Key club

ADVISOR: Mrs. Cheryl Eckert

PURPOSE: Members have opportunities to perform service, build character, and develop leadership on local, national, and international levels.

President: Breanna H. Vice President: Joshua N. Treasurer: Anna P. Secretary: Brooke G.

Meeting Times/Location

MEETING TIMES: Bi-monthly - full club at 2:15 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

DUES/FEES: $10.00

SEASON: September - June

SIGN UP: See Advisor

CCHS Key club

The Chicopee Comprehensive High School’s Key Club strives to help make the school community, the greater Chicopee community, the country, and the world a better place by living up to the Key Club International Pledge while practicing the school’s values: perseverance, integrity, honesty, responsibility, and respect. Some recent examples that demonstrate these commitments are as follows:  Participating in special school flag ceremonies to honor veterans, the deceased, and our policemen/women.  Serving as guides during Parent Night.  Hosting an annual School Community Breakfast, honoring teachers, administration, and staff.  Performing child care at district schools during parent meeting.  Presenting “gigs’ at a local nursing home to celebrate holidays.  Working monthly spaghetti suppers to help veterans raise money for programs.  Preparing Thanksgiving baskets for needy families in Chicopee and Springfield, MA.  Fundraising for Hurricane Relief, and the “Eliminate” Project (cleft-lip surgery fund in third-world countries.  The list goes on. One enormous endeavor the Club carried out recently was do volunteer work in our nation’s capital, specifically at the National Mall and the Viet Nam Wall in Washington, D.C. On June 14 – 17, the group travelled to the capital accompanied by the Advisor, a Vice Principal, and veterans. At the Mall, the group cleaned ground grates, an essential task to avoid flooding in a heavily travelled footpath. Here the students learned from the assigned ranger/intern about careers in the field as well as formal training and education in the field. At the Viet Nam Wall, the group was given specific instructions about how to clean the extensive monument and did so with a Boy Scout Group from Indiana. The ranger provided a detailed “history” of the Wall’s planning, proposal, artisan, and completion. The students and chaperones later viewed the wall standing proudly in the park and with each name glistening in the sun’s rays while observing the “Living Monument’s” impact on contemporary visitors. Raising the money to fund the trip was a challenging and rewarding experience as well. The Club reached out to the school community and greater city community in numerous fundraisers and were able to reach their goal in the spring. It is important to note, too, that the Chicopee Comprehensive International Key Club had withdrawn its International states in and around 2007; however, in 2015, the Club re-established itself with the International group and is now officially affiliated with the Springfield’s Kiwanis Key Club International Club. The group is thankful to have the opportunities to be the keys to help bring about a better world!