For the last six years, I have had the privilege of being the Rotary Club of Lakeway – Lake Travis adviser to the Lake Travis High School (LTHS) Interact Club. Interact is Rotary International's service club for young people ages 14 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.
So what is the big deal here? The big deal is that Interact is the only club at LTHS that is dedicated to community service. Interact is not unique to LTHS. Just as Rotary is an international organization, so is Interact. There are almost 11,000 Interact Clubs in over 200 countries around the globe. All Interact Clubs are have the goal of doing several service projects each year, including one of international nature.
Although focused on service, Interact is not just about serving the community. Interact is also about developing leadership skills. The Interact officers run the club. There is a faculty adviser and a Rotary adviser, but our jobs are to assist and provide resources. The students run the club. In addition to officers, there are other opportunities for leadership positions in Interact. Each project the club does has committee heads. The LTHS club tries to pair an upper class student with a younger student for each committee. This way, the younger student can come back the following year and take a position of greater responsibility.
OK, now you want to know what kind of projects the students do. School started at LTHS around a month ago. The students all saw the impact that Hurricane Ike had on southeast Texas recently. Within two weeks of school starting, Interact kicked off a coin drive. The proceeds were to go to the American Red Cross specifically to benefit people who had been affected by Ike. The coin drive raised $1135 for the Red Cross. In addition to the coin drive, Interact held a car wash yesterday that raised over $1000. The majority of the proceeds will also go to the Red Cross.
The big project that the LTHS Interact Club has been and will be involved in is the Relay For Life of Lake Travis. Relay is the signature event of the American Cancer Society. Relay For Life is a huge, overnight event that celebrates survivorship, honors those lost to cancer, raises awareness of and provides education about cancer and raises funds for research. Each of the last six years, Interact has sponsored and provided members of the Relay For Life of Lake Travis planning committee. With close to 500 participants each year, Relay is a huge event and it would be difficult to have a successful event with Interact's sponsorship and involvement.
Past projects have included coin drives to benefit tsunami victims, Florida hurricane victims, a battered women's shelter, the SPCA and California wildfire victims. Several projects have been done with Heifer International. One projects helped provide water buffalo to women in India. Another project worked with Rotary International to provide clean water to a village in India. Another provided funds to help improve a school in an Indian village. Relay For Life of Lake Travis has been sponsored by Interact since its inception.
If you have a child in a high school, you should check to see if the school has an Interact Club. If not, contact a local Rotary Club and see about getting one started. Service should start early and Interact is a great way to get started.
Author bio:
Sam Chapman is Lakeway-Lake Travis Rotary Club adviser to the Lake Travis High School Interact Club. Sam is also an Austin real estate agent who has lived and worked in the Austin area since 1987. Read Sam's Austin Real Estate Blog.
|
