The College Height Secondary School Interact Club, a junior division of the Yellowhead Rotary, has entered a full size tree into the Festival of Trees.  This is Prince George's 100th anniversary and the Festival hopes to have 100 trees and we are a part of something really special.
 
The Interact club often parallels projects that the Rotary takes on.  Literacy is one that the Rotary supports.  So we have done a book drive and dropped them off at many senior centres in Prince George plus we Collected children's books for Amber House.  Now the Interact Club has entered a tree called "The Literacy Tree:  The Gift of Words" into the Festival.
 
Emily O'Reilly is chairing the project and her team started canvassing stores, businesses, other Rotary clubs since the end of the summer.  Emily was voted last year's Prince George Youth of the Year and her dedication to volunteering is so heart warming. In fact many of the kids in the club, more than half are now junior volunteers at the hospital, so pretty special when we look at it as kids helping kids.
        
This has been an experience in working, begging, speaking, confidence building, determination, staying the course when it gets frustrating.and working in our community for a community cause.   Their theme of Literacy has their tree centered in a "cozy corner" with a big comfy chair, fireplace. bookshelves, books, gift cards, friends to share reading with, and treats to enjoy while reading.  These gifts all tie into their theme of the Gift of Words.  So so they will "keep their word" and "Pay Forward" many in-kind services so that the purchaser of this tree not only gets all the wonderful "gifts" around the tree but their purchase will continue to give all through the year.
 
Members of the Interact Club promise to serve over 700 bowls of cereal at St. Vincent de Paul, they will host a cereal drive to help provide for these breakfasts, they will read monthly to seniors, they will hold a clothing drive and a book drive
 
They even have a SMILE project in which they have all the family of schools of CHSS  Gr 5-7 make us cards and they deliver them to the patients at the hospital, they started by being Pediatric Pen Pals, but now they pretty much cover the hospital twice a year.    Hopefully members of the Rotary will want to drop and and see their younger protoges project.
 
This truly is a labour of love and a life lesson that is is important to "Give Where You Live".