The Community Service Club is all about giving back and since November is the month where people are the most giving, it is the club’s most hectic month. Some of the fall-themed services that the club participates in include leaf raking, extra lunches and coat drives.

The Community Service Club is run by History Teacher Gregory Bowers and Math Teacher Zorana Culjak along with student officers Ashley Talwar, Jessica Zdep, Alexandra Cicala, Lucia Biasi, Madeline Lechner, Sylvie Mauras, Ariana Keith and Caitlyn Gottlieb.

With 200 members, the club is one of the most popular at WHS. “We have an open door policy even if somebody isn’t 100 percent committed. We like to give [students] opportunities to do community service,” said Culjak.

Annually, the club rakes leaves every Saturday and Sunday morning during November for houses that have signed up with the club. Any contributions people make for the leaf service go to charities, such as the Helping Hands Fund. Last year, the club donated all the money made from raking leaves to this fund which “supports any student or staff member at WHS,” said Culjak. This year all proceeds will go to various New Jersey charities.

With students once again attending in-person school, the club’s weekly Two Lunch Thursdays have returned, and will continue throughout November. Anyone can bring an extra lunch to school and it will be donated to the Plainfield Salvation Army. The club was fortunate to receive around 30 lunches for the first Two Lunch Thursdays, but with around 2,000 students at WHS, a larger impact can still be made. To contribute, bring your extra lunch to the donation bin by 9:15 a.m. at the front entrance of the school on Thursdays.

This month, the club is also collecting winter coats for St. Joseph’s in Elizabeth. Bins for donations can be found at the main entrance of the school between Nov. 1 and Nov. 12.

“The main goal of the club is to give [the] opportunity to our students to volunteer and to see how other people are in need. Also, to assist anybody who needs help,” said Culjak.

The club is open to any ideas students have to give back. Lechner said, “We try to help out the community in any way that we can.”

If you are looking to give back this fall season, check out the Community Service Club and their upcoming opportunities.