that will occur on November 20. “For the food drive we are having we’ll be using canned goods and non-perishable items,” Adelaide said. “We’ve had a food drive at the Turkey Trot for the past two years and it has worked very well.”
Food drives are a common theme among student-led clubs. Another club whose activities revolve in large part around food drives and fundraisers is CharityLink. “Some of the activities we participate in include fundraisers for Building Homes for Heroes, raising money for breast cancer, and events for Canine Companions, and we also have two food drives each year,” senior co-president of CharityLink Julia Sarda said. “Our Thanksgiving and winter food drives tend to have the biggest community impact.”
Photo by Drew Donati
Many student-led club events are strategically organized to maximize community impact. “For our Thanksgiving food drive, people are in the spirit of giving back and excited to give to charity,” Julia said. “Another example is Toys for Tots, which is a Christmas event that we do at the Holiday Stroll. Everyone is in the holiday spirit.”
Clubs like Julia’s help students discover a sense of solidarity with philanthropic peers and promote community-mindedness. “Being a president, I can rally support from the members of my club for certain fundraisers, and Canine Companions was one I suggested,” Julia said. “I got involved in the club because I had lots of friends who were involved and wanted to raise money to make a difference.”
As for the process in determining which events to participate in, every member of CharityLink has a say. “Everyone can suggest events they’re passionate about,” Julia said. “People can make multiple suggestions and then the club will have a vote. Some events are set for each month, like in November and February we do food drives, but there are a couple months for people to suggest new ones.”
Club advisors also play an integral role in organizing club events. “We attend the meetings, help the student leaders, break down the process if they have ideas, and help them write scripts to contact businesses,” CharityLink faculty advisor and English teacher Arri Weeks said.
CharityLink has had a unique journey since its origins, changing its very nature and the manner in which it conducts events. “Years ago, CharityLink used to be the Key Club as a local chapter of a national organization,” CharityLink faculty advisor and English teacher Kristen Brown said. “The club went off in its own direction since the Key Club was a nationwide group with rules and regulations, and we wanted to have more control over the types of fundraisers we were doing.”
As a result of having undergone such changes, CharityLink now promotes the independence and ideas of the students involved. “We have the freedom to do many things — we pride ourselves on being student-run, and there’s a lot of student choice in terms of different charities,” Ms. Brown said. “There’s so many community service clubs here, many of which are specialized and focus on one type of charity or activism. We have the freedom to decide and try and make our events topical; for example, if there’s a natural disaster, we’ll raise money for it.”
And how will the upcoming Thanksgiving food drive work? “We essentially set up in front of one of the grocery stores in town, usually Walter Stewarts, with a suggested list of food items and non-perishable goods,” Ms. Brown said. “The students fill car trunks with food, and people donate money to their cause. We usually do the food drives over the weekend, sometimes on both days based on the availability of the volunteers. I think these food drives display the generosity of the community and highlight how committed the students are to giving back.”
One fun club tradition that CharityLink created is a costume-themed competition. “In years past, we’ve had a penguin suit contest in October,” Ms. Weeks said. “Students get teachers to select charities and raise money for them. The teacher that raises the most money must wear a penguin suit in exchange for the profits going to their charity.”
As for students who are looking to participate in more volunteer activities or join student-run clubs, Ms. Weeks has some advice. “Think about your purpose, what you want to contribute, and what you can contribute — CharityLink is good in helping students figure out their particular skill sets,” she said. “It doesn’t always have to be about raising money, it could be about the time you donate.”
Ms. Brown also encourages students to get involved with charitable organizations in the school community. “For any kids out there with ideas or charities in mind – we welcome you to join the crew,” she said. “We try to leave everything up to the kids and reach different pockets of the community in various ways. The club is a friendly collaborative group of kids, and it’s student-run in a lovely way.”
