Students flocked to one room right as the school bell dismissed all of Daniel Boone High School’s students on Wednesday, Sept. 17. Wednesday was the first Key Club meeting of the school year and the turnout was fantastic.
Key Club is a student led international service organization, sponsored by Kiwanis International. The club focus is on building leadership and character in all of their members. The students involved are bettering their communities and building a better world. With clubs all across the face of the Earth there are many opportunities for students.
Students in Daniel Boone’s Key Club volunteer at soup kitchens, park clean ups, hold fundraisers, and much more. The club has grown a lot in the past few years, and at the meeting Sept. 17, there were 107 students in attendance — excluding officers and absentee members. This makes Key Club one of the largest clubs in Daniel Boone High School.
Daniel Boone Key Club’s sponsoring Kiwanis is Pottstown. The Kiwanis Club sent their president, Mr. Creswell to the meeting to present about the partnership between the two clubs. He was surprised to see how many students were in attendance, and looking forward to work with them during the Key Club year.
‘To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed when I first saw all of the members! In all of my Key Club years, it’s never been this big. But, that being said, I was so happy to see such a great turn out. I’m glad that Key Club is now one of the largest clubs in Daniel Boone,’ Nick Hunsicker, Key Club President, said,
The club allows for students to really make a difference and be valuable members of their community. Key Club makes an impact on the students as well. Students learn to be leaders and to help everyone while making new friends. They also have opportunities to rise to higher levels of leadership.
Daniel Boone is in the District of Pennsylvania Key Club International. After a few members attended the Pennsylvania District Convention in Harrisburg last year, they were excited to work on district wide projects.
The District of Pennsylvania Key Clubs chose to make their major emphasis project the Eliminate project for the year. The Eliminate project is a partnership between Kiwanis International and Unicef. The two have dedicated their focus on completely eliminating a disease from the face of the Earth. The disease is known as maternal/neonatal tetanus. It kills nearly 60,000 babies each year. It is brought on from unclean birthing conditions and is present in twenty-four countries today.
A baby with the disease will experience convulsions while alive. Their own mothers cannot comfort them because they are so sensitive to light, sound, and touch, that it causes excruciating pain. Most only survive a few months after being born.
There is good news, for only $1.80 a mother can be vaccinated and all of her future children will be safe from the disease. Maternal/neonatal tetanus is completely preventable, to the point that Kiwanis has vowed to eliminate it from the face of the Earth. Thirty-five countries have already eliminated it and there are 24 to go.
Daniel Boone Key Club is extremely focused on this project and has already begun planning their first project, Trick-or Treat for Unicef to raise funds.
‘I’m super excited for this Key Club year! I think we have a lot of great ideas and a great team of officers to coordinate events. And with all of the new Key Club members, we will be able to help so many people in our community that we haven’t been able to before, raise money for the Eliminate Project, and have an all-around more successful year!’ Hunsicker said.
Look out for these incredible teenagers, making a difference in the community and around the world. Large in number and even larger in heart, they cannot wait to serve.
Lindsey MacGregor is a member of the Daniel Boone Key Club.
