Students gather every morning. They talk about the night before, or something that happened in class yesterday, or they might even share a story about how much they love the new chicken McGriddle from McDonald’s. OK, so the last one may have been information I shared with a student this morning, but you get the point. Our students love to talk to each other. As much as they may pretend to be dreading the school day, it seems like they really do enjoy the opportunity to come to school and talk with their friends and teachers. That’s part of what school is all about. Building relationships that will undoubtedly help you get through your bad days and make the good times just a little bit better. That’s why we Interact with those around us.
Because of that desire to build positive relationships that improve our lives and the lives of those around us, the Vantage Interact Club was started in 2001. The club had their first informational meetings of the new school year Wednesday. The students who attended the meetings were introduced (through a slide-show) to the carpentry class that the club has sponsored in Haiti since it all began over 15 years ago (at the urging of Miss Peg Bollenbacher).
As most of you are probably aware, the country of Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. In recent years, these economic troubles have only gotten more challenging with severe weather like major hurricanes and earthquakes. That’s where the need for our program comes in. The people of Haiti have a real need for the basic carpentry skills that the Vantage Interact Club helps to deliver each year. Miss Bollenbacher (who has helped run the club even after her retirement from teaching), has shared multiple success stories about her riding through the mountainous areas of Haiti and seeing former students. Many of them are still using the tools and skills they acquired from the program we sponsor to help provide for their families.
The carpentry program in Haiti is just one more example of how the people of Vantage sincerely care for others. It’s a natural extension of what we do here at Vantage. Just like the students in our building, the knowledge gained by the Haitian students is likely to help them advance throughout their lives. An old saying says “give me a fish and feed me for a day; teach me how to fish and feed me for a lifetime”. We’re not simply building houses for the people of Haiti. We’re teaching people the skills to build for themselves. That, in my mind, is priceless.
That’s why the interact club is such a great organization to be part of here at Vantage. The students will work throughout the year with our new advisors (special thanks to Sonya Yenser-Hammon, Jill DeWert, Sarah Wurth and Ashley Cline) and Miss Bollenbacher (who I’m certain the kids will love) to come up with some creative and fun ideas to raise money to continue funding our fantastic program in Haiti. It usually starts with our “Haiti Carnival” on the Monday before Thanksgiving break (this year, that’s November 21). During the carnival, our students and staff get to host and play games in the commons to raise money and awareness for the Interact Club. All proceeds go directly toward helping the carpentry program in Haiti. It’s always a great time, and an excellent fund-raiser. I’m looking forward to seeing how the kids in this year’s club interact with their advisors to plan and implement more excellent ideas. If you happen to have an idea that you think could help, please feel free to contact me!
Finally, I’d like to send a special thanks to all of those students who attended the meetings today. If you did not attend the meeting, but think you might be interested, feel free to join the next one! All students and staff are always welcome to join and help whenever they have time. We also greatly appreciate the work so many Vantage graduates and former advisors (like Mr. Matt Miller) put in to build the Interact Club into what it is today. Last, but certainly not least, Vantage would be remiss if we didn’t thank the Van Wert Rotary Club for their amazing support of Interact Club over the years. Without the help of the Rotary, we simply couldn’t accomplish all of the wonderful things we do for the people of Haiti.
If you would like to learn more about the Vantage Interact Club, please take some time to browse through our informational website that the new advisors have worked very hard to create. It can be found at: https://sites.google.com/a/vantagecareercenter.com/vantage-interact-club/.
Thank you for your time, and have a phenomenal weekend interacting with those around you! 
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