From the Somerville Rotary Club - our Interact Club at Elim Christian College started the year in full throttle.  The new team of directors is raring to go.  They have organized a Daffodil Day fundraiser and have other exciting plans.  Here’s an article written by Eliza Chin and Bethany Britten about the Interact changeover that is worth a read.
 
Cast your mind back to your high school years.  Do you recall ever having a special school assembly featuring the changeover of your Interact club board, complete with flowers, banner and a YouTube mp4 of the national anthem?  Oh, and was it all organised by a small team of dedicated, servant-hearted students?  Because Elim Christian College did all that one Monday morning on 24 June 2019.
 
 
The 2019-2020 Interact Club Board with their teacher in charge, Mr Darron Gedge.
 
The school with arguably the best Interact club in all of Auckland, Elim Christian College, welcomed members of the Somerville Rotary Club, Philly Karani, Farida Master and Bini Homavazir to their Botany campus.  The morning was a celebration of the past year’s fundraising efforts for local and overseas charitable organisations as well as an introduction to the new board and their plans for changing the world.
 
As one of the Rotary members said, “After this assembly, I want to join Interact now!”
 
The Interact club has supported the Cancer Society, Child Rescue and Beyond Water this past year, raising over $2000 for these local and overseas organisations.  During Daffodil Week the club went around the school selling daffodil lapels.  Students could also exchange donations for tokens which were used to vote for the teacher they most wanted to throw wet sponges at.  Thanks for being a good sport Mr Kumar.  The club also hosted a Murder Mystery Night in April.  Students received character cards with information on their personalities’ secrets, quirks and objectives then dressed up and tried to figure out who the killer was.  Spoiler alert: it was the captain’s wife.  Gasp.  I know, right?
 
Cultural Week involved a cultural mufti day (with a prize for the best-dressed), international food stalls, henna, cultural jump-jam, cultural sports, calligraphy, sushi-making and origami.  Athletics day involved a bake-sale.
 
Random Acts of Kindness Day involved a lolly scramble, dance party, spreading words of encouragement, free hugs and free hot chocolate.  The rest of the fundraising involved sausage sizzles.
 
The previous board recently collected donations for the Auckland City Mission; think non-perishable food items and toiletries and warm clothing.  The new board will be supporting the Cancer Society, Heart Kids, KidsCan, Women’s Refuge, Tearfund and Doctors Without Borders this coming year.