Keying in for the troops

POLSON — Considering the immeasurable impact our troops overseas have on our everyday lives and the legacy of our country, it’s nice to be able to give back and provide for them when the opportunity presents itself. That’s exactly what the Polson Key Club, and both the middle and high schools, have done in recent months with the Magazines for Troops program.

Each class between the middle and high schools held a competition to raise the most magazines, with the winner earning an ice cream party. The sixth-grade class took it home with over 100 magazines, but the effort was just beginning.

In recent weeks, while continuing to collect magazines, the high school Key Club has been heading to Walmart and Super 1 to raise money for postage in the hopes of sending the magazines overseas to troops. In their first two weekends, students raised $226.

On Sunday, May 6, freshmen Shannon McGinnis and Morgan Moll camped out at the Super 1 exit, urging folks to help the cause.

McGinnis and Moll are two of about 20 students in the Polson Key Club who have helped with projects ranging from highway cleanup to the recycling effort. The club aims to also help get the footsteps leading to Linderman Elementary repainted.

“We help with general community things, as well as school fundraisers,” McGinnis said.

Key Club students are required to do at least 50 hours of community service per school year, a number most students hit with ease, even though making that kind of commitment is easier said than done. McGinnis said she had lost count, while Moll estimated that he was in the neighborhood of 40 with plenty of time left to reach the goal.

“I think getting 50 hours can be hard at times because high school students are so involved with so many different things,” Key Club president James Larson said. “A big difficulty is keeping track of your hours that you have completed. Their goal is to get hours, but I encourage them to go above and beyond.”

McGinnis and Moll spent six hours of their Sunday working toward the goal, while trying to help a great cause.

“It’s a little slow today, but people are pretty generous,” McGinnis said.

Larson said that the school is accepting not just magazines dated within the past three months, but also DVDs and books in good condition, which can be dropped off at Ms. Dickson’s room at the high school. The Key Club will be out and about in May, working hard to improve the schools and community of Polson.

And they’ll be working hard to provide for those who provide for us every day.