Did you know that Hershey High School has a community service course? From National Honor Society to college applications, students are required to have a certain number of mandatory community service hours for clubs and applications. While the school provides so many opportunities for students, many are unaware of the chances Hershey supplies.
Hershey offers clubs to students looking to get involved with our community, through which individuals can collect many service hours. Key club, Mini-THON, Environmental Club, and Trojan Buddies are all examples of clubs you can participate in.
Key Club is attempting to solve the clean water crisis. Run by five upperclassmen, Hailey Groff, Kelsey Cartee, Abby Hand, Alexis Dhawan, and Conner Moodie, they offer service opportunities during every meeting. Opportunities include shirt donations, Ronald McDonald magazine pick up, their annual “Walk for Clean Water” (their biggest fundraiser), and many more. Last year, they sponsored two clean water wells for struggling families in Eswatini by raising 25,140.85 dollars.
Mini-Thon works with Four Diamonds and originated at Penn State University, where they host their annual ‘THON’, which raises millions of dollars each year to fund Childhood Cancer Research. This year, Penn State’s Thon raised 17.7 million dollars, and Hershey High School’s Mini-Thon Club held their annual Mini-Thon on Friday, March 21st, raising 35,000 dollars.
The Environmental Club is a program run by senior Olivia Fox. They have lots of opportunities to both support the environment and gain community involvement, like their new compost bins, and upcoming projects like trash pickup and a pollinator/native plant box collaboration with the garden club, all great community service hours.“We’re still looking for anyone interested and available to help out during their lunch period, the set up is super simple,” said Fox.
Trojan Buddies is also an extraordinary opportunity for students to earn service hours and make a great impact in the community. Children with differing abilities are paired with a high school “buddy”, where they complete fun activities, like their annual “Track and Field Day.” This event is a day-long tradition that celebrates HHS students and connects the student body. The club is advised/run by Ms. Rosensteel, and offers other holiday events and opportunities to provide service hours.
The school holds a Community Service class under Mrs. Clouser. This class is a great way to earn service hours and connect with the community. Assignments include a log of hours of community service you must complete in order to receive credit, as well as written assignments and Ted-Talks. This class can be taken online (APEX) or in person.
Before you start to doubt having any community service opportunities, take a look into these clubs on the DTSD website and opportunities to further your community service.
