Interact Upcoming Service Opportunities
Source/Author: Kathleen Newton, Interact Club Faculty Sponsor
November 20, 2015
Shorecrest Upper School's Interact service club discussed upcoming events at a recent meeting. Junior Zach S. presented the following ideas:
- Interact would love to sponsor a ShelterBox through Interact International. These pop-up homes can be used by up to 6 people when disaster has left them homeless. It is floodproof and can sustain very high winds, and even has a water cleansing system. A ShelterBox costs $1000, and the club is busy thinking up ways to collect enough funds. Interact Officers shared photos of themselves standing in a shelter that was set up by St. Pete Sunrise Rotary Club a few months ago.
- Interact would like to get involved with the Disabled Veterans program that Rotary and St. Pete Sailing Center have created. Some of our members hope to assist with a Disabled Sailor's Breakfast on December 5th.
- Shopapalooza is directed by Great Explorations on Saturdays 11/21 and 11/28. Interact has 12 members planning on attending but we still need 5 more students on 11/21, from 2pm - 6pm. Anyone interested should contact junior Max K through his Shorecrest email.
- A USO project that the club is going to support funds gifts for military families. Interact is hoping to sponsor a bedtime story through United Through Reading's Military Program, where the servicemen and women deployed record a story on DVD and send it back to the states for their children. Another sponsorship opportunity will give a military family a special day at an attraction or theme park. Senior Jordan W is helping to put this gift program together. Each of these will require a $50 donation.
- Through PARC, Interact hopes to be involved with Special Olympics in March.
- The club will also participate in the spring food drive supporting The Kind Mouse by packing food
- Next month, club members will be making holiday cards for veterans, and working with the Red Cross.
- A new event that will join Interact with the other Shorecrest service clubs involves helping CASA. Shorecrest's Director of Service Learning, Mr. Duran-Medina, discussed the needs of CASA with the club, and how it has grown from 30 beds to a 100 bed facility. Interact's involvement will include donations of toiletries, arts and crafts, clothing, household items, blankets, kitchenware and gently used games. We are hoping that ALL Interact members will sign up and participate in this very important project.
To recap their events so far this year, Zach showed photos from the Interact car wash, Project Linus - which involved making flannel blankets for sick children at All Children's Hospital, and helping out at St. Pete Free Food Clinic. It has been a very busy Fall for the club and we are excited about future plans!
