The McIntosh Key Club will travel to Athens on Friday, March 20, for the weekend to participate in the 2015 Georgia District Key Club Convention. Key Club members from across the state will meet at the convention to elect new officers, update Key Club policies, attend educational workshops and take part in informative and entertaining sessions.  Key Club members will be recognized for outstanding service during the 2014-2015 service year.

Key Club is a community service club that is open to all grades. The club at McIntosh participates in numerous events throughout the fall and spring semesters. Social studies teachers Ms. Laurette Edenfield and Ms. Wendy Mabon are the sponsors, and this year’s club officers include juniors Madi Strickland and Zabeena Dharani (Co-Presidents), Kallie Coleman (Vice President) and Carly Triana (Secretary). Executive board members include Caroline Laux, Emma Williams, Devin McFarland, Sushana Sudhi, Eseban Vallejo and Tristan White. Seniors Kate Yun, Madison MacLaughlin and Liana Dejourdan are also active leaders in the organization. Senior Sarah Snyder is the club’s division lieutenant governor for the conference.

This past fall, MHS Key Club took part in several major community service events. At the Alzheimer’s Walk, members volunteered to walk, cheer and hand out materials. For the GA Sheriffs Youth Home, which provides a safe home for neglected, abandoned, and abused children in Georgia, Key Club interacted with the organization and some of the kids by going bowling, by donating backpacks and school supplies and by buying the children a Corn Hole Set for Christmas. The MHS Key Club also fed five local families from food donations from members during the holiday season, made posters for the Special Olympics, and raised $412 for the Eliminate Project, a joint project between Kiwanis International and UNICEF to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. 

In the spring semester, the MHS Key Club participates in the March of Dimes, Relay for Life and Pancake Breakfast as yearly community service activities. This year, the club is planning to start the Heifer International fundraiser, which raises money to buy cows for families in third-world countries. Heifer distributes animals, along with agricultural and values-based training, to families in need around the world with goals of providing self-sufficiency and ending widespread hunger.