Book drives for the South Sound Reading Foundation, toy drives for Toys for Tots and the International Dinner. These are just a few service projects that the OHS Rotary Interact Club organizes every year.
Club President Willow Chen explained the club’s mission: “With support from the Rotary Club of West Olympia, the OHS Rotary Interact Club works to improve the community through service projects.”
Rotary Interact’s motto, “Service above self,” reminds members of the importance of thinking about how they can help their community through acts of service.
The Olympia Rotary and OHS club are connected through club liaison Bret Anderson. The Olympia Rotary donates funds to support the club and its projects. It also provides scholarships that all OHS students can apply for.
Anderson elaborated, “My role is to help Rotary do a good job in supporting young people to become involved in making the world a better place.”
Chen’s favorite memory of the club—apart from the donuts liaison Anderson generously brings every week—is the Foreign Exchange Student Potluck, held annually at Principal Matt Grant’s house. “Helping organize the potluck is a lot of fun, and so is connecting with the exchange students to learn more about their cultures through stories and diverse cuisines,” she recalled.
As for what makes Rotary Interact so special, Anderson believes it’s the student involvement. “They make a special effort to involve students from all kinds of backgrounds, particularly the foreign exchange students. We want everybody to feel that they belong,” he stated.
Anderson believes that over time, the club has become better organized and grown in numbers. He noted, “Students have become more aware of the community’s needs.”
Rotary Interact’s next event is the International Dinner in collaboration with Olympia’s STAND (Students Advocating for Nonviolence and Diversity). While the details are still tentative, the club “hopes to integrate food from restaurants who are generous enough to donate food along with community members who will cook some of their favorite meals to share,” as Chen explained.
The International Dinner is scheduled to happen on Friday, April 25th, the same day as the FamOly Cultural Assembly that STAND is organizing.
