Building a Better Future with Builders Club at HHMS
Members of HH MS Builders Club give back to their school and community in large and small ways like spending time making a kindness chain while discussing different ways to perform random acts of kindness. In April, the club will celebrate Earth Day by cleaning up recreational areas in the community. They will also host a special recognition for staff during National Educators Week in May. Club members pictured (from left) include Megan Waldron, Aydan Cox, Naomi Kuhn, and Leah Waldron.
This is Builders Week, the annual week-long recognition, awareness, and celebration of the middle/junior high school arm of Kiwanis International that takes place the third full week of March. The faculty advisors who lead Builders Clubs and their student members work together to help build brighter, better futures for people in their communities and beyond one project at a time.
Builders Club is a “student-led” community service organization that operates under school regulations and draws its members from the student body. The club provides opportunities to develop leadership, improve self-esteem, increase civic engagement, and learn life skills through service. This club empowers members to be themselves, collaborate with classmates and implement plans through action. Through Builders Club, students become leaders at school, in their community, and in the world.
The Hamilton Heights Builders Club has a rich and proud history of service in northern Hamilton County dating back to 1994. This year is the school’s seventh year as an officially chartered club.
Nicole Ridens and Chelsea Pacheco, serve as the school’s Service Leadership Program advisors. Ridens, the assistant principal, has worked at the middle school since 2019 and has been the club sponsor for the past three. For Pacheco, this is her second year as a middle school counselor and first year as a faculty advisor for the club.
“Builders Club is a terrific way to create a sense of community, engage students, and help them see through their good works how much of a difference they can make,” said Nicole Ridens. “It’s also an opportunity for students to meet new friends while contributing their time and talents to help others.”
“Our club members work to make a difference in small and large ways within their school and in the community,” Ridens added. “We’re always looking for ways we can engage more students in this worthwhile club to learn the lifelong value of service leadership and contribute where and when we can, individually or as a group.”
The Cicero Kiwanis Club sponsors the Builders Club, K-Kids, and Key Club at Hamilton Heights. To learn more about Kiwanis Builders Clubs go to: www.buildersclub.org. Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school and junior high school students. There are more than 1,500 Builders Clubs in middle schools around the world. No two are alike. Each club is an independent entity—designed for its members, by its members. They work together to improve their schools and their communities. The first Builders Club in the country was chartered in 1975. Today, there are more than 1,500 clubs in 19 countries.