The recent Missouri State Beta Club Convention in Branson, Missouri that took place last weekend must have created a spark throughout the Beta Club members from the Bootheel area. Many of the Beta Clubs have been participating in service projects and are already planning fundraisers and activities to take place in the near future.
Beta Club is a nation wide organization that offers opportunities to both junior high and high school students that excel in academic excellence. The requirements for Beta Club are a 3.5 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and numerous service hours and/or projects that are completed yearly. The Beta Club motto is “Lead by serving others” which is why all clubs create service projects.
Beta Club members and sponsors try to focus on creating a better environment for the citizens in the community. The Poplar Bluff High School Beta Club spent their Wednesday afternoon on the highway and decided to help clean it up and keep it clean for their service project this year. The members picked up trash along a 3.6 mile stretch all the way down U.S. 60 South. The group completed their attire with bright orange vests and signs for their protection and safety. The club helped out the Missouri Department of Transportation and became a part of the Adopt-A-Highway Program, where they will continue to keep their part of the highway litter-free.
The Richland High School Beta Club is also preparing to take a trip to Mobile, Alabama to compete at the Beta Club National Convention in the middle of June. The members are currently working on fundraisers and are planning a car wash. With the spring weather coming around the corner, they will also be starting a service project of their own. In the previous years, the club participated in a City Clean Up Day, where they were taken into Essex and helped elderly or disabled citizens clean up their yards. They have also held a 5K run and donated all of the proceeds to a local family in need. Throughout the winter months, they have had canned food drives, frozen food drives, and Adopt-A-Family project where they supported a local family and bought them a Christmas tree, presents, and food for the holidays.
More spring service projects will be taking place throughout the next few weeks and months while the weather warms up and more opportunities arise for the club members to participate within their community.
