Throughout the year, you’ll probably notice events like the Food Drive or the upcoming Book Drive. Key Club, advised by English teacher Brody Howe, plays a large role in making these events happen.
“I had helped out with a couple of Key Club projects, but I don’t think that I ever really went to meetings. I took on this role because students came to me asking if I was interested and they needed some support. So here I am to support,” Howe said.
One of those students is Alex DeForrest, who is the group’s media coordinator and has been elected to the position of president for next year. He’s been a part of many of the events that Key Club has worked on, both this year and the previous year.
“We are currently organizing a book drive. In the past we have we worked and we did the food drive this year… We also are helping plan the spaghetti feed which will be happening sometime in May… We’ve been involved with other key clubs, we’ve been going to events,” DeForrest said.
Key Club members work on a wide variety of different projects, all with a common thread of serving the needs of the community, both seen and unseen.
“They are primarily looking towards how they can serve the community both at PHS, in the Puyallup area and the Puyallup School District… Even if it’s unseen by many, sometimes those are the greatest needs, those that are commonly unseen,” Howe said.
The events don’t appear out of nowhere, however. Each event takes time to plan and implement and the Key Club members take time out of their days to work on them. The upcoming book drive is one of those events that take a lot of work to bring to life.
“It usually starts with either an officer or someone else bringing it up. People chat about it, if it’s something that people are open to doing. We rarely get objections; people are cool with anything… We got to think, ‘Do we want to send fliers out to teachers… Do we want to put flyers up around the school?’ From there, it goes to scheduling. Is it something we have to collect, or do we have to be somewhere at the starting time,” DeForrest said. “Our members are really great, we usually do get most of our members to volunteer… Although we have a smaller population this year as compared to past years, we still have a very involved club.”
Though planning the events takes a lot of work for the members, Howe says he is proud of the work the club does.
“I think that there’s a great deal of pride that goes into seeing young individuals want to step up and support their community in some way, shape or form. Having them being able to show the motivation to do that on their own means a lot, and it’s cool to see growth in that manner,” Howe said.
While they’re helping the Puyallup community, members of Key Club are also learning and growing themselves.
“You get a sense of community, you volunteer in the community, you connect with people, you meet people, you meet new friends. I’ve seen people I’ve met through Key Club that I never would’ve met either, and I’m still in contact with them,” DeForrest said. “When you’re at colleges, you can get involved in clubs, or if you’re at jobs, you can say ‘Oh, I have ran or helped with events before.’”
Howe also believes there’s a lot of value in the work students do at Key Club, especially beyond the spot it fills on a resume.
“I think that a lot of the value that comes from being a part of an organization like this stems from them being able to recognize and look out to the community and recognize what needs to be done. Seeing a need and filling a need is the expression that I think is most commonly used. Being able to see ‘Hey, this is a service that should be provided’ or ‘Hey, this is a resource that is commonly not met for populations of people that need it,’” Howe said. “It sets them up in terms of work ethic to know that ‘Hey, this is extra work for me that I have to do or I’m choosing to do it.’ Performing that at a high level will always support them and create a better environment for themselves as they move forward into adulthood.”
To students that might be on the fence about joining Key Club, DeForrest says to simply jump right in and go for it.
“It never hurts to come to a meeting, maybe a couple. You don’t have to become a member right away… it’s not like a job, it’s not like it’s a huge commitment. You don’t have to if you can’t attend stuff, it’s fine. You can also stay involved even if you’re not attending stuff, we post actively on our Schoology group… You don’t just join for helping and doing community service and helping the community, you join to become part of that community,” DeForrest said.
