The Interact Club volunteered at the Newport Beach Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the annual Hearts and Hands community service day on Nov. 18. The club chose to participate in the event to obtain footage for a club project and make an impact on their community, according to Interact Club president and junior Claire Chang.
Various service-based organizations congregated to craft handmade items for those in need and donate funds to support their respective causes. Interact Club members focused on creating handwritten cards for veterans and weaving ribbon leis to fundraise for unhoused minors at the Hearts and Hands Event.
“Every Interacter is asked to do at least one local community project and get involved in an international project to realize we’re part of a worldwide organization with over 200 different countries involved with Interact,” Rotary District 5320 Interact chair Lane Calvert said. “That’s what I say our ‘service above self’ motto is built on, and that’s what we’re doing here with Hearts and Hands. ”
Rotary International, one of the largest and foremost service organizations in the world, sponsors Interact Clubs that are dedicated to improving the leadership skills and community involvement opportunities of young people ages 12 to 18 in middle schools and high schools around the world, according to the Rotary District 5320 website.
“The event was very well organized,” club member and sophomore Suhaila Brundavanam said. “Our club also had the opportunity to interview the Interact District 5320 governor Roy B. Jefferson as well as the Interact chair, Lane Calvert. We were able to ask questions and learn about how they helped make a difference through Interact.”
In previous projects, the Interact Club has made costume accessories for young patients in Ohio and raised funds with Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream.
“We hope to spread awareness as to what Interact or Rotary are, especially since there’s no other clubs like it in Irvine Unified,” Chang said. “There’s a lot of great people you can network with at events like these, and also support good causes while you’re at it.”
To further its goal of district-wide volunteer events, Rotary District 5320 plans to organize a mental health day on April 27. The Interact club will also participate in the Interact International Video Contest in December.
