Hawthorne High School’s Peer Leaders organization attended the Rotary International Interact Club Conference at Cornerstone Church in Wyckoff on October 24, 2013. The Peer Leaders advisors, Kelly Clifford and Matthew Corvo, brought 12 students from the organization to attend this conference.

At the conference, students were able to walk around a corridor in the church and learn about different community service opportunities from various organizations including CUMAC which is an organization that helps feed the less fortunate in inner cities such as neighboring town, Paterson. Another organization is the International Humanitarian Aid Foundation Inc., which is a foundation that plans and builds homes and schools for disadvantaged children in third world countries. The students were also given the opportunity to talk to other high school students from the area about community service projects.

Clifford felt the conference benefitted the students, saying, “I think that the students did benefit when they were attending the different stations set up.  The conference allowed them to see the different types of service they can do within their school and possibly even volunteer at an organization that needs their help.”

Sophomore, Ronny Pena, said, “I really like the trip especially being able to meet other students from different towns that have similar interest in community service as me.”