The Alliance Key Club began the year with a patriotic service project. Students were to bring a rock to the school library during lunch. The Key Club members then painted their rock in a patriotic fashion or with a quote during the meeting or after school. Parents donated paint and brushes to her for the Key Club to use.

Ms. Roxie Smith, the sponsor for Key Club, got the idea off a facebook post and quickly went to work. The original idea was to hide the rocks around town, but she then changed the project to send the rocks to Alliance High alumni that are currently serving in the military.

The rocks will be sent to all branches of the military and will be mailed to areas in the US and some overseas; whether it’s to Korea, Afghanistan, or Iraq.

The mission of this project is to allow the students to directly send positivity to members of the military. These members, specifically members from our county, will have a piece of home with them.

Ms. Smith said “I am very proud of their efforts [from] those beautiful lunch days.” Many students got a head start on the project to paint their rocks with more detail than would be possible during the short lunch period, and took them home or worked on them after school.

The Key Club is overwhelmed with members this year, with over 70 students involved. Due to this staggering number, Smith was forced to change from just one lunch meeting to two meetings a month. The first Wednesday meeting is for Sophomore and Junior members, while the next Wednesday is for Freshman and Senior members. With the increase of members, there were many rocks that were created.

Key Club plans on having a great year of giving back to the community with their biannual blood drives later this winter and early next spring.

Ms. Smith has also planned to aid the youth in Alliance this winter with projects for children’s Christmas boxes. Early next spring, the Random Acts of Kindness Cookies and Pennies for Patients will be brought back to the hallways of AHS by popular demand.

With a big group of students this year, Ms. Smith and the Key Club expect an even bigger year of giving back than ever before.