Junior Max Holloway was part of the group of PHS students who volunteered at the Plymouth Fire Department on MLKJ Day for Key Club. Photo provided by: Jordan Kelly

By Isabelle Miller

For Plymouth High School’s Key Club, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day for giving back to the community.

On that day over 70 PHS students left the classroom to go and volunteer out in the community in honor of this great day. Students went to several locations including The Humane Society, the Plymouth Fire Department, Miller’s Merry Manor, and the local elementary and middle schools. I went to Menominee Elementary and helped out in Mrs. Miller’s, my mom, first grade class.

At first I was nervous, and I didn’t know if the kids would like me, but they all ended up being really sweet. We had a fire drill as soon as the students arrived because it was the warmest day in January. Afterwards it was kind of chaotic but eventually settled down and got to work. I helped my mom by giving make up tests and making copies. The students were all really sweet and some even gave me hugs as they went out to recess and lunch. During our lunch break we went to Martins’ and ate deli soup and Starbucks before heading back to the school to do some work while we had lunch.

Senior Taylor Scott and sophomore Karley Gruett volunteered in a Menominee Elementary School classroom on Martin Luther King Junior Day. Photo provided by: Jordan Kelly

When the students came back from lunch, they were very hyper and eager to get on with the rest of the school day. Since it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we watched a BrainPop video on why MLK Day is important, which the kids really enjoyed. For the last half hour the students wrote in their kid blogs and got ready to go home. A few of the girls hugged me goodbye before lining up to go on the buses or to get picked up. I was sad to see all of them go home because I really enjoyed my day helping out in my mom’s classroom.

Volunteering is a really great and rewarding opportunity to help others.