The Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy has opened applications for Perkiomen Valley High School. Meetings will be held in Room 201 once a month, starting October 12th, under the guidance of Mrs. Klug and Mr. Lavanga.
The company-wide program, first developed ten years ago, is dedicated to providing community service opportunities for students, in order to hone their leadership skills. There are currently around 110,000 students involved in over 1,050 schools across America, and Chick-fil-A helps design or guide the projects.
“It’s going to encourage positive outreach into the community,” Mr. Lavanga said. “It’s meant to give high school students an opportunity to gain experience in leadership opportunities to plan and execute a community service event in the spring.”
Examples of community outreach include the Million Book Giveaway. Aiming to reach underserved children, the program seeks to donate books to libraries or elementary schools. The Giveaway will be one of the first community service projects that members of the club will be participating in this year.
Some students, however, expressed confusion due to the lack of context provided prior to the first meeting.
“I think it’s a positive for the school. I just don’t think they did a good job of letting us know what it is.” senior Malachi Engle said.
When asked for suggestions on improving outreach, Noelle Scheuerman, a senior, stated, “I think that it could be improved, because they advertised it through teachers and PVTV, but until recently, they did not provide enough information about the program.”
Despite the initial issues with advertising, however, the program aims to provide a positive effect on the community at large. “I’m looking forward for the opportunity to bring some positive, tangible product to the community at the end of the year, whether it’s a parade for first responders, food drives, or the possibility of an astronomy night.” Mr. Lavanga said.
Currently, fewer than ten students have signed up for the program. The maximum number of people allowed into the program will be thirty people. Students can sign up through a QR code in the Daily Announcements. The PVHS community may join the 2.5 million people who have benefitted from these projects.