On May 7, 1925, in Sacramento, California, the first ever Key Club meeting was held. It quickly became a popular student-led organization that connects high schoolers to volunteer programs and non-profits around their community. Disappointed with the lack of easy accessibility to those things, senior Iza Piatkowski started her mission of bringing Key Club to Woodgrove, and on February 5, 2025, the Woodgrove High School Key Club chapter was established.
Piatkowski, the founder and president of Woodgrove’s chapter, shared,“When I got to high school, I really wanted to find volunteer opportunities, but I just didn’t know where to start. I ended up applying for a program that gave me volunteer opportunities, but I wanted everyone at Woodgrove to have volunteer opportunities without having to apply to a program.”
She discovered Key Club through a friend at Stone Bridge High School who helped her communicate with the organizers of Key Club in the Northern Virginia area, located in Leesburg. Piatkowski then had to register an official charter with Key Club international, find a teacher to sponsor the club, and begin finding dedicated members to fill leadership positions.
Every other Wednesday, Key Club meets in room L514 at 8:45 in the morning. Junior Mai Sylvester discovered the club through an Instagram post and has been showing up to the meetings ever since. “I’ve really enjoyed the people I have met and the activities we have done so far,” Sylvester exclaimed. So far, the members have signed up for local volunteer activities, created cards for first responders, and began to log their service hours.
Piatkowski, who spends a lot of her time supporting her community, said, “Before I started doing service, I didn’t have any leadership experience, but being able to volunteer and help people made me confident as a leader and encouraged me to apply for leadership [elsewhere]. If I didn’t start volunteering, I don’t think I would be who I am today. It has fundamentally made me, I think, a better human being,” Piatkowski expressed. “If people want to improve themselves, I think that volunteering is a great way to do that. Key Club provides those opportunities for all students in the school, and there’s no application or academic requirements. Anyone who wants to volunteer can come to a meeting, learn about opportunities, and do service projects with us.”
Sylvester agreed, saying, “I recommend people join Key Club for new service and volunteer opportunities, new relationships and friendships, and to make positive impacts around the community!”
Even though Piatkowski is graduating this year, she did not feel like it was too late to share her passions with others. “I hope that they just keep finding new opportunities, leading service projects, allowing people at the school to benefit from Key Club. I would love it if I could just go on Instagram one day and see a huge group. Providing as many opportunities as possible to as many people as we can is the ultimate goal,” she expressed.