Cape News

Anchor Club and Interact Club ‘mash-up’ this year at Cape Coral High School

Two clubs at Cape Coral High School have "mashed up" this year, giving students the ability to connect with their community and give back.

When another Cape Coral High School teacher, who was an Anchor Club member while she was in high school in Bradenton, wanted to start a club at Cape High, Lehigh Anne Page decided to join.

"She had health issues in 2017 and I was kind of left holding the bag," said Page, who is the Anchor Club and Interact Club Advisor. "I fell in love with it, kind of by default."

The Anchor Club is sponsored by the Naples Pilot Club and was chartered in 2017 as the only Anchor Club in Southwest Florida.

"When it first began we had eight members solid. We have steadily grown. It is an honor to be in the club," she explained, adding that it is "highly selective and these kids are very dedicated because it becomes their number one priority for clubs and activities after school."

The club’s mission is "Do More. Care More. Be More. Fewer Rules. More Service. Take Action. Build international global understanding and make new friends around the world."

Page said she enjoys being the sponsor of the club because she gets to watch the students receive the benefits of what they do.

"They are so energetic and inspiring and they get so enthusiastic with these events. I see the little light bulb … this is what it means to contribute to a community. That is the really cool part, the connection," she said.

One special component of the Anchor Club is through the Southern Scholarship Foundation. If a student is chosen for the scholarship, he or she receives free room and board while attending college. The closest house is Gresham Kite Pilot Scholarship House, located on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University.

"It gives them a leg up. They are given priority. Not every student in the housing was an Anchor (Club member). They want more and more Anchors to start applying. We will be taking a field trip to the one at FGCU, so they can see it for themselves. Every person in the house has chores, responsibilities and they rotate who cooks when," Page said.

The house is a great way, she said, to create a family within the house and everyone helps each other out.

Anchor Club members just recently concluded a Helmet Fitting In-service through Jodi Walborn and the Blue Zone Project, a collaboration in the state with healthcare insurance and wellness. Page said Walborn trained Anchor Club members, who are now certified by the state of Florida to officially fit and distribute helmets at such events as “Bikes for Tikes.”

"Statistics of head injuries in the state of Florida is astounding. The state will be sending us 10 free helmets per certification to give out. That is one focus of the Pilot Club, brain safety and that can range from bicycle helmets to Alzheimer's," Page said. "I was very pleased."

Page was recently approached by the Cape Coral Rotary Club and asked if she would sponsor the Interact Club as well, due to the sponsor of the club retiring last year. She said it was decided that both clubs could be "mashed up." Members of both clubs are currently working together on the "mash-up contest" to come up with a new name and logo for T-shirts.

The Interact Club has been active at CCHS since the school opened in 1979.

"It is important that members are proactive in the community for their own future; being an active member of community drives a sense of belonging and a commitment to improving the world around you," Page said. "The network of what Rotary and Pilot does is amazing. The students get to see the connectivity of what happens in the community and the purpose of what happens in the community. Events are fun, but there is always another layer that goes along with that."

Although any CCHS student may apply to become a member of the Anchor Club, or Interact Club, they must have three teacher recommendations, as well as be in good standing with grades and discipline.

The clubs meet on the third Thursday of every month to prepare for the following month. There are also leadership officer meetings on demand, pop-up socials once a month and other volunteer opportunities and community service events throughout the month.

The club has a very active October schedule, with the first taking place from Oct. 1 through Oct. 21 for the SOCKtober. The event collects new adult socks that are donated to the Lee Coalition of Homeless Society, Gulf Coast Village and Hearts & Homes for Veterans. This year the goal is 2,000 pairs of socks. Donations can be made at Cape Coral High School.

"We have been doing SOCKtober since 2017. It’s really become a really cool event," she said.

This year they are also participating in the Scarecrow Invasion, which is slated for Oct. 26. The event is sponsored by the city of Cape Coral and Lake Kennedy Center. The event will have the Anchor Club and Interact Club create a fun display with a scarecrow theme, which the public is invited to do a walk through and vote on their favorite.

"Last year we worked with the Kennedy Center as volunteers for their events," Page said, adding that they fell in love with the Anchor Club members and wanted them there more often.

Another event will take place on Oct. 31 for the Hayride4Hunger event, an international event with Anchor, which will take individuals through the Savona Neighborhood Association collecting socks, boxed and canned food for the Cape Coral Caring Center. The goal is 500 pounds of food. Those interested can make donations at CCHS.

"For most events we have anywhere from 95 to 100 percent participation," Page explained.

Due to the pandemic, the club has had to think outside of the box and reinvent what it is doing because things cannot be run-of-the-mill anymore. Due to this, she said students have become a little closer and are building relationships among each other while looking out for one another.

"The club itself has built its own sense of community," she said.