Stepping onto Wagner Farm to give a helping hand, senior Maddie Uhlemann, Key Club board member on the club’s Community committee, saw all of the tomato themed decorations and games being set up for a day of fun. The club assisted Wagner Farm annual Tomato Fest on Sept. 9 in an effort to help the Glenview Park Center and the farm staff, Uhlemann said.
Along with Key Club, many other service clubs, such as Interact, have helped Wagner Farm run events in which attendance is crucial of volunteers, Kendra Strubhart, Wagner Farm Manager, said.
Key Club, a service club that volunteers for community and charity events, staffed interactive stations that included wagon rides, photobooths, and face painting, Uhlemann said. Grateful for the help, Strubhart said that volunteers are critical to making events run smoothly, and that their help with simple tasks like picking up trash around the farm, is critical.
Joining the Wagner Farm team in 2021, Strubhart has a background in education and museums, with a B.A. in History and Studio Art from Kenyan College, as well as a Certificate in Museum Studies from Northwestern Univeristy, and is hoping to start more programs at the farm that are entertaining and that teach about the environment, and the food growing process, Strubhart said. These events are only possible with the help of eager volunteers, Strubhart said.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever had a [South] student say: I don’t want to do that,” Strubhart said. “They’ve always come with really great attitudes of, ‘Where do you need me?’ and, ‘How can I help out?’”
Key Club’s Community Committee reaches out to organizations like Wagner Farm and arranges for volunteers who make the community better, Uhlemann said. That is why Key Club refrains from fundraising and instead puts their effort into physical outreach, Uhlemann said.
“We live in a really nice community and it gives us so many opportunities,” Uhlemann said. “There are so many adults and professionals who help us in so many ways, and it’s important that we notice them and try to help them the way they help us.”
Other clubs from South that volunteer at Wagner Farm include Interact, a service club for upperclassmen, senior Ally Byambasuren, Co-President said. At the Wagner Farm Clean-Up, students cleaned up trash from the farm property, Byambasuren said.
Wagner Farm is an exceptional place for service work because it allows club members to explore a new environment, and work to make the community better together, Byambasuren explained.
“Doing events in places like this is a way for people to learn new skills as well as helping the community and making new friendships.” Byambasuren said.
