Students at Stephen Decatur continue to show how they can make an impact in the world.

The Key Club at Decatur held a raffle-based fundraiser over the last few weeks for a basket of treats and other gifts. Many different members of the club donated items for the basket to intrigue people into buying a raffle. All the funds generated by this campaign are going to UNICEF.

UNICEF is a division of the United Nations for helping children. They work in over 190 countries saving lives, defending rights, and providing access to education. For the last couple of years, UNICEF has mostly been working with nations that were and still are struggling to vaccinate their population against COVID-19. They also work on vaccinating kids against Polio, with their primary campaign taking place in Africa.

In late February, however, Russia invaded Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has and continues to displace millions of people, including children. Over 5 million Ukrainian citizens have fled the nation according to the United Nations creating a humanitarian crisis. UNICEF has been front and center trying to provide as much aid and human resources as possible to help the people affected by the war. 

Key Club has chosen UNICEF as an organization to support for years now because of their world efforts. This year Key Club raised $1,065 dollars for UNICEF according to Decatur junior Kora Ketner, the Key Club president. This is a large increase in the amount raised compared to the previous year. 

Key Club members hope this money will be used effectively in vaccinating children across the globe against many viruses and help the people suffering from the war in Ukraine.

The club will continue through the end of the school year with different campaigns for raising money in the community. This week Key Club will be holding the SDHS Kicks Cancer fundraiser. They will be raising money for four different local families with children fighting cancer. Bake stands will be set up at sports games all this week to raise money. Their goal is to raise $1000 through sales and donations.