IN the spirit of Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November, more than 20 members of the Key Club of Georgetown International Academy visited the Red Cross Children’s Convalescent Home, where they shared a variety of food items, toiletries and clothing.This community service project was undertaken in the hope of helping to make a difference in the lives of young children, while at the same time building character and developing leadership skills, a press release from the Key Club stated.
“Key Club is about service,” said Daniel Razick, Club President, “and today, we have the chance to not only share that service, but to help make a difference that matters. The elbow grease we invest today will pay off in dividends for our communities, their children and their future.”
Key Club International is a service leadership programme of Kiwanis International, and is the oldest and largest service programme for high school students.
It started in California, U.S.A., in the 1920s, and today Key Club thrives on more than 5,000 high school campuses, primarily in the United States and Canada, though growth has enabled the experience to spread internationally to Caribbean nations, Central and South America, and most recently to Asia and Australia.
The Key Club of Georgetown International Academy, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Barbados South is still a Key Club in formation whose charter is still being processed because it is the first Key Club to be formed in Guyana.
Over the past few months, members of the club have volunteered their time and talents in a number of ways, as they have participated in activities such as the Avon Breast Cancer Walk, coastal clean-ups, preparing their school’s hydroponics and organic vegetable garden, among other smaller projects.
“We’re more than students in this community,” said Razick. “We’re also residents and we have a sense of duty to help make things better. We can do that best through service.”
Key Club International, a service leadership programme of Kiwanis International, is the oldest and largest service programme for high school students, and gives its members opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership skills.
Key Club attributes its success to the fact that it is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through serving others, the release concluded. For more information, please visit www.keyclub.org.