Service to the community and to “members of the family” in a variety of ways is a tradition at Monroe High School, especially with its student council.

            A full-time class for which the students must apply and be chosen, the student council not only works on various activities year-round as a team but the 30 students in Mrs. Anne Knabusch’s class also are graded on whether or not they spend the required number of hours as an individual in community service projects throughout the Monroe community during the school year, too.

            The group does the fun and funny – like plan and carry out Homecoming and Winterfest (important rites of passage for high schoolers,) and they even don cartoon characters’ costumes to walk in the local Christmas parade or help with the school district’s Monroe County Fair booth which attracts well over 15,000 children each year.  It also does the serious side of service such as serving food to the homeless at a local traveling soup kitchen or spearheading a winter coat drive.  While doing all of that, they are using the event planning principles they have learned in class to plan a blood drive and pull together the Christmas items for the group’s Adopted Family at Christmas. 

            Whew.  That might be tiring for many.

            But the group always has time and a burst of energy to take care of “one of the family” when it needs to.  Especially in a pinch.

            At the start of the school year, the student council learned that a legally-blind freshman at Monroe High School wanted to purchase a special $15,000 set of eyeglasses.  She had tried them at a clinic and for the first time, had gotten to see her mother’s face. 

            Knowing it just had to help, the student council sought permission from the athletic department and did collections at a school soccer match and the high school home football game a few nights later.  The collection?  More than $1,700 in coins and dollar bills.  But the collection was topped off when one of the council members appealed to the Monroe Exchange Club which donated another $500 to the cause.  Just before Thanksgiving, with the help of the student council, the student crossed the $15,000 threshold so she will be able to obtain her glasses and experience the joy of sight.