Community Corner
Interacts Show Acts of Kindness, Rotary Kids Give Back
Interact aims to help teens become active members of their communities through volunteer work.
It is hard to miss Rachel Flores and her friends, Paula Xiong and Alexa Parker. They stand beside the finish line of “Breezin’ Through Beaumont” dressed in matching orange STAFF shirts, cheering the racers through.
Their job is to cut off the microchip bracelets that record the participant’s time and status, hand out water and work the snack table, offering juice and orange slices to those out of breath and tired.
Rachel Flores did not mind sharing her passion for giving back. “You get community service hours but we want to do it,” Flores said. Flores is part of the Beaumont Cherry Valley Interact club, a group that regularly gives up their Saturdays to help with local events.
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For those who have not heard of these hard working kids, Interact is a part of Rotary International that was founded in 1905.
Rotary International dedicates itself to volunteer work, fighting world hunger and poverty. The Beaumont Interact Website claims it does “many projects… they range from trash cleanup, recycling, event setup & takedown, and traffic control …”
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The Interact team at “Breezin’ Through Beaumont” was not just local teens. Chinese exchange students, and Interact members, Wanasa Zhou, Vicky Jin, Carol Chen and Hero Fu, came from the Fujian Province, China.
Fujian is located on the southeast coast of China facing Taiwan, which lies east across the Taiwan Strait.
Zhou said she enjoys studying here, being part of the community. “We are also on a Golf team,” Zhou said.
Interact leader, Bruce Murrill, pointed out Interact’s hard work. They arrived early and left after cleaning up. “They worked the turnstiles, finish line, food stands,” Murrill said.
The Interact members were scattered along the “Breezin’ Through Beaumont” track, handing out water. The kids escorted the last contestants, two women pushing strollers, to the finish line.
They stood for hours cheering people through, giving them a pat on the back or a shoulder to lean on as they gasped for breath.
At the end of the race Interact helped clean up the trash and put away equipment.
