By LaTika Lee
special correspondent

Packaging tens of thousands of meals isn’t the most glamorous volunteer job, but it is one of the most rewarding for student volunteers of the Interact Club at Midlothian High School.  Last spring, the students packaged 12,000 meals for needy families around the world. This year, the packages are headed to Haiti.

On Saturday, more than 200 volunteers assembled, sorted and packaged 40,000 vegetarian meals consisting of rice, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin supplements at a packing event from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Midlothian Y.M.C.A. Supplied by Stop Hunger Now, a non-governmental relief organization that provides direct food and emergency relief to developing countries across the world, the packaged bags provide individuals with six meals, when boiling water is added.

“The food package will be emergency relief for children in third world countries,” explained Midlothian High School Interact Club co-sponsor, Kathy Schenk. “It encourages them to attend school and get a balanced meal.”

A history and government teacher, Schenk, along with math teacher Scott Cheatham, guides students who are interested in community service to join the Interact Club and volunteer for projects that make a difference locally and abroad. The Midlothian Rotary Club sponsors the extracurricular organization at Midlothian, Monacan and James River High Schools. Its purpose is to introduce the idea of service to high school students. Businessman Rainer Schlichtherle serves as the liaison.

“The project is an opportunity for the students to appreciate what’s in their pantry (at home) and what they have on their dinner table,” said Schenk. “They learn that what they eat is not the norm for so many other people in the world. These six meals is all the food those children will have.”

Seven Chesterfield County Public High Schools - Community, Cosby, James River, Manchester, Matoaca, Midlothian, and Monacan, as well as, six middle schools – Elizabeth Davis, Carver, Manchester, Midlothian, Swift Creek, and Tomahawk participated in the project. Volunteers from other private schools as well as employees from Best Buy (Chesterfield Town Center) and members of Trinity Episcopal Church were also involved.

“I’m proud of the amount of participation for this county-wide project. There’re students, faculty, staff and others from the community at-large involved. Forty percent of the volunteers are from Midlothian (High School) and a middle school raised a few hundred dollars to contribute in a few days,” Schenk said. “I’m so amazed that students would give up their weekend to come and help out on a Saturday, especially when it’s not required.”

Together, the Midlothian Rotary Club and the Chester Rotary Club donated approximately $10,000 and the Interact Clubs raised nearly $2,000 to cover the cost of the packaging event, which pays for the packaging and shipping of the high-protein meals.

“We are very involved in the community,” said Karen Keegan, president, Midlothian Rotary Club. “Our club’s motto is ‘service above self’. We thought the meal packages would be a good project to assist in the aid of the devastation in Haiti.”

In 2009, Interact Club members were also engaged in other projects to support their community including organizing a blood drive, and coordinating a Bachelor Auction where proceeds benefitted students at Bensley Elementary.