Peer Outreach is a club where students create positive environments for young people to choose to be their healthiest selves. Peer Outreach focuses on the bigger picture by doing bigger projects. In the past couple of months they have held a Maintenance Appreciation week and they also hosted Red Ribbon Week. Currently, Peer Outreach is deciding how to approach budgeting for the Semi-Formal and its execution. They are working diligently and getting everyone’s ideas in. Peer Outreach was mostly seniors last year, but now they have a diverse group of individuals from all four classes. Peer Outreach now 13 members and 2 advisors.

Peer Outreach focuses on creating better environments in the school community and in the daily lives of students. They work with preventing drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues, and respecting others. Curt McDermott, an advisor for Peer Outreach and Be the Change says, “being in both groups helps me understand people better, especially the younger generations with their experiences. It helps me to respect them and their opinions and spread positivity in the school.”

Be the Change is a club organized to make our community a welcoming space. They try to work on making GHS a happy environment for everyone. Taylor Bean the co-president tries to send nice messages to people she does not often talk to in order to add a little bit of positivity to their day. She says it’s and easy way to “Be The Change.” Something the club tries to focus on is mental health and disorders like depression and anxiety. They talk about things that are not talked about much in society. They have real conversations. Many students join the club after doing challenge day; an event hosted by Be The Change. Challenge Day is a day that brings people together and breaks boundaries. It shows people they are not alone, and that there are people around them that will help them. Other events Be The Change hosts are the Color Run and Zombie Run.

Taylor Bean has been a member for three years and became co-president this year. The club currently has 10 members spanning all four classes.  The leaders of both Peer Outreach and Be The Change would like to create a small committee to work together.

Peer Outreach and Be The Change are similar clubs with a similar focus, but they are different. Like many clubs in this school, they are working toward a common goal of making GHS a better and nicer place for students and the community. Taylor Bean said “the two are similar clubs. I believe a lot of the clubs in the school are similar. We are all trying to work on the same goal just different parts and with different ways of approaching them.”  Peer Outreach is working on making a better and safer environment, while Be The Change is working toward making a change in people and teaching and showing them to be nicer and more accepting. Both create a positive impact on the GHS community.