West Catholic Prep Interacts with Community

Philadelphia, PA – A new Interact Club for high school age students has been established at West Catholic Prep. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Philadelphia, the West Catholic Prep Interact Club held its inaugural ceremony at the school on December 11, 2014. Philadelphia Rotary President Sandy Goldberg and Philadelphia Rotarian Dr. Randall Drain, the club’s liaison to the West Catholic Prep Interact Club, addressed the students and commended them for their spirit of service.

This new Interact Club supplements existing community service efforts. Community Service Corps and Lasallian Youth served the communities for years. To honor this merger and to embrace West’s proud tradition, students decided to name this new service organization Lasallians Interact.

In early winter, members of the Lasallians Interact participated in a fundraising effort to fight the ALS disease at Citizens Bank Park. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain. Moderators for the club, Ms. Davis, Mr. Spence, Mrs. McGill, Ms. Roper, and VP of the Interact Club Chris Daniels decided to assist in the fundraising efforts by participating in what is fondly remembered as the Polar Edition of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The West Catholic Interact Club has also served three breakfasts at Ronald McDonald House so far this year. The students bring, cook, and serve all of the food for families that are staying at Ronald McDonald House because they have sick children at Children’s Hospital. They served their last date in mid-April. In addition to serving at the Ronald McDonald House, students also serve meals at St. Francis Inn.

For Lent, the West community raised funds and rallied around its Twinning school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The school, St. John Baptist de La Salle School, serves K-11. West exceeded its $1000 goal through the Lenten Mission Collection, with a total just over $1200.