Stroudsburg

This month, our club agreed that one of our main goals was to focus much of our attention and service to helping the Toys for Tots charity organization.  Our Key Club worked this year in conjunction with Stroudsmoor Country Inn to provide a free tree lighting event for the community on December 4th, 2011.  The event benefitted Toys for Tots.  Members of our club volunteered in shifts all day, from 11 am to 7 pm, by dressing in costumes to entertain the children at the event.  Other members, also in costume, served hot chocolate, and other refreshments.  Two club members, Tuyet Bang and Shantel Burton worked as our club's liasons with Stroudsmoor, and assisted in helping to plan the event.  Members attended a costume fitting at the end of November, and then a television taping on a local new station early one morning to help to get ready for, and advertise the event.  In addition to helping with the event, our officers and members presented the $300.00 that we had raised for Toys for Tots to the charity's representative, John Dickson.  Earlier this month, on the 2nd of December, we held a school wide toy drive for Toys for Tots.  Our school has a dress code, but students who brought in a toy for our collection were able to wear sweatpants.  Our drive was called "Sweats for Santa," and we collected a total of 485 toys.  These toys were also presented to John Dickson and Toys for Tots at the Tree Lighting ceremony.  The final step in our Toys for Tots focus was helping with the annual Toys for Tots toy sorting, which took place at Tobyhanna Army Depot on December 17th.  33 of our members, as well as our advisor helped to sort the toys into age and gender groups, and then went "shopping" for families in the area in need. Members were given the ages and genders of children in each family, and had to choose and gather toys that were fitting to that child.  Our members all agreed that this was a great way to help children in need during the holiday season.  After an article about our efforts was published in our local paper, we recieved a comment from Johanna Weaver, saying that "How wonderful that our students have gotten public recognition for their community philanthropy.  I wonder if this is again a year when they should be recommended for the community philanthropy award? Congratulations to all the Kiwanis advisors and faculty who support their efforts!"

Hanover Area

In the month of December, our Key Club baked over 200 red velvet cupcakes.  Many members of the Key Club sold these at all the lunch periods to the students and teachers. We raised about $100 for Relay for Life. Relay for Life is an event that our club participated in last year. One of our members received information from her track coach about it. The event is twenty-four hours long. Basically, several people from a group have to walk or run on a track for a full day. You can have as many people on the track at one time as possible. However, at least one person must always be on the track. Each group pays a fee to join in the event, so last year, we had to think of fundraisers and follow through with them quickly. This year, we started early, so we could get a headstart on the fundraising for this event in June. All the money raised from Relay for Life goes to the American Cancer Society. Last year, the Key Club had 10 wonderful members who participated. They all really enjoyed Relay for Life and thought it would be a great idea to do it again for this year. We look forward to doing this event as long as we can in the future.

Elizabethtown

One of the Key Club events in December that really brought volunteers together was over the course of three days where groups of about six Key Clubbers helped the Central PA Food Bank. It was a supplement to the food drive that we had held within our school throughout the month. After raising at least 200 items for the food bank, the club wanted to do even more to aid the food bank in their endeavors to feed the hungry. We set up Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to about 8 o'clock, consecutive days, where Key Clubbers could carpool and drive to the Central PA Food Bank and lend a hand. While there one group packed boxes with canned goods, and then even packed boxes chalk full of chips and cookies and candy, all to send out to hungry people all over the area. One of the evenings, a volunteer found a set of clip in feathers for hair as a donation, and we have since been wondering what who could really use that from a food bank… But nonetheless every group had a blast and even got to work side by side with other volunteers throughout the central Pennsylvania area. Volunteering beside someone you have never met before has given members a new appreciation for service and has allowed many to come out of their shells. It is good to know that people are always willing to help others. Coming together for a common cause like fighting hunger has provided this Key Club with more opportunities for service; we plan on doing so much more with the Central PA Food Bank in the coming months.

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.