Anna Buck
Carihi Mirror
Carihi students are planning yet another year of giving back to the community as a school.
Carihi secondary school has long promoted community involvement, encouraging students to reach out to others in Campbell River through the school’s student leadership program, as well as through the Rotary-sponsored Interact Club.
Kerri Perras, organizer of Carihi’s leadership program, looks forward to the upcoming year of working with student leaders, both old and new.
“Carihi has been an incredibly supportive community,” Perras says. “We have a diverse population … that is accepting of all, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or economic status. I feel that our students and staff have a high level of empathy [which] allows them to understand the importance of giving back to our community.”
In the past, leadership has organized events and campaigns in support of the Campbell River Hospital Foundation, Rose Harbour, the Red Cross, and the Knights of Columbus, among many others. Each year leadership students get the chance to choose what causes they wish to support.
“Since the leadership program is quite ‘organic’ when it comes to deciding what… to focus on, we have nothing specific [planned for this year] at this time,” says Perras. “We [also] do get requests … from community organizations. [These] are brought to our student leadership team and we decide if we would like to take it further.”
The Interact Club of Carihi is a student-led, Rotary-sponsored club that focuses on community action projects.
“We have a great group of students who are always ready to help others and better the community,” club president Brianna Pollock says. “This year the Interact Club is trying to become more involved in the community through the Rotary Club.”
The Interact Club usually holds or is involved in up to six large fundraisers and four smaller ones per year. In previous years these have included causes like Rotary’s Arthritis Walk and the Coldest Night of the Year.
As well as causes within the local community, Interact has supported international-scale projects such as the WE Movement and Operation Christmas Child, and had shown support for people in poverty in Nicaragua, as well as sponsoring a nest of turtle eggs there.
This year Interact will participate in some annual fundraisers, such as a Rotary Auction, where students auction services and goods like car washes, live music, and baking off to Rotarians, and Operation Christmas Child. The club will also be working on other projects such as raising money to help Carihi graduate Jonah Shankar receive cancer treatment, and sending a group of students to perform community service in Guatemala.
Students who are not a part of either leadership or Interact are encouraged to share ideas and suggestions for community outreach with the groups, as are community members with specific causes in mind.
Leadership Advisor Kerri Perras can be reached by email at kerri.perras@sd72.bc.ca and the Interact Club can be contacted at carihiinteract@gmail.com