A Charitable Project by the South Campus Ambassadors Interact Club

Funded By A Grant from Rotary eClub One

            The South Campus Ambassadors Interact Club, a school-based Interact club operating out of White Bear Lake Area High School in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, USA, undertook a project in June 2015 to benefit school children in the White Bear Lake Area Schools.  This project, entitled “Passing It On”, was funded through a generous $500 Community Service Grant from Rotary eClub One.

            Each year, more and more of the school children who attend school in White Bear Lake come from families experiencing financial difficulties.  Growing percentages of the kids from these families qualify for “free and reduced lunch” intended to insure that no child goes hungry while studying in our schools.  In addition to not having enough money to pay for school lunches, many of these families also have difficulty paying for other expenses associated with having kids in school.

            Elementary school children in White Bear Lake are expected to bring basic school supplies to school on their first day of school in the fall.   These supplies include pencils, erasers, crayons, markers and paper.  However, some families do not have the financial ability to purchase these supplies for their children.  Many children come to school in the fall embarrassed because they are not able to bring supplies to school with them. The South Campus Ambassadors Interact Club became aware of this, and decided to take action.

            In the spring of 2015, the Ambassadors submitted a grant request for $500 to Rotary eClub One, and the grant was approved!  Ambassadors used the grant funds to purchase a large amount of school supplies, as well as pouches to hold the supplies.  Additionally, Ambassadors acquired water bottles in White Bear Lake’s school color, orange, for donation to the kids as well.

            What made this project unique, though, was that the Ambassadors individually decorated each of the pouches and created cards with inspirational messages to be included in each of the pouches.  From this came the name of this charitable project – “Passing it On”, as the high school senior members of Ambassadors passed along not only necessary school supplies but words of encouragement to the littlest learners in the White Bear Lake schools!

            Senior members of Ambassadors gathered on June 3, 2015 to stuff and decorate these pouches and to create the inspirational cards.  Rotary eClub One member Janet Newberg helped with the project, and took photos as the work progressed.  After all of the pouches were ready, Ambassadors faculty advisor Jaclyn Bremer and Rotarian Janet Newberg delivered the pouches to Willow Lane Elementary School and Birch Lake Elementary School.  Ambassadors chose these two elementary schools to receive the donations because they have the highest percentage of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches in the entire district.

            Willow Lane Principal Chris Streiff and Birch Lake Principal Tami Vanoverbeke were delighted to receive these donations!  They distributed close to 200 pouches and water bottles to needy school children at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year.

            The South Campus Ambassadors Interact Club and White Bear Lake Area Schools thanks Rotary eClub One for the generous grant that made “Passing It On” possible!