STUDENT CLUB HOLDS THE 'KEY' TO SERVICE

By Jordan Gaither, 15, Izaak Hayes, 15, and Keshia Smith, 16, Y-Press

Every other Friday during the school year, Ben Davis High School Key Club students have a sure way to get support for their club's community service projects: They appeal to the stomach.

The club's doughnut sale draws hordes of students within minutes of opening. The group pulls in $100 every time, which adds up to $1,800 a year.

"That's our best fundraiser, because it's constant," said Edith Arrendondo, 18, who was the club's vice president this past school year. "We can always depend on that hundred dollars."

That money pays for one of Key Club's main missions, the Secret Santa project. The schoolwide program provides low-income elementary students and their families with holiday gifts. The Ben Davis club is one of about 5,000 Kiwanis-sponsored Key Clubs on high school campuses, primarily in the United States and Canada. About 250,000 kids join Key Clubs. In Indiana, 126 high schools have clubs; the state's District Circle K has 14 clubs with 430 members.

Kiwanis is an international organization with chapters in 96 countries, all dedicated to serving the children of the world. Its Key Clubs are student-led organizations devoted to donating money and time to help others. The oldest Kiwanis-sponsored youth program started in 1925 with 17 boys in Sacramento, Calif. More than 2 million young people have joined since it started.

"Kiwanis' strength is its long focus on youth programs, and much of that can be attributed to the success of the Key Clubs," said Dave Wohler, district administrator for Indiana Key Clubs.

The Westside club, made up of about 30 students, participates in a variety of community service projects.

Other activities that draw Ben Davis members include bingo nights at Westside Retirement Village, after-school events with the YMCA, environmental projects at Eagle Creek, tutoring or mentoring students and food drives.

One annual fundraising project is the Relay For Life, an overnight event in which volunteers take turns walking around a high school track. The money supports efforts to find a cure for cancer.

"The Relay for Life is a program that we attempt to participate in every single year," explained Kareem Agunbiade, 17, a recent Ben Davis graduate who was Key Club president the last school year. "It's for individuals who have survived, or had family who passed away from or survived cancer."

One such person is Amber Hull, 17, a member of the Ben Davis Key Club and organizer of this year's Relay for Life.

"My boyfriend's dad died of cancer not too long ago, and that's one of the main reasons I did this," she said.

But a lot of their other projects change from year to year.

"At Key Club, what we do is we look for people in the community who need help or need volunteers, and then we offer our help as members and as officers," Edith said.

Key Club members are especially ready to help out when disaster strikes.

They organized carnation sales on Valentine's Day after a tsunami devastated areas along the Indian Ocean in December 2004.

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last year, "We decided to sell beads 'cause it hit New Orleans, which is where they have the Mardi Gras, so we made a lot of money," Edith said. "Whenever there's a national problem, we try to help."

People join the Key Club for a variety of reasons.

"I originally joined to beef up my college applications, but since then I've really developed a bias for community service," said Heather Sherman, 16, who will be next year's vice president. "I just think that's a high priority in my life, to help others. It's a great organization.

The club is flexible enough that members can work activities into busy schedules. They are not obligated to devote a certain number of hours a week to the club.

"I like the relaxed manner in which we take everything," Edith said. "Nothing is ever mandatory, and we always have our members come whenever they want. I also like the fact that we get to hang out with friends and go and help the community and still have fun (and) put our time to good use."

It also is a great way to make new friends, said Sonali Patel, 17, this year's club secretary. She said it's different from a professional meeting, in which students have to do whatever the adults say. Instead, students give advice to one another and make the decisions. The result is that kids get to know each other.

In addition to helping others, Key Club volunteers often find they gain personal skills. Fundraising, for example, is "key in anything you do, whether career-wise or volunteer-based," Kareem said. "We don't usually do just one community service event. We do several, so therefore, you have to be more organized with your time."

Kareem also found his leadership abilities improved.

"Key Club's just a great experience in high school," he said. "It's a great way to help others, become a leader, and it helps you feel better about yourself."

Heather agreed. "By demonstrating that we can be people that will affect our community, we're setting an example of leadership for the school and showing other students that they can make a difference," she said.

"The community definitely can reap the benefits of all the work and activities that we do. So, overall, it's just a great program for everyone involved or associated with Key Club."

Club members also enjoy a boost in self-confidence.

"I feel proud of myself for helping the community out," Sonali said. "It makes me feel proud inside."

Belonging to a volunteer organization is a lot easier than trying to volunteer as an individual, Heather explained.

"If I was just trying to volunteer (by) myself, I'd have to make all these contacts and find these opportunities in the community," she said.

Joining the Key Club is almost as simple as showing up at the meetings.

The membership fee is $20 a year, but it isn't mandatory to help at a particular event.

"It's very simple; Just come to the meetings or just talk to one of the officers to try to get more information if you can't make it to the meetings," Kareem said.

Schools that don't have a Key Club can start one easily. All they need are 15 dedicated young people and $600 for a charter and supplies.

An information charter kit is provided by Kiwanis International in Indianapolis, details of which can be found on the Kiwanis Key Club Web site (www.keyclub.org/keyclub/about/faq.asp).

By the time Ben Davis members graduate from high school, volunteering is second nature. Many of them can join Key Clubs in college. "They have a Key Club at Butler University, and that's where I'm going," Edith said. "I've had fun for the time that I've been in it for three years, and I'd love to stay involved."

Sonali hopes to either join a Key Club at the University of Evansville, where she is enrolled, or start one there. Kareem will look into Key Club opportunities at Stanford University.

In addition to making new friends, helping their community and having fun, Key Club members said it feels good to know they are helping make lives better for other people.

"One of the many points of volunteering is to give somebody hope," Edith said.

With hope comes happiness, she said -- for members, as well as the people they help.

REPORTERS: Jake Thornburgh, 12, Sarah Panfil, 10.

Copyright 2006 Y-Press