New, Impactful, and Making a Difference; The Jemicy School Community Service Club

Toward the end of every month, Community service club members weigh and tally the weight. With a pizza party on the line, the Jemicy School Community service club counts and prepares for an updated count to be released to students the next Morning meeting. This is just one thing the club does to run smooth school-wide events. The action of weighing the pull tabs is what allows the students to be informed of which grade has collected the most.

The Jemicy school had a wonderful new club join the list of clubs offered each year in the 2022/2023 school year. The Community Service Club is a club that works to provide opportunities for students to complete their required hours and for the school to participate in school-wide service events. Meeting weekly, the club focuses on planning monthly service opportunities for students. Between a very successful toy drive, after-school service opportunities, and a 5-month-long pull tab collection, the club is full at work on maintaining a well-planned, and well-executed schedule of events.

The community service club is hard at work, and truly making a difference, but how did it get started? Who took the many steps to create the club? And what was the initial vision for the club? During the ‘21/’22 school year, Kelly Schwaber was a 9th grader who had a vision for a club where she and her friends could set a plan to complete their service hours while avoiding stress. “I was stressing over the fact that I didn’t know how I would get my community service hours, and when. While I was thinking about this and creating a plan in my head for my hours I realized how hard it could be to plan out the hours.” From there she set up a framework surrounding her idea and was ready to take the first steps. Kelly shared that the club was hard to start, “Once I had my full idea I made a sheet [with] ideas [of] exactly what the club would be.” The next step was finding a sponsor, “I found a sponsor and a co-sponsor Mrs. McCone and Mrs. Koh.” Now it was time for a crucial step in the process of creating the club, it needed to be approved, “I went in front of the board of administration and presented my idea with the sheet of my ideas. I completely explained it and they approved the idea to be started this year [2022/2023]”.

Kelly worked very hard because she had a vision for a Jemicy School community service club. I asked her if her vision is what the club is today, or how the club evolved from her initial idea. She shared, “The way the club is now isn’t how I originally thought it would be or the exact idea I planned for but I’m extremely happy with the way it worked out.” She believes the club has made a “big impact” overall when it comes to providing service to our community. She added, “It feels much more student-run which I think has [encouraged] students to participate more.” When asked about her overall thoughts on the overall function of the club she said, “I think we’ve done a good job so far at promoting, planning, and participating in community service as a club.”

Mrs. McCone, remembers when Kelly first came to her about the club. “She came after she had a meeting with the SLT and heads of the school and she was so excited because her idea of a community service project and club got passed,” Said, Mrs. McCone. Kelly asked Mrs. McCone if she would be her representative and Mrs. McCone made clear, “I was over the moon… it’s a fantastic idea, and she is an exemplary student.”

Once Kelly had everything figured out, receiving permission and approval, plus Mrs. McCone’s willingness to sponsor, they decided to reach out to Mrs. Koh, the school counselor and community service coordinator. When asking Mrs. Koh about her thoughts on the club, she shared, “there [are] more opportunities… [and] there is more student involvement in planning which was not in place before.” Then adding, “those are two big things that have happened definitely.” She then went on to inform me that before the club, “I was planning events, I just wasn’t planning as many events… It has been helpful to have student input so I can do things students are interested in.” One thing that is great about the club is that it allows students to help plan the events which makes it really helpful for Mrs. Koh. I then asked her about the creation of the club, “When Kelly first brought the idea to me I was very excited because several years ago I had tried to start up a community service club and it did not take off.” Then adding, “So when she brought it to me I was really excited that there was a student interested in it as opposed to me just starting a club… now it’s great to see how many people have joined.” Apparently, the club was intended to be a little different, “Originally I think that [Kelly] just wanted [the club] more for her friends to get community service hours, but it has expanded beyond that… now it [has] expanded to other students, which is really nice.” Unfortunately, a lot of times Mrs. Koh would have students come to her who think they are not going to get their community service hours due to waiting too long. They request for her to just sign them up for things. So Mrs. Koh said, “ it’s nice to see kids being more proactive and getting their hours sooner.”

The club has wonderful potential as it continues to expand and offer more volunteer opportunities. Many students feel very fortunate to be students at Jemicy School, the club provides opportunities for students to contribute their skills and talents to provide service to many organizations in our community.

So far this school year the community service club has made numerous stuffed bears for Ari’s Bears, successfully raised nearly 200 toys for Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, assembled over 300 food packages for The Baltimore Hunger Project, and is currently raising pull tabs to help support the Ronald McDonald house meet the gas cost to transport families.

Back in November for two hours after school on a Wednesday, the club offered an opportunity for students to help assemble bears for Ari’s Bears. Their website states their mission is, “to provide comfort to children in hospitals,” they do so by handing out stuffed bears to children, and the club was able to hold an event to assemble dozens of bears to be given out. The event filled up almost immediately.

Every year the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital runs a toy drive to provide young patients aged infant to teen the opportunity to open gifts for the holidays. This year, the Community Service Club decided to run a holiday toy drive, raising nearly 200 toys, which were dropped off the week before winter break at the hospital. The event was run based on each grade’s contributions plus faculty and staff. The 9th graders and faculty and staff were neck and neck the entire time, with the faculty and staff winning by the end. They were awarded a dress-down day the final day before winter break.

The Baltimore Hunger Project’s website states that the “Baltimore Hunger Project is dedicated to eliminating the growing problem of weekend childhood hunger by feeding bodies and minds. We are bridging the gap between Friday and Monday by consistently providing weekend food packages to children identified as food insecure, in a compassionate and dignified manner. We raise awareness about the effects of hunger by establishing partnerships with community members, other organizations, and decision-makers.” The Jemicy School Community Service Club planned an after-school event with them to help pack and prepare 300-weekend food packages. As a school, we also raised a few hundred cards of encouragement for them to include in the packages.

From January to May the club is running a multi-month event. Attempting to raise dozens of pounds of pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald house. The Ronald McDonald House website states, “We believe when families are together, they cope better. We believe no family should have to deal with their child’s medical crisis alone.” There are many ways to help with their mission, Jemicy school participates in events with them often. However, at school, the club is collecting pull tabs. Many wonder why pull tabs, what’s the purpose? Well, The Ronald McDonald house turns the tabs into recyclers for cash based on the weighted amount. The total raised from the tabs is used to pay for gas to support the travel of hosted families to and from the hospital. When everyone comes together and contributes a few or more pull tabs, the collective weight can make a difference and support a family searching for support.

The club has accomplished a lot and has plenty more to come. Mrs. Koh said, “students who aren’t in a time crunch to get hours, they just come to get hours because [they] enjoy getting hours which is really nice to see.” The Jemicy Community Service Club has been crucial in providing more service opportunities for students and creating ways for the school to help give back to its community.