Circle K is an international community service club seeking to help the Linfield, McMinnville, and global communities in anyway they can. They are currently sponsored by the local McMinnville Kiwanis Club.

“Our Circle K club travels throughout Oregon and the Pacific Northwest to conventions and conferences where we get to meet up and collaborate with other universities’ Circle K clubs,” Linfield Circle K Vice President sophomore Jacqueline Hurst said.

Some of Hurst’s responsibilities as vice president include presiding over club and board meetings in the absence of the president, working with sub-committees, encouraging member recruitment, managing social media pages, advertising for the club, attending Kiwanis meetings and coordinating the club’s “member of the month.”

Currently, Linfield’s Circle K club has about 30 members.

“We like to point out to students that you do not have to be at every meeting or every event to be involved in Circle K,” Hurst said. “A majority of our members attend our weekly meetings, but we also have a handful of members that cannot make it to meetings and still participate in our service projects.”

Circle K sends out minutes every week from their meetings so that members who miss meetings can still know what’s going on in the club.

Circle K has a budget consisting of funds raised from our Birthday Cake Program, where parents can order birthday cakes for their students and our club delivers them, and they receive generous sponsorship from Kiwanis.

“We use our funds to send members to our CKI Leadership Academy in the fall semester and District Convention in the spring,” Hurst said. “We also use funds to help with small projects like tying blankets, making cards, and providing snacks for our awesome members at club meetings.”

Circle K’s three tenants are leadership, fellowship, and service. Leadership has been made a mission to afford members the resources and tools needed to become great leaders.

“We elect officers on a nomination basis and open the floor for members to voluntarily take on sub-committee positions,” Hurst said.

Circle K members describe fellowship in their own unique way through developing social skills, meeting new people, and strengthening relationships.

“All our members are willing to help out one another and you do not just see Circle K members bonding inside the club but hanging out in the Linfield community as well,” Hurst said.

Service is the heart of what Circle K stands for and has been fundamental since the very beginning.

“Our club would not be what it is without our dedication to service,” Hurst said. “We have projects we’ve been doing for years as well as new projects that our members suggest to the club.”

In order to make their service events successful, a group effort is needed from the entire club.

“We also give a lot of credit regarding our success to our wonderful club faculty adviser Kristi McKay and our generous Kiwanis family,” Hurst said.

One of Hurst’s goals for the Circle K club is to improve on distinguishing their individuality as a community service club.

“We are so much more than a service club,” Hurst said. “Our members genuinely care about helping others and that includes helping each other learn and grow as individuals.”

Circle K is not a club that just does fundraisers or asks for donations. They are constantly making an effort to create fun ways to raise awareness for all the things they are passionate about such as Trick-Or-Canning and Holiday Grams.

“Trick-Or-Canning is where we ask for canned food donations instead of candy or money, or our traditional Holiday Grams where we craft adorable reindeer candy canes to give to your friends during the holidays,” Hurst said. “As a proud member of Circle K, I see our future potential and how we could stand out from the crowd and I know we will get there.”

Currently, Circle K’s main goal is to get the word out about their club.

“People always ask if we’re the gas station or a candy bar and no we are not,” Hurst said. “We are always looking for new members, specifically underclassmen who can keep our wonderful club running for years to come.”

Being apart of Circle K has positively enhanced Hurst’s Linfield experience and given her more opportunities to be involved with the Linfield and McMinnville communities.

“Circle K would not be what it is without the awesome members, and already graduated members, I have met along the way,” Hurst said. “The friendships I’ve made and service projects I’ve been involved in through Circle K have honestly enriched my outlooks on life, my self-confidence, and my passion for helping others. As Circle K-ers always say, ‘Live to serve, love to serve!’”