Sponsored by local Rotary Clubs, Interact Clubs are self-governed and self-supported. Teacher and advisor Emily Flaherty offers support and guidance to members of the  club, but said the projects are organized by students. Clubs complete two community service projects each year, one of which “furthers international understanding and goodwill,” Interact members said.  

Members said they have learned a great deal from the club and look forward to meeting the challenges.

The group of about 10 core students get involved in most of the club’s activities year after year.

Interact Club Co-President David Brown, a senior, who described his family as “very community service-oriented,” has been involved with the Interact Club since his freshman year.

Individual club members volunteer at the Bon Appetite soup kitchen in Biddeford and the Animal Welfare Society, cleaning cages and walking dogs.

And while the club has accomplished many of its goals this year, including a “very successful” winter clothing collection for “Coats for Kids,” they said the expo is their biggest undertaking to date.

“Each year we have done more and been more efficient,” Brown said. “It’s been a great opportunity.”

In the current economic climate, students said they helped organize the expo to help people combat global warming and help them save money.

The expo is a collaborative effort between Maine School Administrative District 71, KHS class of 2009 and Maine Partners for Cool Communities, which is sponsored by the Sierra Club and encourages communities to implement efficient energy solutions to curb carbon emissions.

Brown said the first order of business was to contact vendors who sell sustainable or renewable energy or energy efficient products. He said it turned out to be the most challenging aspect of organizing the expo.

“Of the 70 vendors we first called, only about four said yes,” Brown said.

But persistence paid off. As of last count, more than 20 vendors ultimately agreed to be on hand.

The expo will also feature several films, which club members chose, Co-President Eliza Rule said. The films include “The Next Industrial Revolution,” which runs about an hour and outlines how businesses are working to become more eco-friendly and “Who Killed the Electric Car?” about the emergence and disappearance of General Motor’s “EV1,” a speed-record breaking concept car that required no gas.

Workshops at the expo will focus on solar energy, energy-efficiency and community supported agriculture.

Demonstration electric and hybrid cars will be available for test drives.

Last week, Flaherty sat at a desk with a floor plan of the gymnasium, as the students plotted where each vendor would be situated and where the films would play. They decided not to put the food too close to the entrance for fear that students would not venture any further to engage with demonstrations, workshops and vendors.

Club members have been marketing the event with flyers, handouts and personalized invitations to school board members and other town officials.

“We really want them to be part of this,” club member Anna Ivanova said.

Ivanova said club members raised $14,000 last spring to travel to Zihuatanejo, Mexico to participate in the Netza School Project, which promotes equal access to education for all children. The MSAD 71 students were the first youth group to visit the school, Rule said.

Not only did they deliver school and cleaning supplies, Brown said they became close friends with a boy named Antonio.

“We spent time with him,” Brown said. “We went swimming. We really interacted with him. He was one of the few students who lived at the school, so we had the opportunity to bond with him while we were there.”

Club members learned a free education is not available to all children in Mexico and Antonio was at risk of not being able to continue his education.

“He would have had to quit after sixth grade,” Ivanova said.

She said club members developed such a close relationship with Antonio, they could not bear the thought of him having to drop out.

“I think he learned more English than we learned Spanish,” she laughed.

Through bottle drives, the students raised $400 for Antonio’s tuition, room and board.

Rule said students often join the Interact Club because they want to do community service and know that more can be accomplished when many people work together toward a common goal.

“We get so much from our community,” Ivanova said. “We just want to give back.”