MOUNT SHASTA’S Rotary Interact connects youth with the community

For over a century, thousands of people eager to make positive change in their communities have banded together to form Rotary International, a service-minded philanthropic organization with clubs across the globe. Sometimes, these service-minded people choose not to wait until they are “all grown up” to start making the world a better place. In nearly 15,000 clubs across 145 counties, over 340,000 students ages 12-18 volunteer their time and teamwork through Interact, Rotary’s youth branch. As the name implies, Interact empowers students to interact in meaningful ways with the world around them, the communities that raise them and each other.

Long-time Rotarian and Interact advocate Ken Brummel-Smith led Interact students on a recent trip to a village in Panama where they completed service projects, brushed up on their Spanish and learned social and practical skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Photo by Pamela Newman.

 Mount Shasta High School’s thriving Interact Club began in 2011, initiated by Allison Titus, who was a student at the time. Today, Allison’s father, Patrick Titus, continues as Mount Shasta Interact Club’s Rotary sponsor, offering support for the organization he saw so deeply impact his own daughter. Although the size of the club ebbs and flows, approximately 20 students participated during the 2025-26 school year, making it one of the largest clubs on campus. Autumn Funk and Sarah Clifford, both parents of Interactors, have stepped into leadership in the last couple of years, motivated by how they have seen Interact cultivate their own children’s confidence, leadership and kindness.

Putting service above self at home and internationally

Interact intentionally develops the next generation of leaders to understand the power of “service above self.” Each year, clubs participate in at least one local service project and one international awareness project. Mount Shasta Interactors, however, can’t seem to get enough of serving. Locally, they volunteer at the humane society, food pantries, holiday events, environmental efforts and community festivals such as Mount Shasta’s Rotary-hosted Blackberry Festival, (to be held this year Sept. 6 in Shastice Park). The group even made a special weekend trip to serve the Redwood Park Conservancy, braving ankle-deep mud and the pouring rain to help clear trails. “Experiences like that build grit and determination in people,” Sarah says. Pat adds, “Every time you do a service project, it builds the club.”

Mount Shasta Rotary Interact Club teens support each other and enjoy working together on projects that serve their community, making life-long friends in the process.

 Participating in local events allows Interactors to become active members of the community, instead of just consumers of what the town has to offer. Sarah’s daughter Cory, currently the Mount Shasta Interact vice president, remembers enjoying the Blackberry festival as a small child, so she delights in being able to help carry on that environment of fun.

“I got involved because my friends were in Interact and I knew I needed community service hours to graduate,” Cory says. “I knew it is good to be a well-rounded person and Interact builds your resume for colleges and jobs. Now, I’m going to Interact because I’m really invested. I love leadership. I like helping to plan events and help put them on.” Sarah says Cory’s college application essays were filled with reflections on Interact experiences that have stretched her comfort zone and grown her confidence.

Mount Shasta High School Interact Club teens expand their world view and gain invaluable insight into other cultures through international service projects.

“One of the things I think is most valuable about Interact is that the kids start to look outside of their high school bubble,” says Autumn. “High schoolers are known to be a very self-centered age group but Interact brings them back to the core of their human self. It helps them connect so that later in life, they understand that their role isn’t just to go to college and get a job; it’s to do something good. This club takes them outside of that mindset and helps them access this idea of a bigger world.”

Gaining a bigger worldview became a full-body experience for Mount Shasta’s Interact students this year. In past years, the group has traveled to Panama and Mexico to work in orphanages, support medical clinics and help with elder care. In March 2026 the group traveled to Filipina, a village in Panama. Led by Ken Brummel-Smith, a longtime Rotarian and Interact advocate, the students painted dorms that will house future Rotary groups and supported medical students in distributing eyeglasses and offering basic medical care to the people of Filipina.

Throughout the week, the Interactors prepared their own meals, practiced their Spanish with locals and witnessed some extreme contrasts between wealth and poverty. “It’s one of those life-changing trips where your worldview changes even in ways you don’t expect it to,” says Autumn. “It’s something they’ll never forget.”

 The next generation is sending out ripple effects of positive change

“People these days are looking for evidence that this generation is just always on their phones – disconnected, isolated and not interested in the community,” Autumn says. “But what we see is that they are very much interested in connecting and serving their community.” As Sarah puts it, Mount Shasta Interact stirs up care and change within the Interactors themselves, “making ripples” in the North State and abroad. By developing the skills and desire to serve now, these young Interactors ensure that their ripple effect will continue to beautify and strengthen the world around them – wherever life takes them next