Cumberland Valley

This year, Key Club hopes to achieve a lot more than previous years. In order for us to meet this goal, we have come up with various ideas that we believe will change the way Key Club runs forever. First, every person on our board of fifteen is required to create their own committee in which they support a certain charity, topic, or community service. Our committees range from ending world hunger to volunteering at retirement homes. For example, my committee focuses on raising funds for various organizations helping out in Africa. So far this year, my committee has sold t-shirts that say “Peace Love Water” on them in order to raise money for The Water Project, an organization that builds wells in Africa. We have also collected used soccer cleats for poor children living Africa. These committees will provide our members with many opportunities to receive hours throughout the year allowing our club to continue to be active. On top of that, our club is becoming more technologically advanced this year due to our Facebook page, online sign-in sheets, and our school webpage. These advancements have made activities such as recording hours and advertising events much easier for our board members. In addition, it has made it easier for our members to contact us if necessary. Every Wednesday, our board gathers together and discusses various events based on holidays that are approaching. We are currently working on raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by selling food and t-shirts that say “Cancer Bites” after school. Furthermore, we have continued to have meetings with our club members. In the month of December, Cumberland Valley Key Club has particpated in many events that have affected our community in a positive way.  At least once every week, couple of our members have played bingo and ramp bowling with senior citizens at Country Meadows Retirement Home. Along with those events, our board has come up with many ways for the students in our school to make a difference.

Montoursville

On November 12, 2011 members of the Montoursville Key Club participated in the cleanup of the Memorial Garden located next to their high school.  The Memorial Garden was constructed in the aftermath of the crash of TWA's Flight 800, on July 17, 1996. Sixteen students and five chaperones from Montoursville High School were on board the flight as part of a class trip to France. The memorial consists of an angel statue surrounded by 21 trees placed 21 feet apart in a circle to represent those who lost their lives in the tragedy. The Montoursville Key Club helps maintain the Memorial Garden twice a year – once in the fall to rake leaves and again in the spring to spread mulch. Twenty Key Club members participated in this fall’s cleanup by raking and removing leaves from the memorial. Bob Weaver, a member of the Flight 800 Memorial Construction Committee and the father of one of the students that lost their life that day, spoke to the Key Club at their monthly meeting on November 4^th in preparation for the cleanup. He provided the members with a history of Flight 800 and the construction of the Memorial Garden. He then attended the cleanup and led a moment of silence afterwards.

Freeport

On November 18^th, the annual Awakathon was held at Freeport High School.  The goal of this season’s Awakathon was to raise money for cancer research; Freeport Key Club received $3,697 in donations for the American Cancer Society through this event.  At 8 o’clock Friday night, more than 140 students rushed in with donations in hand, blankets and pillows for later in the night, and a huge smile eager for the night’s activities.  A volleyball tournament kicked off the night at 10 o’clock followed by a mock Minute to Win It game at midnight.  Students who participated in Minute to Win It were asked to complete six different tasks; if they successfully completed a task they moved onto the next round.  Some of the challenges included bouncing ping pong balls into egg cartons, carrying a toothbrush on the rim of a hat across the gym and wiggling an animal cracker from forehead to mouth.  Through the duration of the night, students were encouraged to complete service projects such as making fleece blankets for soldiers and putting together favors  and crafts for our local nursing home.  There was also food, drinks, Wii Dance, basketball, dodgeball, Twister, table tennis, and movies that were available to students all night.   Additionally, a raffle was held every half an hour where students could win giant candy bars, pillow pets, or gift certificates.  The night was a great time and an amazing success.  The Freeport Key Club hopes to keep the Awakathons alive and as a bi-annual event.

Redland

Throughout the month of November, the Red Land Key club participated in multiple volunteer opportunities. One activity we began was a collection of various items to donate to a group that goes around Harrisburg and sets up shops for women and children that cannot afford to buy people Christmas gifts. The items we donate will be some of the hundreds of items that the women and children can choose from to give people as gifts for free. Along with the item drive, the Red Land Key Club helps at the local elementary schools’ PTO meetings by taking care of the younger students while their parents are in the meeting. We also had some students go to Bethany Village twice to help the residents play Bunko for their activity nights. Events for December were also planned to help the community. November was a successful month for the Key Club, and we hope to make December even better!

