When new to something, it is natural for humans to be curious about the dynamic and lifestyle that surrounds them. I learned about one such a story when I interviewed Alex Parrish regarding his involvement in KEY club. It was then that he explained to me the involvement and impact that members of KEY club has on the community.

He defined Key Club with these words: “I would describe it as a community service club whose mission is to help out the community while also fostering a sense of community among the members.” very well said!

Parrish told me that as a freshman, he was new to the Calvert County area, and when he saw an advertisement for the club, he was naturally curious. “I had been really eager to explore the new experiences and opportunities that HHS offered, and at FLEX-PO I saw something about Key Club.” he said. “ At first I did not know what it was, but I listened to the people at the booth talking and it turns out it was a community service club, and I thought that seemed pretty cool, community service is a noble cause. I gave it a try and ended up really liking it and we did a lot of fun stuff.” This is an insightful response to inform anyone who is interested in joining:  there are always opportunities for you, you just must find what you enjoy!

I questioned Parrish on what some of the community benefit events were that KEY club participated in. He surprised me with the variety of possibilities. “This year it has been sparse relative to what it has been, but some of my favorite ones that we have done include doing a car wash outside the gym in Prince Frederick, and going to Chestnut Land Trust Trails to clean up the trails in the fall.   We have gone to a beach and cleaned up; we have also volunteered at St. John Vianney Catholic Church’s food pantry to help people; we have also gone to animal shelters to help out the pets and workers.”

Another important thing about community service is the impact your helpfulness not only has on others, but yourself as well! I asked Parrish what event impacted him personally, the most, and he told me “I’d say last winter when we were at St. John Vianney, seeing how desperate the people were for help, seeing how grateful they were for what we were providing and it just helped me understand even now as a high schooler you can have such a profound impact on people and their lives.”

To conclude, joining KEY cub at Huntingtown High School will likely be a very moving experience for you and the others you help. You will be welcomed, and you will also create a lifelong friend group. Alex Parrish is now the president of the club, and he is very excited to introduce his new ideas that will not only represent the club but HHS as a whole. I hope that this article will inspire you to join.  If you do, you will be welcomed with a smile from Alex and the rest of the officers at the HHS KEY club.