Key Club is an international student organization that encourages high school students to find joy in serving others and helping those who need it. As many people know, certain values (such as serving the community) that used to shape the youth no longer apply, and Key Club’s main goal is to bring back those values and offer a helping hand to those in need. Key Club’s work often goes unnoticed and few people know exactly what they do. Many youth today don’t care about values or helping others, so Key Club’s goals often go unattained; sadly. More attention and appreciation needs to be given to Key Club and its members, and more importantly more members are needed.
Key Club was first formed in 1925 in Sacramento, California and has since spread around the world. There is at least one Key Club on every continent besides Antarctica. This club has found itself a cozy place in our small town, Pahrump, Nevada, and has since influenced many high schoolers who attend Pahrump Valley High School to find the joy in serving and helping others.
Through the 2024-25 school year, two students have been noticeably active in the community. PVHS junior Andrea Payan-Pinon and senior Aurora Muns have truly taken action and have begun to appreciate what Key Club offers besides just the scholarship opportunities. Payan states that “At first [she] went into Key Club just for the scholarship opportunities and nothing else…[Since then she’s] started to help more in the community and better appreciate what it means to help”. She expresses her appreciation for Key Club and the way that it has softened her heart and opened her mind in ways that she never thought it would.
Key Club is mostly known for going out and ringing bells or running concession stands at high school games, so you might be thinking: How could Key Club have such an impact when that’s all they do? While those things still help and raise money for the community, I’m here to tell you that they do much more than just that.
Muns explains that they are planning to send cards to the nursing homes and put a smile on the residents’ faces when most of them don’t have anyone to bring such a warm moment to their life. She says, “I love helping people. There’s not a lot of people doing that these days…we’re gonna send cards to the nursing home, and some of those people don’t have family no more so it’s good to like make sure that they know that they’re loved and that people know about them and they want them to keep going”. Muns expresses how much she loves helping people and knowing that, despite the lack of enjoyment in helping these days, she is still able to make a difference in at least one person’s life because of Key Club.
Key Club does more than just ring bells; it offers not only scholarship opportunities but also a new perspective and way of thinking about what it means to be active in your community. PVHS’ Key Club’s advisor and school counselor, Mike Abbiss, explains that their main goal is to “instill in the youth the want to serve and to help”. Because of the lack of attention, attendance, and appreciation, their goal is oftentimes not being accomplished, unfortunately.
The lack of attention to what they do is one of their biggest challenges in staying active in the community; they feel as though their work is for nothing because no one seems to care. However, after seeing the look on the faces of those they help, they realize it’s all worth it. You can help by showing some love to Key Club, or better yet, joining Key Club!
