After a long hiatus, the Key Club returned to Unaka High School this year with a big bang.
“Unaka High once had a Key Club and they didn’t renew their charter,” Unaka High Principal Betsy Oliver said. “Earlier this school year, I was approached with the idea of restarting the club, so we did.”
Sponsored through the Kiwanis Club organization, Key Club is a student-led organization designed to develop leadership through service to the school and community.
“The Key Club is all about service, and the students have really taken off on several projects this year,” Oliver said.
One of the club’s biggest projects this year was one close to the heart of the school.
Unaka High School teacher Lauren McInturff and her husband, Daniel, have a son named Brody who was diagnosed with spina bifida.
The Key Club organized the school’s first ever Spina Bifida Walk-a-thon and raised more than $2,000, Oliver said. Some of that money was donated to the McInteruff family to help them pay for Brody’s medical expenses and the remainder was donated to the Spina Bifida Association.
Club members also participated in a recent Walk-a-thon for Cystic Fibrosis held at Hunter Elementary school, raised money for United Way, helped host the K-Kids Earth Day Picnic, took part in the Christmas parade, collected items for the Ronald McDonald House and helped host the Special Education end of school year picnic for both the county and city school systems.
“They’ve done everything,” Oliver said of the club members.
Not only does joining the Key Club help the students become more involved in their community, Oliver said it can help them further their own future as well.
“A lot of scholarships these days require community service, so this will help the students qualify for those scholarships,” she said. “They want the students to learn to give back to the community instead of just taking all the time.”
The Key Club relaunched at Unaka High School on Nov. 25, 2014 with a special charter ceremony with the Kiwanis Club of Elizabethton.
Members of the Key Club are: President Cheyenne Drew, Vice President Autumn Little, Secretary Ashley Doss, Treasurer Madison Mann, Editor Alena Church, Samantha Adkins, Savannah Agan, Autumn Baggett, Taylor Boone, Carlee Cable, Tyler Carroll, Danielle Combs, Ray Combs, Tiffany Covarrubias, Taylor Dilks, Katie Norris, Joe Oliver, Brandon Pierce, Vivian Tadder, Chandler Thomas, Ashley Verran, Savannah Wood, Sierra Wright and Emily Vance.
The faculty sponsors for the club are teachers Marsha Greenwell and Larissa Trivette.