Representatives from Webb School of Knoxville Interact Club, Knoxville Catholic High School Interact Club, and the University of Tennessee Rotaract Club provided updates on their activities over the 2022-2023 year. Each of these clubs are doing amazing work and have great leadership. Here are some snapshots of their activities.
Webb School’s motto for the year is “Quality, not Quantity”. In the fall, they collected over 3,000 single-serving mac and cheese meals for students in Knox County Public Schools. In the winter, they had a Kindness Tree where they observed acts of kindness and wrote down the description on a Spartan Head and hung it on the tree. In February, they sold baked goods and raffle baskets and raised over $1,100 to donate to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a local non-profit who provides beds to families in Knox County. On May 17, the Middle School is helping with the Upper School’s Color Run which helps fund the Upper School’s budget for 2023-24. The Upper School Club was able to send ten students this year on a trip to India for a what was termed an amazing trip and a true, cultural immersion.
One of the big service projects Catholic students tackled this year was serving breakfast at the Honor Air Flight 31 and 32 for veterans going to Washington D.C. They also helped with our club’s Salvation Army bell ringing in December at West Town Mall. In February, they had an “out of uniform” day where students could donate $2 to the Rotary end polio fund where they could wear something other than the standard school uniforms that day. And lastly, they sent thank you notes to our men and women serving in the armed forces across the world.
The University of Tennessee Rotaract club was equally as active where they had students engaged in service projects all over Knoxville. They served at the Love Kitchen, Boo at the Zoo, the Big Orange Pantry, American Red Cross, Wesley House, and the Salvation Army, among others. One of their largest events was participating in the UTK Relay for Life event to help “Color Out” cancer. These UT Volunteers are definitely exhibiting “Service Above Self”.
It looks like we have a strong pipeline of future Rotarians – Well Done!!