Interact News

Interact Club members did not let the pandemic stop them from fighting for students’ wellbeing during the lockdown, in 2020 the Club developed a ‘kindness kalendar’. The calendar provided a list of daily activities to keep kids occupied while improving their mental health.

 

A talent quest was organized by the Interact Club with the Student Representative Council, another leadership club at Balwyn High School. A video was also recorded by students to express their gratitude to their teachers and school staff during a challenging academic year. In addition to these smaller projects, the Club has also been working on larger projects for the community, like a bread tag drive. This encouraged students to collect plastic bread tags to recycle and use to make wheelchairs for South Africans with disabilities.

 

The Interact Club also organized a donation drive to support One Girl, a charity that aims to educate girls in Sierra Leone and Uganda. “We initially reached out to Canterbury Rotary, and they provided us with further information on how we can get involved with this cause”, says Isabelle.

 

The connections with Rotary have also helped students perform large fundraising events and charitable acts, such as the ‘FORaMEAL’ program, which demonstrated the power of what a club like Interact can accomplish when paired with Rotary members. “For this particular one we were packing meals to send to the Philippines, we spent a day doing that and we were lucky enough to pack 17,000 meals in that afternoon,” Meththa says.

 

The relationship with Rotary has also enabled Balwyn High students to foster relationships with other schools in the area. Among these activities are planning and executing charity events that make a real difference, from Rotary sausage sizzles to major fundraisers. Student-led activities included writing letters to aged care residents who couldn’t communicate face-to-face with their loved ones during lockdowns. “We wanted to connect with residents who were going through isolation during that time, so we arranged a program where students were able to write letters to the residents and lighten up their day”, Meththa says.

 

While the school students have done great work, it has also been a challenging time for Interact Club as the pandemic and lockdowns have meant a reduction in student numbers. “As the lockdowns progressed the motivation to run activities has definitely dropped”, says Isabelle. For both girls, the use of online meeting apps has meant a decline in face-to-face involvement, which has meant less interaction between students. “Students are finding that they don’t need to turn on their cameras or put on their microphones,” Isabelle says.

 

But there are brighter days ahead for the Interact Club with students and Rotarians alike brainstorming an entire line-up of charitable activities and fundraisers into the festive season and next year. “We were really lucky to have that communication with Rotarians and hear about their own plans which we are hoping to get involved with in the future”, says Isabelle. At a time where families are busy with Christmas traditions and the rush to buy presents, it is inspiring to

know that no matter how young or old you are, Balwyn High Interact students and local Rotarians are lighting a community spirit that will never go out.