Members of the College Heights Secondary School Interact Club discussing potential fundraising events to hold later this year

By Tommy Osborne

Interact Club

CHSS students find ways to give back through volunteering

Oct 7, 2024 | 5:24 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – A group of students at College Heights Secondary School (CHSS) is determined to make a difference in our community. The Interact Club and its 45 members spend their weekends volunteering at community organizations to find ways to give back to our community.

“Our club is about volunteering, and it’s giving students at our school a way to give back to the community through volunteering. We package meals for the homeless on the weekends, on Saturday mornings,” said the Club’s Secretary Tehya Hellyer.

Currently working with organizations like the Salvation Army and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, several members of the group will volunteer over the weekends, and several larger fundraising events are usually held throughout the year too. While the Club sits at 45 members now, it started off with just a handful of members several years ago, and seeing it grow has been very rewarding for many members.

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“We definitely get to see the difference we make in other people’s lives, and that gives us a lot of joy and happiness and seeing what we’re doing for the community,” said the Club’s Treasurer Aliza Zahid.

“You’re actually going out and you’re making a change in these people’s lives, you’re bringing a genuine impact to the community,” added Club President Abby Zhao.

While many highschool students may prefer to spend their Saturday’s sleeping in after a busy week at school, Zhao believes waking up early and spending time volunteering is definitely worth it, and encourages other students to join the club.

“You’re helping somebody out there, and it’s just rewarding for both sides. For the people you’re helping, the community, and for yourself,” Zhao said.

“These days we’re really disconnected from everyone. We’re connected on to different platforms, so we kind of lost that human connection, and we’re also connected to our phones and electronics. But I think really stepping outside of our own comfort zone and really connecting with people that we don’t know, it really has given us a lot,” Zahid added.

Zahid adds it’s given her a new perspective on her community and broadened her horizons.

“I’ve been thrust into new life experiences that I haven’t known these days, especially because we’re high schoolers. We don’t know much about this world, so when we’re being put into a different environment, we will learn about how other people think and how other people view their own lives. So it really is very grounding,” she said.

While the club for now is open only to CHSS students, the group says it would love to explore potential expansion opportunities to get even more students involved in supporting our community.

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