Service’s new structure lets students find their volunteer passions.                                                               

By Sara Martin ’22

Snowflakes hung from the ceiling as colorful lights brightened the dark room. Students and attendees whirled across the floor in semi-formal dresses, but this Snowflake Ball was different from last year’s, at least in terms of who organized it: that was the newly created Delta Club, which replaced both Key Club and Beta Club this year and now runs the school’s outside service events.

The Snowflake ball “is really important because it helps all the individuals in our community who don’t have the opportunity to attend a typical school dance,” said club leader Emma Brown (’20). Though the transition to the new club could be confusing, even chaotic, for students, Delta hopes to do what its forerunners did, but with several significant you guessed it changes.

The Key and Beta Clubs were two of the most popular clubs at school, but club leader Lara Crochik (’20) views the new change as necessary.  “With Beta and Key, there were many issues with the intentionality of our service. Most kids did not know what impact their volunteering was making, how it was helping others, and/or weren’t motivated by the right choices,” said Crochik.

It’s no secret that volunteer work looks great on college applications.  Many students focused more on getting the necessary hours, rather than the impact of their service, according to Brown. The leadership “wanted students to be more aware of the groups that they were affecting, and have more of an opportunity to reflect on past events,” she said.

While shifting the focus from requirements towards purpose is a noble goal, it sounds a bit abstract and difficult to implement.  Luckily, the Delta leaders had a solid plan on how to make it happen.  One of the more significant differences between Beta/Key and Delta is the introduction of smaller committees focused on specific topics.  At the beginning of the year, students were able to select from a range of committees, including Elderly, Environment, Animals, Disabilities, and more.

The distinction allows for students to make a more purposeful choice about what they are trying to support, and also helps the club to put club time to good use.  Instead of huge, club-wide meetings, individual committees meet and discuss topics relevant to their respective causes.  Some even do service during that time, such as making plastic yarn, dog toys, or blankets for Project Linus.

While every student might not have gotten their first choice for their committee, there is still a push to be involved with events unrelated to one’s committee.  According to Brown, “there is an hours and committee event requirement,” so “students are required to volunteer with groups outside of their own committee—ensuring that they can still volunteer with other groups!”

While the changes from last year to this year have been immense, club members can be on the lookout for some additional tweaks implemented next year. “One thing that will change is that we will have less committees and that we will go back to having positions in the Executive Committee, like President and Vice President,” said Crochik.  Hopefully, Delta will continue to bring about positive change both in the club and in the community.