Each year, Key Club hosts a Senior Luncheon where senior citizens from the community come to the WJ cafeteria on a crisp November afternoon, with high hopes of having a wonderful time eating, dancing and most of all chatting with Key Club volunteers. With this annual event approaching fast on Nov. 20, Key Club has a lot of work and planning ahead of them. The challenge? To get ready for the luncheon, prepare the schedule, committees, decorations and much more. The goal? To provide a great experience and an enjoyable atmosphere to the senior citizens.

“[The luncheon] is always really fun,” said junior and Key Club Treasurer Jennifer Ye. “We do it to give the seniors a good time.”

Many students join Key Club in order to feel the rewards of giving back , as well as being a contributor and leader in the WJ community and beyond.

“I joined Key Club because I wanted to be a part of something that gave back to others, which Key Club does,” Ye said.

Key Club is a large club that meets once or twice a week, but all of its devoted members share a common motive: to help out in the community in different ways, including donating, volunteering for student service learning hours and expanding on necessary lifetime leadership skills.

“Key Club is [a] fun way to help out the community, and with your friends helping out too,” said junior and Key Club Secretary Surya Radhakrishnan.

This upcoming luncheon is no exception–Key Club and its members are working hard, seeing the hefty lunch simply as another challenge to overcome. With the event fast approaching, the club has already begun some of its pre-Luncheon prep.

“It’s really exciting because about 150 senior citizens are coming,” said Radhakrishnan. “We’ve started getting everything ready.”

By remaining organized and focused, the Key Club is making sufficient progress in its goal.

“We are putting a lot of thought and effort into it, we are making decorations as well as programs and a new banner, and we have a small gift for the seniors to leave with,” Ye said.

What is the motivation behind all this complex and tedious preparation? Club members believe that it all pays off in the end, when they e sit down and see the cafeteria strung up in decoration and festive colors, and can admire their weeks of dedication. It all pays off when they see women and men bustling into the warm and inviting space, smiling and reminiscing as they are seated at tables and dancing to holiday music, provided by WJ’s Band and Orchestra.

Most of all, the Key Club members said that they enjoy participating in this yearly gathering and being a part of what makes this event such a success.

“The Senior Luncheon has become such an important event because everyone love being a part of it,” Ye said. “It’s a good time to help out and do something different.”