Avonworth

Key Club has been very active the past couple of months.  Our club is also growing strongly with 58 members this year. This is increasingly better than last year’s 50 members. Key Club has been very busy. Avonworth’s Key Club has been involved in an organization called World Vision twice already. World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that works with children, families, and their communities all around the world. They want to stop poverty and injustice. It is very fun for the members to help out. We plan to be their again at least 3 more times this year. The Avonworth Key Club has also been involved with the Ohio Township’s haunted house.  It was a very fun experience and is always a great time.  We also had a soda tab collection which helps the Ronald McDonald House. The money helps parents with housing when their children are in the hospital being helped with their terminal illnesses. Avonworth’s Key Club also hosted a Key Club week form November 7-11th. On Monday members wore their key club shirts. On Tuesday members made cards for teachers for teacher appreciation day.  On Wednesday it was Key Club awareness day and members put up posters trying to urge more people to join. On Thursday Key Club had a party that members could bring their friends. Also the last thing Key Club was involved with was grief awareness day. People wore blue to school filled out names on a poster and we sold muffins for the caring team that helps children in grief. Key Club has done many activities in the past 2 years and we will continue to volunteer and raise money for a long time.

Shikellamy

This month, we decided to take on a new project as a club. One of our Key Clubbers has had the opportunity to visit the Manor Care Nursing Home for the last few years and do activities with them. He came to us and told him about it because he really enjoys visiting the nursing home and he wanted to share that joy with everyone else. We decided to have a holiday themed activity for the residents to bring some joy to their day. We played a holiday bingo with them and made reindeer candy canes to give out to each of them. While we were there, the nursing home activities director told us about a door decorating contest and asked us if we would liked to come back and help the residents decorate their doors. We said yes enthusiastically, and some of the residents at the bingo asked us to come back to help them decorate the door. The director also told us that she was very happy with the outcome because usually not many residents come out to the activities and they had more for ouor bingo activity than they usually do. Everyone had fun visiting the residents and it gave us Key Clubbers a good feeling because not all of the residents' families visit them for the holidays, but we did. Overall, it was a very successful night full of fun and joy.  

North Allegheny Intermediate

November is always a fun month for key clubbers, because Key Club week is celebrated from November 7-11 every year.  Unfortunately, at North Allegheny Intermediate, our school declares two in-service days on the 7th and 8th.  Rather than cut the week short, however, we push key club week to the following week so we can celebrate the whole week long.

We planned out a whole schedule for the week, and tried to get everyone involved.  On Monday, everyone in key club wore “cause-worthy apparel.”  T-shirts from 5k races we had volunteered at or advertising a cause we had helped were seen throughout the school.  Tuesday was key club-your-locker day--we hung up blue and gold streamers and posters on our school lockers.  On Wednesday, we all wore our key club t-shirts and held a meeting after school to plan for the rest of the week.  On Thursday, we got into what key club week is all about—volunteering, of course!  We talked to our principals, and arranged a service project to clean up the main courtyard after school.  Finally, on Friday, to finish out the week, we held a staff appreciation day.  We brought in desserts and set up a dessert spread in the teacher’s lounge, and made appreciation cards for all the teachers to tell them how grateful we are for all they do for our school.

All in all, key club week was a huge success.  With 178 people wearing key club t-shirts and helping our school, we made everyone more aware of key club and what we do.  We stirred spirit and a desire to help within our own club.  But most importantly, we made a difference in our school and in the lives of all of the people that go there--and that’s what key club week is all about.

Hershey

This past month we participated in National Grief Awareness Day. Our school has recently gone through two very difficult losses and this day was greatly needed. We lost a student on the night of trick-or-treat after he was hit by a car. He survived a week in Hershey Med trauma center and later succumed to his injuries. Approximately a week later we lost a very beloved teacher to a long battle with cancer. She was still working at the school at the time that it happened. She became ill over the weekend and within a few days finally lost her battle. This day was taken to remember not only the ones that we'd lost in the school, but also the people we've all lost in our personal lives. To show our memories for  these people we created a giant mural that takes up three walls in our cafeteria. We had each student in their first block class write on a blue paper butterfly (the symbol of hope). They wrote the name of some one they've lost and a message to that person. Then we as the Key Club officers put together the giant mural. It pictures a butterfly (made out of the paper butterflies), and the words CCHS Cares, also written in the butterflies. The other large wall pictures the butterfilies fliting around. It is truely a sight to see. Later that night we hosted a Turkey Bowling competition to raise money for the Highmark Caring Place, an organization that provides free grief councelling to children and thier families. At this event teams of 3-4 students threw frozen turkeys down make-shift lanes to knock down bowling pins. Each team paid $5 per teammate. During this event we raised a total of $250 for the Caring Place. This amount was matched dollar for dollar by Highmark Health Insurance, making a total donation of $500 to help fund this great organization. The entire day was a spectacular representation of humanity  at it's finest and how we all share a common bond in grief of some sort.     

