Interact Club to receive recognition

The Canfield club will be honored as the local 'Outstanding Youth Philanthropist.'
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
CANFIELD -- Canfield High seniors Tracie Sinsheimer and Brad Sfara said they've learned a lot about themselves since they joined Canfield High School Interact Club as freshmen.
They've also learned a lot about the world around them by participating in the Rotary-sponsored service club for young people.
Their efforts and the efforts of the nearly 80 other members of the club haven't gone unnoticed.
The Mahoning/Shenango Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals will recognize the club as this year's "Outstanding Youth Philanthropist" at a luncheon at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex on Tuesday, National Philanthropy Day.
Six other individuals and organizations will also be honored by the local chapter that day for their contributions to the community.
"The kids do an awful lot of work," said Sieglinde Warren, a member of the Canfield Rotary Club and the Interact adviser. She was involved in getting the Canfield group started in 1996 and is a retired Canfield teacher of German now teaching part time in Boardman.
The club is involved in a wide-ranging list of projects every year, most of them suggested by the members themselves, Warren said.
Fund raising
They get some financial assistance from the Canfield Rotary, but the students finance most of their efforts themselves through two fund-raising projects each year: A water sale at the Canfield Fair with the Canfield Rotary and working with a kettle corn vendor at the Oktoberfest with the Boardman Rotary.
The club raises between $1,200 and $1,300 a year, Warren said.
Tracie, club president, said her older brother, John, was a senior at Canfield and a member of the club when she joined.
She said she'd heard that it was one of the best volunteering organization in the high school.
"I thought it would be interesting," she recalled, adding that she was right.
"I've learned so much. I've learned a lot about myself as a person," she said.
Brad, a co-vice president, said he joined because he needed some volunteer hours for National Honor Society service but also felt it would be good for him to volunteer for his community.
It turned out to be a a great opportunity to meet new people and to do my share, he said.
"Of all the school clubs I joined, this is the one I've stayed active with and devote my time to," he said.
Both young people said they would highly recommend the club to prospective members.
"Your commitment to philanthropy serves as an example to others and warrants this most distinguished recognition," read the letter from the Association of Fundraising Professionals notifying the club of its honor.
In the past, the club created school boxes of supplies, toys and treats for an orphanage in Mexico. It's also conducted clothing drives for the poor in Appalachia and a similar drive for Sri Lanka following last year's giant tsunami that devastated coast lines in that part of the world.
Over the last year, club members have continued a one-year commitment to make monthly visits to the Millcreek Children's Center to initiate craft projects, read and conduct play activities with children.
Other activities
The club has conducted shoe drives to support the efforts of the Mission of Love, based in Austintown, in its work with the Lakota Indians on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Club members will hold a coat drive for the Lakota this fall.
The group has collected snacks, magazines and health items to send to Canfield High School graduates who are stationed in Iraq and supports area Rotary exchange students with an annual dinner for all foreign exchange students from surrounding schools.
It also puts up $500 each year, with a $500 match from Canfield Rotary, to award a $1,000 scholarship to a senior club member who has shown exceptional leadership.
gwin@vindy.com