“The mission of Rotary International is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to advance goodwill and peace around the world,” according to the Rotary International official website.
The Interact club at Carlmont is a volunteer club sponsored by Rotary International and led by Ryan Callan, a senior.
Callan said, “This club was started at Carlmont about 30 years ago, and has been going ever since. Our main goal is volunteering and giving back to the community, and we do that by raising money through various events. We then give that money to Rotary International to fund their projects that, in return, help the community.”
Interact club’s main event of the year, a lobster fest, is approaching on Feb. 11. In order to prepare, Callan is gathering all the members of the club and coordinating with the Belmont Rotary Club coordinator, Ralph Kirberg.
“My role is to watch over the Interact Club here at Carlmont and help out with events such as the lobster fest. The lobster fest is all about community service and fundraising for various rotary club projects. The students have an opportunity to help us raise the funds by helping out as servers, clean-up people, and volunteers to help the event run smoothly,” said Kirberg.
Many students get involved with clubs such as Interact because they’re interested in giving back to the community and looking for ways to volunteer.
Mandy Zhang, a junior, said, “This is my third year in Interact, and I absolutely love it. I joined the club originally because I was looking for a way to contribute to the community. I’m really excited for the lobster fest because it’s our main event every year, and it’s always really fun. Usually there are about 40 to 50 people there so it’s a lot of work, but definitely worth it.”
Rotary clubs have been giving back to communities for years and will continue to do so with the support of high school clubs such as Interact.
Callan said, “I love this club, everyone is so amazing and hard working, and it’s pretty incredible what we can accomplish through some hard work.”
