Thanksgiving is known as a time of abundance, but for some families, it can be difficult to afford large meals to celebrate. Interact Club hopes to help relieve the financial burden of the holiday season with meal donations. They had considered cooking meals, but decided against it.

“We’re (not) going to cook Thanksgiving meals, because the logistics of cooking it and getting it out to people, especially when we have that whole week off. As students, that’s really hard. And then, you take people stuff they don’t like, maybe they don’t want it, and then it becomes a whole big issue,” sponsor Tony Hein said.

Instead, they will be taking a different approach to providing for underprivileged families by involving local businesses.

“What we’re going to do is… we’re going to get vouchers from places like Dillons or something like that, for people. Probably protein vouchers, and things to go towards a meal, for kids who wouldn’t be able to eat over Thanksgiving break,” Hein said.
The club hopes to make a big impact in the community this year under new sponsor Tony Hein.

“We’re just trying to get way more involved this year as opposed to last year. Mr. Hein is doing a great job of doing that,” junior Taylor Antonowich said.

The club is using a blast from the past to help fundraise for their various service projects, including their Thanksgiving endeavor. They began selling retro railer items at the beginning of November during all three lunches.

“We’re going to be selling the Railerwoman pins. We’ve got posters up that say ‘the legend of the Railerwoman is returning.’ We have the Railerlady pin, but we also have Railerman. The original 80s Railerwoman, there is an actual legend behind it. Kids kidnapped her and put a bag over her head and they sent these crazy ransom letters. It’s actually a true story, it’s pretty funny,” Hein said.

Participating in service projects not only helps the community, but can provide personal satisfaction as well.

“First of all it looks good on a college resume, and also it just really makes me feel good inside. I love to help other people. It’s one of my favorite things,” Antonowich said.

Volunteering is a core value of Interact Club, and during the holiday season, projects can have an extra significant impact.

“It’s important to volunteer all year long, not just around the holidays, but around the holidays you can lift someone’s spirits. In your own family, you may have noticed that the holidays are one of the most stressful times, even though we try to make it a great time, it’s extremely stressful especially for adults, usually running around money, so if we can help lighten that burden some, it’s good,” Hein said.