Key Club’s first meeting will take place on Sept. 2 in the freshman cafeteria, where club members will receive their code of conduct and dues forms and begin planning the community service activities for the year.

According to club co-sponsor Katie Gray, Key Club meets in the freshman cafeteria every other Thursday, and students can attend either the morning session at 7:15 a.m. or the afternoon session at 3:15 p.m. If they cannot come to the meetings, however, they can find out what they missed by visiting Gray’s room in H206 or co-sponsor Jill Grimes’ room in E229 sometime during the school day.

Morgan Perry, club president and senior, said the dues would be around $15 to $20, and students should turn them in along with their signed code of conduct by the end of September. The dues will go towards funding this year’s projects, to be outlined and discussed at the meeting. According to her, some ideas include throwing a Halloween party for senior citizens, helping out at a walk-a-thon to raise funds for combating polycystic kidney disease, and planting a flower garden at a shelter for abused children.

Attending these club-sponsored events will earn group hours for Key Club members, which go toward their required 50 hours for the end of the year, according to Perry. But to make that goal easier for members, she said, individual volunteering hours can comprise up to 20 of those hours. To record individual hours, club members must have the activity’s superviser sign a volunteering form, she said, which is available on the Key Club website or at the club office in E232.

According to Gray, 400 students joined Key Club last year, and this year they are expecting 500 to 600 club members. While this means that more people will be helping the community and those in need, she said, it also means that club officers have to put in more effort and organization than ever before.

“It would be a burden on everybody involved, especially the officers, if lots of people join and then don’t participate or try to complete the service hours,” Gray said. By Thalib Razi <[email protected]>