From students volunteering through clubs to Stuff the Bus, Camas High School participates in many activities that help out people in the community. Though, other than the big activities, such as Stuff the Bus, not many others get as much recognition or as many students participating in them. Mrs. Lisa Schneider, a tutor in the learning center, comments, “Maybe it’s not the cause itself, but it’s getting student involvement. So, you could pick any cause, but if you can get a lot of different types of students involved it’ll help them want to do better and be better in our culture here at Camas, but then also beyond High School.”

Recently this year, CHS decided to start donating unclaimed items from the lost and found to the Family Community Resource Center every month. This center is located at JWR in Camas and has the major goal of helping all children succeed. They help out with things such as homework help, supplying food, clothing, school supplies, and more. Schneider says, “I was sitting here looking across the hall and just always saw this big pile of stuff that would sit there for one, two, three, seven months at a time. And then at the end of every year, we would box it all up and donate it. But, I thought there has to be a better way to get the students to want to pick it up sooner.”

In years past, the items in the lost and found have built up until the end of the year, when they were boxed up and donated to an unknown place. By donating items to the Family Community Resource Center, the school actually knows where the unclaimed items are ending up. They also know that the items are going to a good place that will give them to people who really need them. Ria Patel, a sophomore at CHS, says, “Regarding clothing, if people aren’t claiming what’s theirs, then the homeless or people who can’t afford it have the ability to take things…and to have them for winter.”

Stuff the Bus is the main activity that students get involved in. This is mainly because it is an easy way to help out by either bringing in money or food. Though, there are still many other community helping activities that CHS participates in. These include activities such as DECA’s baby drive going on now, DECA service hours, and many others. Schneider comments, ”Any student involvement outside of your normal classes is huge. Whether you are tutoring, like here in the learning center, or if you’re doing volunteer work outside of the school, if you’re in DECA or Honor Society.” Since CHS is such a large school, with so many students, if all of the students get involved in at least one of these activities, then a big difference can be made. Amanda Hutchins, a freshman at Camas High School, comments, “If no students get involved, what is the point of even doing it?”