Middletown

On November 15, our club hosted our annual Senior Citizen's Day at our high school. During this day, the elderly folks enter through our back doors and register, upon registration they receive on of our clubs newsletters, an event schedule, name tag, food menu for lunch, a raffle ticket, a keyclubber buddy, and a flower. After that, they head into our auditorium and are entertained with music, dancing, singing, and a presentation from our "pathways" representatives. After the assembly, they head off into the high school to any event they choose. The events we had this year consisted of bingo, arts & crafts, jeopardy, charades, and much more. Our day ends at about 1'oclock and they are welcomed to come into our LGI for a large game of bingo, with prizes presented by our local Communities that Care. After the large game of bingo, our club holds a silent auction. We gave away giftcards from Karns Quality Foods, Brownstone Cafe, and 7-11 Convient Store, which were all donations from the places. After the silent auction, we close our day with a video with pictures from the day, and a button with a picture with each senior citizen and their buddy.

East-Stroudsburg

Operation Christmas Child is a non-profit organization that works to assist people in need by distributing shoe boxes full of gifts world-wide to those who live in third world countries. On November 19th, the Eastburg South Key Club cooperated with the First Baptist Church at the Stroud Mall in packing these shoe boxes. A row of tables was stationed in the JC Penny wing and on each table was a box full of soap and washrags, toothbrushes, toothpaste, books, crayons, toys, and baggies of candy. Key Clubbers as well as passing shoppers were each able to take a shoe box and fill it with necessities a boy or girl of choice would need. There were even a stack of cards people could use to leave a little message to whomever receives their gift. Many shoppers were surprised by the generosity of the event and stopped by to fill a box or two. So many gifts were being packed that there came a point where there were no more boxes left to put them. (Fortunately, the Baptist Church had a few extras stored somewhere.) The majority of the Key Clubbers who came to help out were there for at least two hours and as for the rest, they stayed for at least five or more hours. It was a great turn out and everyone was able to create a bond all the while doing great service!

Parkland

This month our Key Club really focused on a Major Emphasis Project fundraiser to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. We hosted a "Minute to Win It"-style competition between 9 different teams, which were formed from extracurricular groups within our school. The event planning began in early September, but November was truly "go" time. The event was chaired by our Vice President, and logistics were put together and organized by an extremlely dedicated committee. The even committee met two mornings a week before school for a little over a month prior to the event. they chose the challenges, helped make fliers, and produced a commercial to air during the school announcements. The supplies for the silly (and surprisingly difficult) challenges were donated by all club members, and many club members not on the committee dedicated their time to run a concession stand, manage team stations, and set-up and clean-up on the night of the event. Many families and friends of the participants came to watch, and audience members could purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a t-shirt and take part in a challenge. Each team (which varied between the school newspaper staff, foreign language clubs, and sports teams among others) purchased t-shirts and made donations to the Children's Miracle Network. With all of the people who came out to support, play, and enjoy snacks, our club was able to raise a lot of money for the Children's Miracle Network, and helped kick up the volunteering spirit! We are planning on making this an annual event.

Lake-Lehman

This month, on November 3, 2011, the Red Cross held their annual blood drive in the Lake-Lehman High School gymnasium. Dozens of donors volunteers to donate their blood before the holidays in order to give to those in need. Lake-Lehman Key Clubbers were able to help out at the event in many ways. During their study halls, members came down to the gym to assist in signing donors in and supervise donors that gave blood. Key Club officers were able to get out of all of their classes for the day in order to participate in the drive. Some members of the club, including Key Club Advisor, Miss Kuffa; Key Club President, Kristen Boyle; and Key Club Junior Board Member, Thomas Boyle donated blood as well. Because of all the participation in the 2011 Blood Drive, the Lake-Lehman Key Club was able to go over their targeted number of donors, showing that the drive was a great success.      In years to come, the Key Club is sure to continue their legacy of having prosperous blood drives and giving back to those in their community who are in need of help before the holiday season.

