MANSFIELD, Ohio — As other youngsters prepared for Halloween parades and parties, Madison’s 20 Key Club members meekly raked leaves in a Madison Township neighborhood Saturday afternoon.
Eddie Walker, the ninth grade science teacher and Key Club advisor at Madison, has been busy lately. His group, which is student-led, is growing. When he started last year only a handful of students participated, he said. Between school years, however, the group quadrupled in size.
If it continues to grow, Key Club might be the most active group in the school.
“We’ve done a lot. We’re doing two projects a month, at least,” said Walker. “And the kids absolutely love it. The minimum requirement of community service hours is 50. Some of these guys already have 25.”
Why are high school students so interested in community service?
“It’s definitely against the norm and what you would expect to see,” said Walker.
Key Club President and senior Katie Loughman has been a member since her freshman year.
“I love being able to help the community. I feel like I’m making a difference in the world,” she said.
Her ninth grade brother, Jake Loughman, is following in her footsteps.
“It’s nice,” Jake said. “When we do this stuff, people actually say thank you. It’s fun to come out.”
Walker attributes the group’s growth to word-of-mouth. He said the students have fun together, but on a deeper level, Walker senses a need for connection with other peers.
“They just want to do stuff, be social, have fun. Our culture is going towards twitter and making kids antisocial,” Walker said. “But kids really do love the one-on-one time and getting together.”
Walker also volunteers at Crossroads Community Church. Every other Sunday, he teaches Sunday school to fourth and fifth graders. When he found out the school’s Key Club was in need of a new leader, he thought it was the right fit.
“This is the closest thing to having a church service thing in school without it being associated with Jesus and God,” he said.
He is thankful for a group of students that are eager to gather for community service projects.
“The whole club is based on building leadership through community service,” he said. “They decide what we want to do, they pick the dates, they basically do everything. I just do the paperwork.”
One of the projects the students decided to do last year was to sponsor children at Christmas time. They shop for the children and decide on a date to distribute gifts.
“It’s giving them a greater appreciation and expanding their understanding of Christmas,” Walker said.
The Key Club members met at Madison Comprehensive High School’s parking lot on Saturday at 1 p.m. and finished raking leaves at 3 p.m. When finished, they stuck around for a pizza party.
They also meet every Thursday morning at 7:40 a.m. in the high school’s library. For more information on how to get involved in Madison’s Key Club, contact Walker at ewalker@mlsd.net.
