Key Club is a volunteer club at DHS and they are launching some new rules to start off the new school year. The new board members were elected in spring, and have changed some standards with the hope to improve Key Club and its reputation. Some students may disregard Key Club as an ordinary volunteer club that does not involve much participation at the meetings. Also, the board has faced a problem that students simply put on their resume that they were involved in ‘Key Club’ but has made no contribution whatsoever. To fix that, the board has made  rules to prevent lack of participation.

“It’s a good thing that we are changing to something where the kids have a chance to see a reward for their volunteering,” adviser Jeff Richards said. “We give a letter of recommendation, a certificate and an actual membership with the state level key club. I also think that the requirements are now finding the kids that truly want to give back to society and volunteer. This allows them the opportunity to do that.”

Students are required to volunteer a minimum of 12 hours, with six different projects or events. They are also required to attend half of the meetings of the school year. However, the board also is trying to become more flexible for those who play sports and their schedules. Key Club has predicted that some students may complain that the rules are beginning to be more harsh. Richards and the board have said that there is a reason that there are rules, and they believe that it will make Key Club a much better club this year. The board believes students should care more about their volunteer hours because these days, it gets more and more important for students to put on their resume. They also think volunteering can give students leadership qualities and Key Club wants to promote that this year.

“We’re taking Key Club more seriously now, just because our group is getting bigger,” sophomore Minhyo Kang said. “We want Key Club to be an open environment where kids can meet friends, and meet new people and do a bunch of volunteer opportunties.”