On Jan. 28, Interact Club arranged a bake sale from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in front of the China Lake Blvd. Albertsons to raise money for YouthCare, an organization that supports youth who are facing homelessness. Students spent time baking goods such as heart-shaped sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, peanut butter cookies, blondies, cupcakes, funfetti, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. All the hard work paid off as the club raised $717.41 thanks to the community’s generosity. 

“This is one of the highest amounts that the club has raised ever since Interact Club started at Burroughs,” said Club Treasurer Kristy Shao, a senior. 

Shao and fellow Interact members Alexander Vargas and Nevaeh Peterson spent seven hours baking and decorating their creative heart-shaped sugar cookies together. 

“We made sure that every cookie had a different design, and we stayed up until 1:30 a.m. baking them,” said Vargas. “They were all made with love!” 

Senior Moazzma Chaudhry found sweet success through trial-and-error.

“I made chocolate chip cookies,” said Chaudhry. “My first batch came out burnt which set me behind on about a total of two hours to make the cookies.” 

Club advisor Judy Dwyer supervised the bake sale and helped out by encouraging the community to donate. 

“I was blown away by the generosity of other people in Ridgecrest,” said Dwyer. “We had at least two people give $50 without taking any baked goods after they heard about our cause.” 

Club advisors Cheryl Saint Amand and Linda McCauley are the Rotary Club of China Lake representatives for Interact Club. Both were pleased with the students’ efforts and the community’s response. 

“The community presence was amazing,” said McCauley. “I’m proud of Interact.”

“It does say a lot about Interact students, their commitment to service is commendable,” said Saint Amand. “People don’t realize how generous this community is.” 

In the next few months, Interact students plan to do a road clean-up, host fun activities with the Life Skills class, volunteer in Rotary-sponsored events, and more! The club is always open to new members, and they meet every Tuesday in M-41 at lunch.