By Amanda Downs – Staff Reporter

Law’s Natural Helpers Club is ready for a new year.

The club has three main goals for every year: to teach Natural Helpers effective ways to help their friends, to teach Natural Helpers positive ways of taking good care of themselves, and to teach Natural Helpers ways to contribute to a safe and supportive school environment. This program allows peers to help one another.

“I’m excited to do more events this year and really be able to reach out and spread kindness,” Natural Helpers advisor Miss Hanson said. “I want to make sure this club has more of a presence.”

The club meets every Monday after school, unless told otherwise, in Room 170.

Natural Helpers is based on the idea that when people have problems they turn to their friends or other adults who they trust for help. The club allows a “helping network” to be implemented in the school.

The students involved in the club get trained with the “helping skill” that is used to assist peers in complicated situations in a safe, organized, and healthy way.

“I’ve been in Natural Helpers since freshman year and I love it,” junior Ben Warters said. “I always know where to go if I need to talk to somebody.”

Their first fundraiser this year is going to be selling baked goods at the football game to raise money for the club.

Natural Helpers does a lot of volunteer work at law and in the community. In the past they have done volunteer work such as Folks on Spokes, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, and Hands of JLHS.

“My friends have been telling me how much fun it is so I’ve decided to join this year,” junior Van Sirisouk said.

Throughout being in the club, helpers develop many skills such. Many of those skills involve utilizing the “helping skill,” empathizing with others, accepting others, exploring alternatives, exercising self-care and expressing helping limits.

“Natural Helpers is a great peer helping community and it helps bring people together,” Natural Helpers president Kavita Rana said.

In past years, the club has gone to a retreat center for two days with a lake. They also went on a trip to Holiday Hill.

“I love Natural Helpers; it’s a great way to make friends and help other people in the school and community,” junior and club secretary Jillian Bendlak said. “We do a lot of fun activities together.”