Key Club kicked of the school year with an ice-cream social on Thursday Sept. 1. The meeting consisted of plenty of treats from upcoming events to ice cream.

It is an international student organized club which teaches high schoolers the meaning of leadership and helping others in their community. The club is a part of the Kiwanis International organization which provides many other service programs.

Key Club will be helping at a nonprofit organization in downtown Orlando known as United against Poverty. This is a new project that has been brought to the club by junior and Key Club secretary Sydney Woodside.

The main goal of the organization is to get people and families out of poverty and back to a stabilized lifestyle. The club will be stocking grocery shelves, organizing donated items and talking to the families that have been affected.

The club will be involved in their traditional events such as, The Ronald McDonald House, the Riverside haunted house, as well as, DCON which is a district convention that involves meeting students and advisers from other schools. The club learns leadership and fellowship skills from DCON through provided workshops.

There were about 150 participants that showed up to the meeting, which creates an atmosphere suitable for helpful hands, and in a community service club that is a necessity.

“I enjoy being able to get volunteer hours done with my friends and the fact that we have fun service project opportunities makes the experience even better,” Woodside said.

Many students participate in the club because helping in their community is something they love doing.

“It isn’t specialized to one subject; it’s all service projects I think the fact that we are helping others helps people feel better about sweating a little bit,” junior and Key Club historian Madison Pleasants said. “Giving up a little bit of their comfort is a small price to pay for the difference we are making in the community.”