Check out this awesome generationOn Service Club and how its founder and leader, Rachel Shuster, laid the foundations for its success.

Quick Stats

Club Name: Kids Care HHH
Club Leader: Rachel Shuster (now a junior in high school)
Year Started: 2008 (when Rachel was in 6th grade)
Members: Started with 10 friends, now about 20 high school youth and 20 elementary school kids
Advisor: Rachel's mom

Meetings

Location: Local library
Frequency: Once a month, or as often as needed when planning an event
Length: About an hour
Meeting Activities: Talk about upcoming events and ideas
Structure: Club leader prepares the agenda and runs the meetings
Supplies: Agenda, sometimes food or an activity

Projects

Frequency: About once a month
Examples of Projects: Cleaning up public spaces, Cooking healthy meals at the Ronald McDonald House, Volunteering at the food pantry, Holding a bowling fundraiser and a fashion show
Outreach: Social media, newspapers, word of mouth
Ideas from: generationOn resources, the Internet

A Brief Interview with Rachel

1. How is your club organized?
 Kids Care HHH first began with approximately 10 members. As the members got older, everyone participated in more activities and became increasingly busy. It was hard to keep them engaged. I organized an Executive Board for the club to provide the members with a sense of commitment and responsibility. This helped to keep them involved in the club and in volunteerism. One of the responsibilities of the board members is to plan at least one service project for the year. This requirement enables the board to expand their knowledge of community service as well as helps them learn how to plan an event. Planning an event is an important skill that one can use throughout all stages of life. 

2. How is responsibility delegated in your club?
 Executive board members are usually committee chairs and younger members usually serve on the committees for different events.

3. What does your club advisor do?
 In the beginning, our advisor helped the club get started and was much more involved with the planning of projects and events. Our advisor helped us make phone calls and showed us the ropes of how to plan an event. As time progressed, our advisor was involved less and less because the members of the club learned and developed their skills.

4. What are some of the challenges of doing service projects?
 Fundraisers are the hardest events to plan because they involve others in your community, not only your club members. You have to be aware of how to engage others and how to inspire them to participate.

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