The Sunshine Club is one of the clubs you can join at Lowell High School. It is created to promote positivity, support classmates, and build a more connected school and community. Through service projects, school-wide initiatives, and mental health advocacy, the Sunshine Club is a student-led group, led by Brooke Bretzinger, that aims to display kindness and happiness to our school and community so everyone feels noticed, loved, and supported.
The Sunshine Club was formed in March 2025. It is considered one of LHS’s newest clubs. After Brooke spoke with her friend at Kankakee Valley High School about their Sunshine Club, she decided it would be a good idea to bring it to Lowell. Since life can be difficult sometimes, it is crucial to know that people are here to support you, which is why this club was created: to add a little extra brightness and optimism to our school and community. I asked Brooke “What do you enjoy most about leading and being part of the Sunshine Club?” She responded with, “I think the coolest part of leading Sunshine Club is building something completely from the ground up. Before this year, we haven’t had a sunshine club in over 25 years, so to be able to say that we were able to bring one back is pretty amazing. It’s also really cool to see over 15 like-minded people willingly gather to help serve our community and make other people feel better. This is pretty special, because most teenagers don’t spend their free time helping others, so it’s cool to see our members lead selflessly.” This club is different from other clubs for multiple reasons; one is that it was created by students and is run by students, and members of this club take satisfaction in being inclusive of all students. They accomplish this by being involved with Mrs. Witkowski’s students in many different ways, not just by helping them with activities, but by attending meetings to get their input, and making visits to their classroom during the day, establishing that they can help them complete their projects to remove any obstacles to after-school transportation.
The Sunshine Club promotes kindness and positivity within our school and community with the goal of creating a better world for everyone. Each month, they undertake service projects that benefit those around them. These projects include creating memorial cards for the family of a former student was tragically passed away, along with assembling 50 “Sunshine Bags.” These bags, which are available in the guidance department, contain items meant to support students in distress, for example, a suicide prevention bracelet, candy, a hand-written note, a coloring book, a motivational bookmark, and a keychain, all designed to remind them that they are not alone. In the near future, the Sunshine Club will soon be introducing a “Take What You Need Wall,” that features encouraging sticky notes for students to pick up when they need an extra boost. Then those who feel uplifted can contribute by leaving notes for others. They will also organize school-wide activities in honor of Random Acts of Kindness Week to enhance the club’s impact. They also plan to participate in a leadership conference or host a team-building day that focuses on community improvement.
The Sunshine Club is open to anyone here at LHS. They currently have 17 members, but they are open to accepting new members because you can never have too much sunshine! If anyone would like to join the Sunshine Club, you can either stop by Mrs. Skinner’s office or email Brooke Bretzinger ([email protected]). She would be happy to help you! The Sunshine Club does not have a specific meeting schedule; however, they typically aim to engage in one project each month, which results in about two or three meetings a month. Meetings are generally held in the athletic conference room, with scheduled times before and after school to make it work for members with various schedules. Specifically at 7:30/7:45 before school and 3:10 after school. So, if you have been thinking about joining, do not be afraid to reach out. The Sunshine Club is ready to welcome new faces.
