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Home-schooled
students form Interact club By From her vantage
point as a public librarian in She also noticed
how home-schooled children can become isolated from their peers at
public high schools.
"I began noticing
these great kids who are kind of invisible in our community," says
Hartley, a member of the Rotary Club of Norman. "I don't think most
of our club was aware of this fairly large group of home-schooled
children."
After three years
of talking to home-schooling families, Hartley was able to persuade
a group of teens to begin an Interact club in August 2007. The
Norman Home School Interact meets monthly in the library -‑ with
Hartley and Joe Gil, of the Rotary Club of Norman-Cross Timbers, as
sponsors -- and held its charter banquet in June.
"Parents, for a
whole variety of reasons, decide on home schooling their children,”
says Hartley. "I thought it would be really great to get these kids
involved in Rotary because Rotary is all about helping our kids."
Hartley and RI
staff believe the club is one of the first, if not the first, for
home schoolers. In addition to its regular meeting, the club takes
part in a service project every month with the Interact club at
The two Interact
clubs have bought Christmas presents for foster children,
volunteered at an animal sanctuary, and taken part in a "crop walk"
to raise money for world hunger. One of the leaders in the
home-schooled group also launched a project with the local 4H club,
purchasing pet food at a discount and repackaging it in small bags
to distribute to pet owners in the Meals on Wheels program.
"What they were
finding is that some of the Meals on Wheels clients were feeding
their meals to their pets because they didn’t have enough money for
pet food," Hartley says. "What was great about this project was that
many of the Interact kids from the high school didn't know much
about 4H before this."
Hartley says the
home-schooled students often have a more flexible schedule and are
eager to volunteer their time. That involvement increases their
visibility in the community and helps their parents get connected as
well.
"Being a member of
Interact has made my friends and me want to be more involved in our
community and really help people in need," says Becky Seewald,
2007-08 club president. "Through Interact, we all now share a
greater sense of investment in our environment, our relationships,
and the vision we share for our world." Hartley would like
to see the club serve as a model for other communities. "They have so much
to give; they really love Service Above Self," Hartley says of the
home-schooled students. “What we are saying is, let’s join together
to give. As a community, we will work together." |
