Circle K at Eastern Michigan University is a service organization with the sole purpose of helping the broader Ypsilanti community.
With Thanksgiving right around the corner and November being known as "the month of giving," Circle K at EMU has felt the importance of giving back to the community on a deeper level than before. With their Thanksgiving plans in the works, the club chapter at EMU is looking to their sponsors to help them to create a bigger impact on the community; more than they already do.
“We are partnering with the chapter of Ypsi Kiwanis [Circle K’s sponsors], to sponsor different families to be able to get stuff they need for the holidays, and we have agreed to take on three families,” Rachel Crnkovich, president of Circle K at EMU said.
Kiwanis International sponsors many different service clubs, including Circle K International. Circle K International has thousands of members spread across college campuses worldwide. In Michigan, there are six active campuses a part of Circle K international, including the chapter at Eastern.
“Ypsi Kiwanians help us with dues, they help us put on events, and they do a project every year where they help out families for the holidays,” Crnkovich said.
Aside from their partnership with their sponsors to help families prepare for the holidays, Circle K at EMU is also looking to do an event at the Ann Arbor homeless shelter making dinner for the residents.
Circle K international’s mission statement: “Live to serve, Love to serve,” shows through the various types of service events Circle K at EMU provides.
“We’ve done everything from roadside cleanup, where we pick up trash on the side of Superior and Congress street in Ypsi, to can drives,” Crnkovich said. “Every event is unique… we try to offer a wide variety.”
Students who are either members of the club or simply looking to volunteer on or off campus, are able to receive community service hours for the events they take part in. Whether it is for EMU’s Honors College, a Greek life organization, or a major or minor graduation requirements, Circle K at EMU offers many opportunities to earn the hours you need. The only requirement set to join Circle K at EMU is that there are dues paid yearly, and this year the dues are sponsored by the Ypsi Kiwanians and have gone from $42 a year, to $21 a year.
Crnkovich adds that if paying dues becomes a barrier for any members to join, the club sees to it that they can still participate without having to worry about that barrier. There is no high pressure of commitment if one can only partake in one or two events and not be a full paying member, nor is there any cut off time for one to be able to officially join. In addition, there are many leadership positions available both on the EMU chapter level as well as the Michigan district level, so members can not only be active in the events, but can have the experience of planning the community events as well.
“When you’re a part of an organization like Circle K, you might be surprised by how good it feels to give back to the community,” Allie Beecher, chapter secretary, said. “It’s been said that the best way to help yourself is to help others… you’ll be surprised at how much it can help you grow as a human being.”
First founded in 1984, Circle K at EMU recently celebrated their 40th anniversary. Not only were current and past members of the Eastern chapter in attendance, the founding president of the chapter, Kim Carlu, was also able to join in the celebrations. Crnkovich’s mom, an alum of the chapter, posted on Facebook about the club’s 40th anniversary party and Carlu was friends on Facebook of one of Crnkovich's mom’s friends and Carlu commented on the post wanting to know more details.
The 40th anniversary party had been in the works for almost a year, and to not only have so many past and present chapter members in attendance, but also the founding president of Circle K at EMU, Crnkovich said it went better than they could have imagined. Overall, Circle K at EMU raised $350 which goes towards helping members with their club dues as well as different philanthropic events, as well as received many donations to go towards the Ann Arbor homeless shelter, and created two tie blankets which will be donated to the shelter as well.
"Leaving the event I remember thinking ‘this is why I love Circle K, this feeling of doing good,’” Crnkovich said.
Originally, Crnkovich's mom was the one who inspired Crnkovich to take part in Circle K at EMU, and after being the treasurer in their first year at EMU, they are now the president of the chapter.
Beecher chose to join due to her past roles in high school taking an active part in community service events in her area, and even served on the Washtenaw County Youth commission, a youth task force that works to identify and address county wide issues, especially in regards to local youth.
Both have managed to uphold their love of giving back to their community, through their work in Circle K.
“We do everything we can to make sure Eastern, and Ypsi, is a better place, not only to live in and be in, but to also make sure the individuals are uplifted through the service work we do,” Crnkovich said.
“Circle K provides a positive and supportive space for all members,” Beecher said. “I think it gives students something really community-focused to be a part of.”
Part of the community found in Circle K expands both outside of Eastern as well as outside of Michigan as a whole. With six active campuses in the Michigan district, members have the opportunity to meet other members from their campuses at Circle K’s Fall Rally, held at Michigan State University. At the Fall Rally, Circle K members from Eastern and other campuses, took part in making tie blankets and sandwiches to be donated to a local shelter, alongside getting to meet many new people.
“At the Fall Rally, it was Pajama day, and so everyone got to go in their pajamas,” Beecher said. “We might not often think of community service events as fun, but they are fun!”
While there are only a few campuses active in the Michigan district, Crnkovich adds that they are working to get more campuses involved. Crnkovich hopes to collaborate with the University of Michigan of Ann Arbor’s chapter of Circle K, and partake in an Interclub event (when one collaborates with another Circle K chapter) in order to form a strong connection with a chapter located so close to them.
To learn more about Circle K at EMU or to take part in future service events, follow Circle K at EMU on instagram @emu_circlek or email them emucirclekint@gmail.com
Editor’s note: Allie Beecher is a staff writer for The Eastern Echo.
