As the Sept. 25 Club Day is just around the corner, new and returning clubs are readying themselves for the upcoming year. After a year hiatus, Friends of Rachel has returned to meet the needs of BHS students.
Friends of Rachel is a club striving for more kindness on campus. The club is an extension of Rachel’s Challenge, which started following Rachel Scott’s death in the Columbine shooting. The members’ aim is to spread kindness around the community through volunteering, but most of all, to create a welcoming community for everyone on campus.
“When I was a freshman, Friends of Rachel was a big club and it gave me a place to belong,” said President Salem Edwards. “We want to promote a sense of community within Burroughs, especially among individuals who feel they are not properly represented within the high school culture.”
Their goal for this year is to restart their kindness challenges and make them school-wide to encourage all students to participate and spread some good will. Their first kindness challenge was posted last Monday and it asked students to pick up any trash they see on campus.
Along with promoting kindness on campus, Friends of Rachel plans on helping throughout the community, including a coat drive with the Salvation Army in October and a food drive with the local food bank in November.
“I hope that the kindness and acts of service we accomplish on our campus spread and have a ripple effect, so that students carry this kindness and empathy to all individuals in our local community independently,” said Club Advisor Elan McDonald-Archer. Archer took over the club this year after learning of its long history of community service and improving school climate. “I don’t think in today’s current culture, empathy and kindness are seen as strengths. I would like to change the narrative a little for our students here at Burroughs and show that there’s strength in having empathy and being kind to one another.”
Friends of Rachel offers a welcoming space to see new faces and opportunities to volunteer in our community. They meet every Thursday in McDonald-Archer’s class, L-31.
