Global Impact through Service

A community with shared interests can drive purposeful global change with effort and collaboration. Over the years, the Interact club has secured an important place in the Westbury Christian School student body. Cultivating a spirit of leadership in service, the club previously partnered with the Purple Pinkie Project, Texas Children’s Hospital, and many more organizations. Sponsored by Ms. Karen Keese and Ms. Carole Booker, the Interact club meets once every two weeks at the high school art lab to discuss upcoming community service projects. The exchange of ideas from diverse perspectives during these meetings fosters students’ desire to implement innovative solutions to social crises.

As a recent example, this year, Alexis Carlson, president of the Interact Club, coordinated a supply drive for Operation Christmas Child. This operation is a part of the Christian charity organization Samaritan’s Purse. To educate students on the topic, teachers took a few minutes in class time to present a video introducing the history, purpose, and impact of Operation Christmas Child. Students are then tasked with gathering toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and other Christmas gifts that will be shipped across nations and delivered to underprivileged children.

This event spanned a week and a half, involving students from all grade levels. Upper School brought supplies to their homeroom, and Lower School to a collection bin. Interact Club members then sorted and packed the items, categorized by gender and age group, into red and green shoeboxes. In the end, the students packed hundreds of quality items into 42 boxes, ready to be delivered to a nearby processing center. 

The collaborative efforts of Westbury Christian School students and faculty members have made a great emotional, health, and spiritual difference in children from impoverished regions. This initiative has also inspired an international understanding and a positive sense of achievement among ourselves. As Alexis comments, "Though organizing a supply drive is complex and time-consuming, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing people choose to give gifts to strangers with the same care one would show to their siblings. I am infinitely grateful for the generosity of our school," which perfectly embodies the mission, core values, and principles of the Interact club.