Interact has been recognized for its accomplishments throughout the years it has been at Charter. But now there will be another advisor for the club who will bring changes to make the club succeed even more.
The new club advisor is Daniella Oliveira. She teaches Global Perspectives and Religion/History of the Holocaust, but now she wants to branch out and try something new. Oliveira said, “I heard that many Interact members wanted to keep the club going, and I felt bad that no one offered to step in for the club. It has been so rewarding advising them, and I am so grateful that I am able to help and guide them.” She is happy and very dedicated to the club.
Interact club stands for “Service Above Self” and “People of Action,” which means members are supposed to help communities, organizations and others. They also have important values: community-centered, helpfulness, kindness, respect, integrity and honesty. The club has been around for a long time, but the previous advisor was with it for three years. Oliveira has now synced the club with the Rotary Club. The Rotary Club is an international organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards and promote goodwill and peace. Now that the club is working with them, all of their funds go to helping other organizations, really emphasizing their community-centered values.
While the club fundamentally is the same, there have been some minor changes. As mentioned before, the Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at the Parkland Country Club to discuss every event that will take place, since other clubs are also involved in it, not just Interact. The Interact club now meets every second and fourth Thursday of each month. For every event that happens, like fundraisers, the club donates a percentage to a nonprofit organization.
One of the new events they did this year was the escape room. The escape room took place in October and had themes like “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which is very popular with the kids, helping to raise a lot more money. They are still thinking of other events to host that can continue to help others and the community. Interact is also collaborating with other organizations such as the Coral Springs Garden Club and the Environmental Awareness Club at the school.
Some old events that were held last year were the Halloween Block Party and the Day of Service. These were very famous events within the school since they brought engaging activities students had fun doing. The Halloween Block Party cost the club more money than it would actually fundraise, so they decided to eliminate this event and implement the escape rooms instead. The Day of Service has been rejected by administration and Oliveira because it took a lot of planning and work to make it work. They believe there are simpler ways to devote a day to the community without creating a chaotic day. While it may seem the main events are gone, they are going to replace them with ones that are just as engaging but that can gather more money instead of wasting more.
Interact club has about 40 members currently this year but hopes it continues to grow. The reason people have chosen to join this club is because it teaches values in a fun way by volunteering and helping others. This benefits the students by giving them volunteer hours, the satisfaction of helping others and possible scholarships further on.
In summary, Oliveira’s new leadership is benefiting the Interact club to be more successful than ever before. By replacing high-cost events like the Halloween Block Party with more profitable events meant to help other small, in-need organizations, they will help the community greatly. With a strong membership, the Interact club continues to preach its values of “Service Above Self,” offering students volunteer experience and a sense of purpose.
