Northwest High School students are learning about the importance of giving back to the community through the Interact Club, a partnership program between the Northwest R-1 School District and High Ridge Rotary Club.
The Interact Club, according to Rotary International’s website, brings young people together to develop leadership skills while discovering the importance of service.
Dolane Dubbs of Villa Ridge, who has been teaching general science at Northwest High School for 21 years, said the Interact Club was restarted a few years ago by accident.
“A few science students and I were involved in a program called Earth-Based Wisdom put on by a local environmentalist named Gary Schimmelpfenig,” Dubbs said. “We were planting native plants in House Springs. This is where I was introduced to (Rotary members) Danny Tuggle and his wife, Susan, who told me about Rotary and how they had sponsored the Interact Club in the past, but they didn’t have a teacher to sponsor the club at the school for many, many years.”
After a few conversations, Dubbs became the sponsor for Interact at Northwest High School.
“After all, what students and I were already doing would be exactly what Rotary and Interact are all about: increasing our knowledge and understanding, practicing charity and making our community a better place for all,” she said.
The Interact Club is open to any high school-age student. Dubbs helps students find projects or “acts of service” that benefit everyone in the community.
“We discuss that even though we may not see the effects of our acts now, the kindness will ripple through the community, letting others see examples of how to be involved,” Dubbs said. “These students are hungry to connect, and when they do, other aspects of their lives improve, and that’s what I hope most for these students.”
While there are some projects that the club participates in annually, like serving Thanksgiving dinners to local firefighters or putting together Christmas gift bags for the school’s custodians, students are eager to find new ways to strengthen their connection to the community, Dubbs said.
James Nelson of Fenton, the Interact Club president, has been involved with the program for two years and will be a junior next school year. He said his favorite part of Interact is giving back to the community in unique ways.
“What I enjoy about Interact Club is finding new ways to improve the school and the community in ways previously overlooked. I enjoy being able to use connections in the community to find new ways to help people,” Nelson said.
Dubbs said students interested in joining may come to the club’s planning meetings, held once a month at the high school during the school year.