For years our club has partnered with the local School District as well as the few private schools in our area to recognize outstanding Middle and High School students. Each month a different school has their chance to choose from their student population someone they would like to have recognized. These students are not chosen solely based on their academic standing but more so for their leadership qualities.
We invite these exceptional students to attend one of our monthly meetings via Zoom, along with their teacher/sponsor and often parents or other family members. The teacher/sponsor speaks to the attributes of the student and why they were chosen, and sometimes we can even convince the student to say a few words! Later that week our President meets the student at their school to present them with a certificate and cash award of $200. It also provides us with a wonderful photo op that we then submit to our local paper as a press release. Kim Barnard, a previous member of our club and who now presides over the Shawnigan EcoClub, still coordinates this wonderful programme for us!
This programme is, of course, a Win for the students and their schools, but also a big win for our club with the public awareness that it has garnered for us.
