Despite overcast skies and showers all day long, students from the Key Club turned out to volunteer at the Los Perales Halloween carnival on October 14. Club members worked in 2 shifts to assist with games and give out prizes to the students who attend Los Perales Elementary. On the same weekend, members also joined with members of eleven other Key clubs in their division for a rally to teach new members club cheers on October 16.

“It was fun to play with the kids and get in the fall spirit. I thought it was cool that they did the carnival despite the rain,” said junior Julia Blair, who worked the first volunteer shift at the carnival on Friday. The activities were moved under an overhang to avoid the rain.

Two days after the carnival, Key club members from Campolindo attended a rally in preparation for Fall Rally North, one of the annual events hosted by the larger Kiwanis Service Leadership Program. The rally included the Key Clubs of the eleven schools that make up the local division.

“You get to meet these people from all different divisions. The whole Nevada, California, Hawaii district comes together for a giant event,” said senior Bridgette Jia, one of the club’s founding members. The club will be joining thousands of Key club volunteers for fundraisers and club spirit. The service club at Campolindo is a single branch of the larger organization, and students are encouraged to participate on the local and division-wide levels.

“Once you get to a certain point in Key Club, there is a gap between casual commitment and the more intense side of Key Club where you get involved in the division and the larger areas. There is no in between, you jump straight from one to another,” said Jia.

The rally event on Sunday introduced newer club members to the international organization and other Key club enthusiasts. The event also reinforced older member’s connection with Key. “It makes me think about the community more. I feel like we’re growing into a group,” said junior HaYoung Kim.

For the students who participate on the local level, clubs are a way to help on a smaller scale. Each club volunteers in the local community, hosts fundraisers for division causes, and holds meetings every week.

“We try to have 4 to 6 events each month and so we try to have the majority of them be service events and we try to host a fundraiser as well,” said junior Anna Jiang, club co-founder.

Besides single club events, the Campolindo members also join with other Key clubs in the surrounding area to volunteer together. “Every month we have a division wide service event, so last month we met at a park in Danville and made dog toys. We also have a division council meeting where we talk about upcoming events,” said Jiang.

Campolindo’s Key club was founded last year by students who wanted to volunteer together on a regular basis. According to Jia, the attendance at meetings has grown since last year and around 70 students are now signed up.

“We are founding members so we really want to see it grow because its really great to have a stable club that can help out with Moraga and the surrounding areas,” said Jia.

Once involved, several students began volunteering independently as well. “I went to the Walk for Suicide Prevention in San Francisco in September,” stated junior Julia Blair. “I got to hear a lot of people’s stories about their family and themselves.” According to Jiang, individual service follows the organizations motto: “Caring is Our Way of Life”.

Each member can practice caring, whether that be volunteering at a local event or fundraising alongside students across the state of California. Key club’s intention is to create a community at schools that engages students in service on a regular basis.