Interweaving global awareness into local action, Valley Regional High School (VRHS) students in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program and the Interact Club have come up with ways to help inspire positive change in the world and help those less fortunate.

“These kids are amazing and they are so passionate about helping others,” said Mary Hambor, advisor to the Interact Club.

Currently there are 40 members of the service-oriented Interact Club working to raise funds for those affected by the recent Australian wildfires. The Interact Club, which works closely with local Rotary Clubs in Chester, Deep River, and Essex, has teamed up with a Rotary Club in Australia, which will distribute the funds raised to those in need.

“I think this is a very good fundraiser because it is helping so many people and animals who were affected by these fires,” said Interact Club President Erin Breitenbach, a senior at VRHS who has been a member of the club throughout her high school career. “We do so much locally to help out our own communities that I think this a really good way to expand that help to others outside our community that also need help.”

“We work hard to expose our students to different environments and encourage them to spread their horizons and look beyond just their own communities to help out wherever we can,” said Hambor.

Other programs in which the Interact Club participates include helping to build homes in New Haven for Habitat for Humanity, volunteering at the local soup kitchens, participating in programs that help to create water filtration systems in third world countries, and aiding the Sister Cities of Haiti program in Essex.

“The kids are very passionate about this Australian fundraiser I think because they not only want to help the people there, but also they are very passionate about helping all the animals that have been devastated by these horrible fires,” said Hambor.

With a goal of raising $1,000, the club has created a Venmo account for people to donate to @interactclub. At press time, more than $300 had been raised.

Switching gears to a different kind of fundraiser, the students in the IB Program at VRHS are also working to help the less fortunate in other countries. They are selling three pair packs of funky socks to raise enough money to supply an amputee in another country with a prosthetic device.

“If we successfully sell 108 packs of three pairs of socks, we will have raised enough funds for one prosthetic device,” said IB teacher Kim White.

In addition to helping out globally, for every pack of socks sold, VRHS gets a pair of warm socks to be donated locally.

“One of the creeds of IB is to be locally and globally mindful,” said White.

For information on the fundraisers, call VRHS at 860-526-5328.