Streamers, balloons and posters fill every inch of the hallways. Club members have abundances of candy like it’s Halloween. Students parade the hallway, moving through the crowds to get a closer look at the clubs that have caught their eye. This scene is the ultimate indicator that the excitement of the Involvement Fair has begun. 

For one week in September, students showcase clubs in the hallway next to the cafeteria, in hopes of recruiting new members. The idea of the Involvement Fair is to give students the ability to create a club that they are passionate about and allow other people to sign up to participate in clubs they enjoy. The Involvement Fair is an annual event that showcases new and creative clubs for Staples students to become involved in. 

 A new club that hit the hallway this year is the “AWARE” club. “AWARE,” run by Jules Davis ’21 and Viola Giesman ’22, aims to bring awareness to a specific cause each year. This year they will be supporting the organization Cancer Couch, which is an organization that benefits breast cancer research. 

“The club would act as a way for Staples students [involved in the club] to get the attention of their peers to help this cause,” Davis said. 

The club would spend the year fundraising and volunteering at events in relation to Cancer Couch. One activity the club will be partaking in is making “goodie bags” for people who have recently had major cancer surgeries.

“The club wants to try to get as many Staples students involved as possible,” Giesman said. “The goal is to keep as many students helping and volunteering with the projects throughout the entire year.” 

Another new club featured at the Involvement Fair is the Love for Children of Ethiopia club, run by Feven Alemu-Renzulli ’21. The club was formed on Alemu-Renzulli’s personal connection to the cause. 

“While I was visiting my family in Ethiopia, I got in contact with a local church. There, we identified 25 kids who live in extreme poverty,” Alemu-Renzulli said. “The aim of this club is centered around help for those kids and involving as many Staples students as we can.” 

 This club will create a series of fundraising events to buy each of the underprivileged kids blankets, socks and pillows. The club then sends its proceeds to Ethiopia and, in return, club members will receive pictures of the kids with their new items. 

These two clubs are just two of many new clubs that have been showcased this year at the Involvement Fair.