Central’s Interact Club annually holds an event called International Night, which is open to the community, so they can experience the different cultures of Champaign-Urbana. This year, International Night has fallen on April 10th. Interact Club is a volunteer group that is currently sponsored by three English teachers: Mrs. Castillo, Mrs. Whitely, and Mrs. Decker, with the goal of getting the members more involved in the local community in Champaign, Illinois. Interact Club mostly does events such as their 5k or trivia night, but most of the work has fallen on the officers due to them only officially getting teacher sponsors recently.
One of the main things Interact does is host fun events for the community, with all the proceeds of the event going to a local charity of the club’s choosing. “We want people to fall in love with community service and helping others with our events and trying to get people involved with the community,” said Pooja Jagarlamudi, co-president and senior member of Interact Club.
The communities in Champaign-Urbana have held many events focused on international representation and showcasing these amazing cultures. Some of these events include the Human Library hosted by the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, which is an event where people from different backgrounds can come out and showcase their cultures.
International Night is the Interact Club’s way of raising awareness of other ethnic backgrounds, with many groups having booths with different activities, food, and performances to showcase their culture. Central is no different in accepting these cultures; a map near the Central Maroon Library displays nearly all the national flags of the world.
“I first attended the event casually my sophomore year, and it was honestly really fun because I was able to see so many cultures and try so many things, and it was one of my favorite events that year,” said Jagarlamudi. “As I became a part of the board and got more involved in the planning of this event, I honestly missed going casually because of how fun it was.”
International Night has changed a lot over the years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, International Night had to be canceled due to everything being online, and was recently brought back to Central three years ago.
Interact Club has also done many other events across the years, such as their 5K run and trivia night. These events have been a great success this year, with nearly 80 runners and $2,000 raised for charity during their annual fall 5K. “My favorite memory of Interact would probably be the 5K because of how it had such a big turnout, and it all felt really fulfilling, especially because we didn’t have a sponsor at the time, we had lots of the duties on our shoulders,” said Ava Clarke, a co-president of Interact Club.
Even though Interact club meetings take place in the morning, which might lead people away from joining the club, joining to help your community can help you get a sense of fulfillment and increased interaction with your community. “The club and volunteering lets you learn about yourself and how to get involved in your community; it also gives you a sense of fulfillment for many people by helping others,” said Peter Schideman, a Senior co-president of Interact Club.
It is always very fun when the community in Champaign-Urbana does things like this to help people see these other amazing parts of our massive community and world. If you have the time, International Night would most certainly be the event to go to that day because of how positive the reception has been in past years. “It’s really fun and important to try to get involved with your communities, and sometimes things like community service can be boring, but as a club, we try to make it as fun as possible,” said Jagarlamudi. If you are interested in community service and giving back to the community here in Champaign-Urbana, definitely give Interact Club a shot because there is a good chance you can make lasting friendships and meet people with
