The goal of White Station’s new St. Jude Club is to serve children who have had a carefree childhood taken from them. The club also gives high school students the opportunity to volunteer with these children in a way that could change lives, even if just for a moment.

Niharika Srivastava (11) worked  to put this club into action this past summer in order to create hope for St. Jude patients, all of whom are affected by life-threatening illnesses.

The 55 active members of the club have had many opportunities to serve.  They have volunteered  at the garden at St. Jude and have thrown two parties for the patients and their families.  Additionally, club members have cheered on participants in the September St. Jude Walk/Run and in December’s St. Jude Marathon.

“We threw a party at the Target House and got to interact with the kids. It was a fun time for [the patients] to have a step back and relax, and also their parents too,” Srivastava said.

The success of the club can be attributed to advertising through social media and more traditional means.

“We have a website and a Remind account for members.  We hung posters in the fall and always make sure we have announcements read over the intercom for weeks when we meet,”  Srivastava said.

These events benefit the kids at St. Jude in a way that they can learn to relax and have fun for a a few hours, to take the patients’ minds off of the illness they face if just for a little while.

“This [club] is more organized volunteering based, instead of just raising money for a certain goal at the end,” Lena Benson (11) said.

Students in the club look for different ways to help out at St. Jude, such as volunteering and fundraising, and the club leaders are always open to suggestion.

“This club gives people the opportunity to voice their opinion on what they want to do,” Srivastava said.

The St. Jude Club allows students to get involved in something Memphians have always been apart of, but maybe never had the chance to volunteer with.

“This is also very…Memphis related while also like taking it into the entire world,” Benson said.“We’ve all grown up in Memphis, and St. Jude has always been around us, so I think that really made us different.”

Srivastava says her concept of volunteerism has grown from the level of interest to one of excitement and passion.

“I could spend all day talking about, thinking about, planning and organizing [the club] – it’s just crazy!”