By carrying out small acts of kindness for students and staff, various clubs participated in Pay It Forward, in hopes that the kindness would be reciprocated.
On September 29-30 and October 1, a group of selected students representing different clubs went on a leadership trip to Gettysburg and completed a program called “The Great Task.”
At the end of the trip, each student was given $40 to bring back to their clubs, as part of the Pay It Forward Project.
They were assigned to come up with a small way to show kindness to the school.
Mentorship/Transition Coordinator Amy Tarlo helped plan and coordinate the Pay It Forward Project as a way for the students on the Gettysburg trip to be able to “make a difference through leadership and initiation.”
“For students to feel they brought the community together through these projects, whether it was through their club or if it grew to be bigger,” Tarlo said. “Making just the smallest difference can make the biggest change and we were hoping that is what they got out of it.”
Tarlo and other club advisors found this project through an article by an English teacher in another district, in which the kids were writing letters about doing something good for others.
Tarlo is also the advisor for the Inter Club Council (ICC), where each club has a representative and meets once a month.She has been hearing about all the different projects the clubs are doing for the school.
Not only did Tarlo feel it brought the community together, but it also brought students from different clubs together, as they can help build and support each other.
“I think it was a great way to bring kids that wouldn’t know each other, but all have a common goal of doing things in their school,” Tarlo said.
“I think new relationships were formed and I think it’s helped make our school a better community.”
Interact Club president Shivahn Becht believes that this project is a way to start a chain of good reactions.
Interact Club is using its money to award a member of the month at each meeting, as a way to reward students who have done very well over the month.
Becht hopes that giving out these rewards will help club members attend more volunteer events.
“We hope it brings more willingness to put yourself out there, just like being more involved in the club, not just because of the reward aspect,” Becht said. “But because people are getting recognized for the good stuff they have done.”
As for Link Crew, senior Jackie Lee was picked as one of the club representatives, where they chose to show appreciation to the school’s security guards.
“Everyone obviously appreciates everything they do for us, but it is not very well known that people appreciate them, and we just thought that we wanted to appreciate them a little bit more,” Lee said, “and show them how much every student really appreciates them.”
Now, as for student council, vice president Samantha Stankus sees this as a good deed out of the “kindness of your heart.”
Student council handed out goodie bags with Hershey’s kisses, candy canes and a heartfelt message, which were distributed at the end of the day before break.
“We chose to do this activity because we thought the students should be appreciated,” Stankus said. “During the holidays, it’s hard for people, especially with schoolwork and finals, so we hope it helps them to get through the school year.”