Cumberland Valley

In the month of November, Cumberland Valley Key Club has particpated in many events that have affected our community in a positive way. In addition, we have planned many future events and further improved all of our committees within the club. Every Wednesday, our board gathered together and discussed and planned various events based on holidays that were approaching. Since November is known for Thanksgiving, our members participated in various events that highlighted this holiday.  In additon, a couple of our members have played bingo and ramp bowling with senior citizens at Country Meadows Retirement Home at least once every week. Along with those events, our board had come up with many ways for the students in our school to make a difference. Recently, the CV Key Club participated in Touch of the Valley, a program held at our school where money is raised for summer enrichment camps, Reading Booster Programs, Math Enhancement Camps, the Buddy Program, learning grants, academic scholarships as well as additional equipment and supplies to support student activities at CV.  Besides that, we are currently working on raising funds for The Water Project (an organization that makes wells in Africa) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by selling t-shirts and food after school. Furthermore, we have continued to have meeting with our members. Our last meeting consisted of having the member watch a video about the conflict in Uganda.  We encouraged them to raise money for Invisible Children, an organization that is trying to stop the abduction of children for use as child soldiers.  Currently, all of are applications are in, and now all we have to do is record them. Until then, our board members will continue to meet every Wednesday and discuss various volunteer opportunities.

West Allegheny

During the month of November, the West Allegheny Key Club organized their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. This food drive benefitted the West Allegheny Food Pantry which serves dozens of needy families in the local area. The idea for the drive was simple: put collection boxes in each first period class and ask students to donate canned, boxed, and other non-perishable goods. To give the collection a competitive edge, it was determined beforehand that the winning class would receive a bagel breakfast from Panera Bread! So the collection started and as the weeks went by, cans could be seen piling up further and further in the classrooms. At the end of the food drive, the school had collected over 750 nonperishable items! The class with the most goods collected and the winner of the breakfast was actually the Guidance office and their helpers! But in truth, the real winner was the West Allegheny Food Bank, who with hundreds of extra food supplies was better able to serve those in need for the holiday season.

Moon

In the month of November, our Key Club helped out another high school organization (Moon Area High School's Drama Club) with their fall production of A Christmas Carol.  When the Drama Club expressed that they would like Key Club volunteers for their four show dates (November 10-13), we saw a great opportunity!  Volunteers have enjoyed helping out the Drama Club with their productions in the past, so it was smart to get them involved again.  Twenty club members who signed up for the various show dates did their duties and helped pass out programs and usher guests into the auditorium, taking their ticket stubs and giving them the larger part of the ticket to memorialize their experience with.  During the play's intermission, volunteers were also able to help fundraise for the Drama Club by being cashiers and servers for their bake sale, selling both desserts and water.  Members who volunteered for this event told the officers that the experience was heartwarming, particularly because they were able to help out another school club accomplish their quest for a successful show.

Emmaus

The town of Emmaus celebrated giving through Thanksgiving, and so did Emmaus Key Club through various community services. The month of November consisted of many continued projects from October and September. One of the biggest projects Key Club continued in was the school-wide book drive. The officers, advisors, and many members stayed afterschool for multiple hours to sort, label, and box different books that were all donated from students and teachers at Emmaus. The purpose was to organize the books so they would be ready for big events, like for Cops N' Kid, to quickly hand out to younger children at different schools or functions. Another outstanding event Key Club was a part of this year was being starred on the television network PBS, through their Terrific Teens Segment. The segment explained how the officers of Key Club, along with the members, began the book drive, publicized it, and continued it to this day. They also included small interviews with each of the officers and members, while rolling through shots of members participating in various book drive events. PBS invited our club to sit in the live audience as we watched our segment on their televisions, along with other nearby schools who were there for their achievements, as well. Another large event Key Club held was the Barnes and Nobles Book Fair. The Barnes and Nobles in the Saucon Valley Promenade shops let our club host a book fair, mainly in the kids book section, to raise money for the club to buy new books for Cops N' Kids. A certain percentage of any of the purchases bought during the book fair went directly to our club. There was face-painting, arts and crafts, a terrific magic show, Starbucks Make-Your-Own-Drink contest, and more. The event turned out to be very successful in the end. Some smaller projects Emmaus Key Club helped in were the weekly teacher assisting at the local Hillside School, monthly Market Day help, and some bingo events with the elderly. The month may have gone quickly, but Key Club served their community well as the weeks flew by.