Philadelphia Rotary’s Youth Club Discovers the Power of Service Above Self
By Jay Pennie
Despite the upheaval that students around the world have endured over the past two years brought on by COVID-19 restrictions, quarantines, and pivoting to on-line classes and hybrid learning models, members of the West Catholic Prep Lasallian Interact Club still made it a priority to keep serving others.
Adopting Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self,” Interact members gathered on Martin Luther King Day—their holiday off—to clean and organize the school’s chapel so it can be used for a fuller capacity and reorganize the backstage of the auditorium needed to store musical instruments. The group also helped package and donate “COVID kits” with supplies needed for students that were quarantined.
Interact members preparing “COVID Kits” for students in quarantine.
The club also helped fundraise and purchase gifts so that 27 elementary students at an archdiocesan school could receive gifts for the Christmas holiday. Raising over $500, these students put the Philadelphia community before themselves during this Christmas season.
Interact clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while adopting Rotary’s service motto. First authorized at Melbourne High School, Florida, USA 1962, the name “Interact” came from combining the words “international” and “action.” Interact members connect with over 14,000 Interact Clubs and 342,000 members in 145 countries to take action to make a difference in schools and their community.
Previous years, Interact members volunteering to prepare breakfast for Ronald McDonald house.
The Philadelphia Club also chartered another youth group, the Interact Club at Liguori Academy in 2019. The Academy is a private, non-profit high school for grades 9-12 whose goal is to provide high-quality education that is affordable for every family. Students benefit from an education program that is personalized, flexible, and technology-driven.
The West Catholic Prep Lasallian Interact Club, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Philadelphia, was officially chartered by Rotary International in 2014. “West Catholic High School has been a beacon and an oasis for young people in Philadelphia for more than 100 years,” said Joe Batory, Rotary Club of Philadelphia’s Youth Chair.
In 1989, declining enrollment forced the merger of the West Catholic Boys and Girls schools into one location at 45th and Chestnut Streets. Then in 2012, the school was scheduled to be closed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. With support from businesses, prominent graduates and Drexel University, the school was renamed, West Catholic Prep and is again thriving.
According to Batory, who helped charter both youth clubs, “The West Catholic Lasallian Interact Club has built a solid record of community outreach with a wide array of service activities each year. In 2015, the club’s activities earned the prestigious Presidential Citation from Rotary International.”