JustServe club leaders have an invitation for their peers of all faiths or no faith: Join us in doing good.
Eight leaders of high school JustServe clubs in Utah shared their service experiences with members of the JustServe National Advisory Council who were gathered at The Gateway in Salt Lake City on the evening of Wednesday, November 6, 2024.
JustServe is an online community service platform sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. JustServe clubs offer students a way to develop more depth during their high school days as they help others in need, connect with fellow students and feel the joy of belonging.
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“JustServe is a great club and program to [help us] really go and help our communities out to grow and [help us] become a more community-connected school,” said Colton Reid, who is vice president of the West Jordan High School JustServe club. “Instead of [having school] be a time where kids come and learn and go home and then wake up and it’s just a repeating cycle, [JustServe helps make it] a place where we can come to school and go to a service project afterward.”
JustServe has 293 clubs in the U.S. and 29 in Utah.
The JustServe club at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, has 113 members. They launched their club by writing birthday cards for veterans. Their current project is raising money for Utah foster care.
“I think this is so cool that we have an organized way to just do service,” said Corner Canyon High student Jaxon Luttrell. “And anyone can come. It does not matter your background or who you are, what you like. It’s just a way for people to make friends and connect.”
Tate Keddington leads the JustServe club at Woods Cross High School. When he joined the club last year, the taste of serving others proved to be intoxicating.
“That’s when I realized, ‘Whoa, service is awesome.’ It’s so fun to be able to make a difference in your community and see the impact and just feel the joy that you’re bringing to others. I loved it,” Keddington said. “And so I did my best to help out and plan a couple activities and help [last year’s club president]. I got the opportunity to be the president this year, which I was super excited about.”
This year the club’s 150 students have focused on raising money for and donating supplies to the school’s teen center.
“There’s a really big pay disparity between the incomes of kids,” Keddington said. “Some families are making a lot of money, and then we have some homeless kids at our school.”
The club came together to assemble 100 snack packs — bags full of fruit snacks, water, trail mix, beef jerky and other goodies — for fellow students in need.
Brooklyn Bradley, the Woods Cross club’s vice president, said she’s noticed how small acts of kindness go a long way.
“It’s been amazing for me to see how just taking like 10 to 15 minutes out of my day can help change these people’s lives and help them forever,” she said. “This JustServe club has had a huge impact. I love doing service with all my friends.”
The JustServe club at Mountain Ridge High School in Herriman, Utah, made blankets for children in hospitals. The club, which has 186 members, also organized a trash cleanup at their school.
“It was really cool because there were so many people there that came to help serve,” said Kennedy Haymond, who helps lead the club.
“I think service is awesome, and lots of kids really do want to get into it,” added fellow club leader Rachel Merrill. “JustServe is a good way for them to meet new friends and connect while doing something good.”
Part of Wednesday night’s gathering was to watch together the documentary “Lift: Connecting Humanity.” The film features several members of the JustServe Advisory Council, which is comprised of leaders in a wide variety of charitable organizations and other enterprises with a focus on volunteer service.
As the group gathered to watch the show, Elder Brian K. Taylor of the Seventy shared an important thought about doing good.
“There’s a scripture that keeps coming to my mind — and we all know the scripture,” Elder Taylor said. “It says that Jesus went about doing good. And that’s what JustServe is all about.”
Visit JustServe.org to learn more.