SEPTEMBER 2017 44 | FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM {charity spotlight} GIVING BACK SUPPORT MY CLUB Research shows that engaging students with on-campus activities leads to higher graduation rates and lower teen crime rates. But many students find themselves spending more time fundraising for their extracurricular activities than participating in them — especially in schools that are in rural areas or short on funding. That’s where Support My Club comes in. It’s an online directory of student needs that allows community members to make a difference by providing experiences and supplies that give high school students what they need to excel in their passions. “You find something that aligns with your interests and your giving ability and add it to your cart just like normal,” said founder and CEO Amy Armstrong. “When the donor checks out, the tax receipt is automatically created and goes to them so the school doesn’t have to process anything for the donor and the item goes directly to the students. So the donor doesn’t need to worry about getting anything to the student so we do that for them on both ends.” Donors can filter items by price, interest and zip code to easily provide the gift of extracurricular activities to a student in need — from entry into competitions and funds for school trips to athletic equipment and music stands. “What we really strive to do is level the playing field,” Armstrong said. “You might have the best soccer player in the world, or a future Olympian,” she said. “But if you have a team of 20 people and only four soccer balls you’re not going to hone your footwork as well or as quickly as a student at a school with 100 new soccer balls.” The process doesn’t stop there, either. In addition to providing students with the items they need to enrich their education with extra-curricular activities, Support My Club requires that donation recipients write a thank-you note for each item received to teach them gratitude. For every $100 in donations a student receives, they also do an hour of community service, helping them to become more involved in the community and creating a cycle of philanthropy. Jamie Killin | CONTRIBUTING WRITER THE CAUSE

SEPTEMBER 2017 FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM | 45 Armstrong founded Start My Club five years ago as a member of Social Venture Partners when she was part of the Education Affinity Group, which was focusing on Camelback High School. Chad Gestson, now superintendent of the Phoenix Union High School district, was the new principal at the school and was ready to make some changes by improving the school’s entire culture — not just academics. “If you get kids, and by kids I mean teens, to want to stay on campus and be engaged the academics will naturally follow,” said Armstrong, “And that way you don’t feel like you’re shoving tests down their throat. You make school a really cool place to be.” Gestson mandated that every student enroll in an extra-curricular activity, and the need for supplies became apparent immediately, which helped Armstrong develop the concept of Support My Club. “At the same time all of this was happening I had a lot of friends getting married, you know you go through those cycles in life where all of a sudden everybody’s getting married, and so I was on wedding registries a lot so basically it was just the combination of a wedding registry for clubs and teens,” said Armstrong. The concept grew quickly — first expanding to three schools, then to all of Phoenix Union High School District before opening up to all Maricopa County and then all Arizona schools. Now, over 100 schools are participating and Support My Club has plans to expand nationwide. THE STORY