Key Club is a student-led organization, where students make the world a better place through service. Here at Utica, we have about 140 students currently enrolled who meet with organizer Anthony Adamo every month to better our community.

Although this is his first year leading the group, many students can agree that he knows what he is doing.
“Mr. Adamo seems very confident about this group,” junior Ashlin Hurry said. “The members in it will all do their part.”

Key Club is open to all grade levels, but the requirements differ between the under and upperclassmen.
“Underclassmen have to do a minimum of seven hours of community service,” organizer Anthony Adamo said. “Seniors this year are required to do ten.”

For many of the upperclassmen, this is their third year volunteering throughout the city of Utica and some of them have been given a special role in the organization.

“As treasurer,” senior Ashley Pittel said, “I help manage club funds so that we can have money to give back to the community and we are able to do these services.”

One of the highest positions, held by senior Sophia Wenzel, is being president of the club.

“Last year I was a member of the E-board and I was the only returning member of E-board for this year,” Wenzel said, “so I understood the ins and outs and responsibilities we had, so I decided to run for president and got it.”

Wenzel has lots of influence on how the club is run and ensures all members are up to date on places around the city they can volunteer at.

“I’m in charge of finding and providing service events for all of the members, running the meetings and keeping track of attendance and service hour requirements,” Wenzel said. “I make sure that if anyone has any questions about anything, that I’m always there to answer.”

A week before school started, Adamo and a few returning members of the club volunteered right here at Utica. They spent hours working on the courtyard to ensure that our building makes a good impression on visitors for the new school year. Students agree that it was a much needed clean up operation.

“I was surprised with how much trash there actually was in the bushes and the trees,” senior Isabel Lee said. “It was really a refreshing thing to clean it.”

With the group just starting and many people joining, we know lots of citizens will be positively impacted by the time put in to volunteering in our city.

The next monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday. Nov. 16 at 6:55 a.m. in the Media Center.