Key Club is an international organization that was founded in 1925 in Sacramento, California, by two administrators who wanted to start a service club at their school that resembled Kiwanis, an adult service program. Since then, it has spread across the country, including to George Mason, where members meet in the cafeteria after school every Tuesday.

“[At the meetings] we decide on projects for the upcoming month,” said sophomore Clare Doss. Doss is currently the vice president of GM Key Club.

While the organization is well known across the country, it can still differ at each school.

“For us, it’s mostly community service that is done throughout the school and community, but we can partner with older or younger Kiwanis members,” said Doss. “For example, we sometimes go to this elementary school and we either work or just talk with them. Last year we planted flowers there. We just do a lot of stuff to give back to other people.”

There are lots of reasons that students may be interested in Key Club.

“[I joined because] I wanted to be a part of a club that helps out with the community,” said sophomore member Laura Duffett. “I think other students should join Key Club because it’s fun, and there are a lot of great people in the group, and we do a lot of community service that really helps people.”

“Recently, for Valentine’s Day, we made goodie bags with candy and stuff and gave them to faculty members.” Doss said.

Aside from taking part in activities, you can also gain a lot from being in Key Club.

“It’s just a really fun thing to do because if you like giving, then it’s definitely a feel good club,” Doss said. “It’s just a great opportunity if you really love giving and that sort of thing. It’s a good experience, and it also looks good on college applications because it’s internationally recognized. You can also use hours spent in Key Club for IB.”

Another aspect of the club that keeps members coming back are the people they meet and the memories they make.

“One of my favorites memories from last year was when Callie Gaskins, Thomas Beddow and I all went to this meeting and we got to meet Key Club members from other schools and talked about projects and stuff, and it was a lot of fun,” Doss said.

“One time we made dog toys,” Duffett added.

Students should stop by the cafeteria on a Tuesday afternoon if they are interested in helping the club achieve their goal of “doing as much as we can to impact as many people as we can.”

“We don’t have any huge plans right now but in the fall we did trick or treat for UNICEF and raised over $3,000,” Doss said of this year’s ideas.