Every time I’ve opened Instagram this year and scrolled through the stories, I’ve been flooded by posts to join various clubs I’ve never heard of before. These clubs claim to help kids with cancer or promote fundraisers to support the community. Originally, I was drawn to these clubs because the idea of CHS students being beacons of hope in our community was extraordinary to me. But after looking through their respective Instagram pages, my expectations were crushed. Many of these clubs claim to make a tangible difference in the world and yet seem like nothing more than ploys created to fill out the Common App. What’s worse is just how many students choose to help sick kids through manufactured ways.

For instance, I’ve seen plenty of clubs created with the intention to help alleviate the struggles sick kids in poverty face. Seems great, right? But in actuality most of these clubs are designed to be low-commitment, pity-based activities intended to impress college admissions officers. These clubs tend to meet once every blue moon and entice others to join with the promise of service hours. But these service hours are almost always dependent on how much you can spend to support the club. Service hours being given out for buying the most supplies rather than actual time spent serving the community is deliberately disingenuous, and makes it harder for people from disadvantaged economic backgrounds to earn volunteering hours. Not only are these clubs clearly intended to fill someone’s activities section for the Common App, but they undermine genuine attempts to help the community and children in need.

But there are some bright spots—a few clubs here worth checking out that actually fulfill the goal of helping disadvantaged kids are the CHS House of Representatives and Carmel Medlife. The CHS House of Representatives raises money for the Riley Children’s Hospital throughout the year by hosting various events. The most important event is the Carmel Dance Marathon, where students get money sponsorships to dance. This year, the club raised over $600,000 for the children’s hospital. Carmel Medlife is also an incredible club that raises money throughout the year to go to Peru in May and provide crucial medical care to disadvantaged families there.

It’s obvious our school boasts of many wonderful clubs to join, and when those clubs do good, the whole city benefits. But when high schoolers start clubs with poor intentions and don’t fully commit to making them impactful, they are little more than filler extracurriculars intended to impress an admissions officer. 

Instead of wasting time creating clubs that meet once a month and only exist to boost college applications, I suggest all students join clubs that reflect your interests or do something you genuinely care about. Not only will this let admissions officers see a more authentic passion of yours, but will also make meaningful contributions to the community.