New presidents aim to improve Key Club
Filled with a sense of community, opportunities for community service, and a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain, Key Club has attracted many students throughout the years it’s been on campus.
Key Club has attracted around 100 members each year. However, in recent years some people have noticed that members seem to lose interest in the club as the year progresses. Kyle Yasui and Audrey Washington, seniors and Key Club co-presidents, are some of these people.
Yasui and Washington both joined Key Club their freshman year. Both wanted to become more involved in the club, so they decided to run as co-presidents. “I saw a lot of problems that I thought needed to be fixed within the club, and I thought that I could give the members a better experience,” Yasui said.
Washington and Yasui agree that the biggest problem was that club members were not participating in events.
Naya Lunney, junior and Key Club secretary, said, “We still had the big service projects and (we) still had the big community gatherings, but as far as community service opportunities went, (the club) wasn’t really heavy on that.”
This year, Washington hopes that will change. “One of our main goals is to get the members to participate more and have them feel more involved with whatever is going on at school,” Washington said.
David Smith, junior, hopes that this year in Key Club “more people will be involved, more people will show up to the meetings, and we’ll have a more functional group.”
To do this, the Key Club board is “planning a lot more events this year, big and small, just to get the members more involved and keep the club active on campus,” Yasui said.
Lunney is “excited that this year we’re going to get a lot more opportunities to people and really encourage them to actually participate.”
Some of these opportunities include restaurant nights, “making toys for the dog shelters (and) making mats for meals on wheels,” Yasui said. Key Club’s main goal is to serve the community.
“This year we’re trying to do a lot more with the communities around, like AYSO — we’d help them during their games. Or more locally, like the park district.” Washington said.
They also raise money for charities, namely UNICEF, Pediatric Trauma Program, March for Dimes and the Thirst Project.
These new opportunities for community service have been the work of the board members of Key Club. “We all contribute little ideas here and there,” Lunney said. “So some of the service ideas may come from any one of us… it’s definitely a group effort.”
Yasui is excited for how this year will turn out. “I think that we’re going to figure out ways to keep members involved, and I think they’re gonna enjoy the events that we’re doing.”
Washington adds to Yasui’s hopes. “Hopefully it will continue to grow and be better.”
The Key Club board has set a numerical goal for the club this year. “We want to raise $1000 for the pediatric trauma program and have 1000 service hours within all the members of the club.”
Community service is big in Key Club. “That’s why we’re here,” Washington said. “To give something back to our community.”
