Calling all Leos

With the help of some key adults, a group of Ozaukee High School students who want to devote themselves to public service are reviving the Leos Club, the youth arm of the Fredonia Lions Club.

There has been an active Leos Club at Ozaukee Middle School for years, but the group at the high school has been more hit and miss, said Ann Baumann, the school district registrar and adviser to the high school Leos.

“Once students leave middle school, they have lots of things going on in their life and community service is not a focus,” Baumann said. “More things are going on in their life, like sports and work. For a lot of high school students (community service) is just not a priority.”

But a group of 10 or so high school students are working to make it a priority.

“These students wanted to go forward helping others in the community,” Baumann said.

One of them is Simon Eisentraut, a junior, whose mother Barb is parent adviser to the group.

“When I was in middle school, I really enjoyed it. My first year in high school we had it, but then it floundered last year,” Eisentraut said.

Group activities this year have mostly included “school-affiliated things,”  he said, such as a Valentines Day bake sale and Christmas candy gram. 

The club also pitched in with the Kapco Kids 2 Kids Christmas toy drive and will help with an outreach to residents at the Forest Haven assisted living facility in Fredonia.

This past weekend, some members of both the middle school and high school Leos helped the adult Lions Club members with their chicken roast, a major fundraiser for the group.

Eisentraut wants to expand the group’s activity to benefit the wider community. “We’re hoping to do a clothing drive for the homeless in Milwaukee,” for instance, he said. 

“I find it enjoyable to help people who can’t help themselves and I enjoy helping around the community,” he said.

Northern Ozaukee School District Supt. Dave Karrels is pleased with the resurrection of the group.

“I think it’s a great connection to our community with the Lions Club that is already established. The idea of promoting leadership and service are characteristics that we’re interested in promoting in our students,” Karrels said.

Eisentraut said he relies on word of mouth to spread information about the Leos.

“I just want more people to help out at things like the chicken roast,” he said. “The only goal for me is to let people know how they can help.”