Main photo: (From left) HHS Interact Club member Ella Cushman, teacher advisor Pauline Webb, Rotary exchange student Madeline Gosset (from Belgium), Rotary Club of Huntsville members Lou Luvison and Bill Rashleigh, HHS Interact Club chair Brianna Todd, Rotary Club member Mary Rashleigh, teacher Kristi Mulder, and HHS Interact Club member Rachael Lemon plant a legacy tree at the high school
It may be small now, but in just a few years time it will be a towering tribute to the value of volunteerism.
On June 7, Huntsville High School’s Interact Club, a Rotary-sponsored service club that helps students to develop leadership skills and provide service to both their school community and the community at large, planted a young Eastern White Pine on school grounds adjacent to Brunel Road.
The tree was donated by the Rotary Club of Huntsville and recognizes the hard work and commitment of the Interact Club—many of its members are graduating this year—as well as serving as a reminder to current and future students that a few dedicated individuals can accomplish much.
This school year the club stuffed and wrapped shoeboxes for the Shoebox Project which provides small, thoughtful items to women in shelters; hosted a Valentine’s Day dance and food drive and Friday popcorn sales in support of local food banks; held a dress and suit drive to provide no-cost formal wear to students for prom; and supported The Shoe that Grows, which provides expandable shoes to children in developing countries.
HHS Interact Club chair, Brianna Todd, says that the club hopes the tree will bring awareness about what the club and the Rotary community do, and that it’s something that will continue. “If not, it’s just a nice way to remember us.”
Lu Luvison of the Rotary Club of Huntsville says that the idea for the legacy tree arose from a tree-planting initiative that Rotary did a few weekends ago.
“Interact Club is a group which mimics Rotary on a smaller scale,” he said. “It’s good to see that these kids have taken on the spirit of volunteerism and have given back to the community not only in the high school but in the community itself. We are hoping that next year the group will grow.”
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