New Mt. Pleasant Middle School Food Packaging club dedicated to helping the community

MT. PLEASANT - A new club at the Mt. Pleasant Middle School is dedicated to helping the community and raising funds for the Food Packaging event the school does every spring with local nonprofit Take Away Hunger.

Lead by teachers Kendra Ruschill and Jeremy Klopfenstein, who also organize the food packaging, the club includes about 20 students from the three different grade levels. Ruschill said the club is an opportunity for the kids to take over more responsibility of the community service event.

'We want them to understand the feeling of how good it feels to help other people and that every one person or a small club can make a difference, whether it's here in town or in the world. A small club can make a big difference whether it's in a small community or the world,” Ruschill said.

Primarily, the students are looking for ways to assist the community as well as to raise funds and collect donations. The middle schoolers have brainstormed certain chores they could be asked to help community members with, including raking leaves, washing windows and shoveling snow. They hope to offer their services throughout the year to anyone who may be in need of help.

Because the group has only had two meetings, the students and teachers are still mapping out the year, but have plans for several fundraisers including selling food and potentially leaving jars at local gas stations to collect change for the food packaging event.

The club meets every Friday during the school's club hour and includes an energetic bunch of students who are excited to be able to help Mt. Pleasant. Several students shared why they decided to join the new club, including Nayla Beauchamb, a seventh-grader, who said she was 'focused on making a difference in the community,” also adding that she enjoyed the cocoa and snacks the teachers would bring in. Many other students echoed similar sentiments about why they decided to join; many were looking for ways to be more involved with their community and do good.

Others, like Ella Ensminger, who is in the sixth grade, said she hopes that by partaking in the club, she can help inspire others to be charitable so that their work can be amplified and have an even wider affect. Eighth-grader Victoria Smith noted that she's excited to debut the club to the community and get the word out about the work they hope to do.

'I think that it's going to be rewarding when we actually reach out to people and people actually pay attention to our club and we get a name and a shirt and everyone knows that we are here to help people in need,” Smith said.

Currently, the club still is deciding on a name and logo and plant to sell T-shirts at athletic events as a fundraiser for the food packaging in the spring. For now, they are known as the Community Helper/Food Packaging Club. In addition to the services the club will offer, Ruschill added that students also will be approaching businesses later in the year for donations to support the food packaging event.

The club is looking for other ideas and services the group could provide to the community as well as any fundraising tips and collaborations. Any individuals who wish to reach out to the club can contact Kendra Ruschill or Jeremy Klopfenstein at kendra.ruschill@mtpcsd.org and jeremy.klopfenstein@mtpcsd.org.