While prioritizing having a fun time baking with friends, the Holiday Club makes a difference in the community by donating baked goods to people in need.
According to Holiday Club founder Briana Szalai, the club is for students to have an enjoyable time while also giving back to the community.
“I want to make sure students are having fun, so they are willing to come back and do it more frequently and be inspired to volunteer more,” Szalai said.
Freshman Kendal Hoover said the club is a way to unwind after school.
“I feel like I am helping out while also having fun because we do donate half of the stuff we make,” Hoover said.
Holiday Club co-advisor Allyson Fitzpatrick said the club is “philanthropic.”
“Half of [the club’s] effort goes towards donating to supporting charities or causes that they believe in,” Fitzpatrick said, “and the other half is just getting a lifeline of people together that want to give and do good and have fun.”
The club meets every month and has around 20 members attending each meeting.
“We have done a lot of donations. Every month we get together and our primary focus is to donate to food pantries, hospital staff and patients,” Szalai said.
According to Holiday Club co-advisor Jennifer Granito, the club brings a diverse group of kids together to do something kind for people who “need a little cheer” during the holidays.
“It was almost like community service but they were all there having a great time,” Granito said.
Szalai said the club’s objective is to give back to the community.
“I think it was just about doing something kind for people who don’t have what a lot of us have and to make people, who especially over the holidays, need a little cheer,” Granito said.
According to Holiday Club secretary Katie Esposito, the club’s goal is to donate to people who need a little love during the holidays. “The hospitals get really excited when we bring them food. It makes the nurses’ day,” Esposito said.
Fitzpatrick said the club has made cards and baked goods for elderly homes and hospitals as well.
“They drop things off as far as hospitals, and the cards for people who maybe aren’t going to get their own cards,” Fitzpatrick said.
According to Granito, the club is a “well-oiled machine” with the way it is run. “They eat it, try it and pack it up for somebody else,” Granito said.