HHS (Highlands High School) announced that the Kindness Club, formally known as the Compassion Club, would be coming “back to Highlands.” The group’s girls set up posters around the school announcing its return.

The club started at the middle school. The girls were in the club listening to the news, and it happened to be on a channel where they heard of the school shooting that occurred in Santa Fe High School in 2018. The shooting cost ten people their lives, and 13 were brutally injured. Looking to help the survivors of the shooting, many students asked to join the club. This resulted in a boost of popularity for the club.

When seniors Chanuthmi Abeysinghe and Rochelle Cholakov left the middle school, they noticed no Kindness Club in the high school. The girls, hoping to make Highlands a better school, talked to English teacher Kathleen Stewart about starting the club; she accepted and ran it for two years. 

Unfortunately, Stewart declined the offer this year, but the girls didn’t give up. Instead, they asked Science Teacher Del Ehemann to continue the Kindness Club. She graciously accepted, and with her help, the Kindness Club was once more in action.

This year at Highlands, the club students need help finding new members. They hope to see new members in late November, start their announcements on the club’s information page, and begin fundraisers for charities.

In the past, the Kindness Club’s most significant fundraiser projects were gathering books for Nigeria, organizing activities to help donate to an orphanage, and planning sporting events. 

The Kindness Club hopes to bring a friendly environment to the school by showing everyone the importance of compassion and support. As senior Rochelle Cholakov said, “Be kind to someone because you don’t know what they are going through.”