Jasper Interact Club, Rotary assemble hygiene kits, award inaugural scholarship

At Jasper High School, student service translated into immediate help for Dubois County families and a new scholarship for one standout senior. Members of the Jasper High School Interact Club and the Rotary Club of Dubois County assembled 100 hygiene kits at their second joint meeting of the year, then named Johnson Dong as the inaugural recipient of the Rotary Club of Dubois County Interact Scholarship.

The hygiene kits are headed to Dubois County schools, where they will provide basic necessities as summer approaches. That makes the project more than a ceremonial club activity. It put soap, toiletries and other essentials directly into the local school support network at a time when many students can lose access to the kind of supplies that are easy to take for granted during the school year.

The Interact Club has become a steady pipeline of student volunteers rather than a one-night service group. Led by faculty sponsor Anna Grant, the club has nearly 30 members and spent the year organizing food drives, raising money for local nonprofits such as the Southwestern Indiana Child Advocacy Center, visiting nursing homes and taking part in other projects across Dubois County. Those efforts gave the Rotary partnership a built-in base of students already used to showing up and working.

Dong’s scholarship adds another layer to that pipeline. He received the first-ever award from the Rotary Club of Dubois County Interact Scholarship, a $1,000 recognition that ties academic achievement to community service. Dong plans to attend Harvard University and study economics, a path that carries him far beyond Jasper while keeping his name attached to the county’s investment in student leadership.

Rotary president Deidra Church has framed the partnership as what happens when young leaders and community organizations share a purpose. That idea has practical weight in Dubois County, where the Rotary Club has also launched a 2026 Community Grant Program for nonprofits, schools and community groups. In 2024, the club awarded $16,000 in community grants to local nonprofits, reinforcing a pattern of reinvesting locally.

In a county that Dubois County government describes as the “Heart of Southern Indiana,” the Interact-Rotary partnership showed how school-based service can reach well beyond the classroom. It delivered help that students can use now and recognition that could shape one of Jasper’s own future leaders.