At Brookfield Central High School, students have the opportunity to choose from dozens of special-interest extracurricular clubs that run the gamut of causes. And if a student does not quite find the club they’re looking for, they can just start their own.

That’s exactly what BCHS senior Ryan Zhang and his cofounder, Evan Goddard decided to do in launching a service club for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

After being inspired by the organization’s Grateful Plate Gala – which he attended with his mom, Sherry, a Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Board Member – Ryan thought a club would be a perfect opportunity to offer a way for students to give their time and talents to a worthy cause – hunger relief.

During the Gala, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin “celebrated all they have accomplished, and I thought it was really cool that they had this many cans delivered, this amount of food packaged, and their reach and influence,” Ryan said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to work with them more.”

With having several friends who had already volunteered with the food bank, “I knew that there would be motivated or  interested students at our school, and I know that Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is always looking for volunteers,” Ryan says. “Our club would bridge that gap.”

For Ryan, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin offers “a direct connection to the underprivileged areas of our state and our area,” he said. “It’s important to us here in Brookfield because we don’t really often see that side.”

In the short time since Ryan and Evan established the club in the Spring of 2024, nearly 70 students have registered. They’ve already participated in a food packing event at the Milwaukee  campus and raised funds for the organization during Brookfield Central’s all-school picnic at the end of May.

“Our team decided Dippin’ Dots would be cool because we know that people would find that as an attractive item,” Ryan said. The team was able to generate a $40 profit towards donations.

Ryan also worked with the organization to set up a donation box at the school, collecting 167 non-perishable food items by the end of the school year.

“While high school students might understand there’s food insecurity throughout the world and even in the area, it’s not often something they see directly or talk about in relation to their community,” he said. “I thought that if I could have something for them at our school, it could help people to see firsthand what’s going on in our state. And by growing that reach, it helps more people and it gets people in our community more involved.”

Ryan has seen how participation in the service club has been impactful for his fellow students. On the day his club participated in a box packing volunteer opportunity, they sorted, packed, and labeled 9,707 pounds of food, or the equivalent of about 8,089 meals. “All my friends said it was a fun time, because they’re able to go with their friends and talk while they’re able to do this meaningful work,” Ryan said.

When the service club selected its executive board, they included students of other grades – not just seniors – to help with continuity and to carry on the service work. “My hope is that it can be something long-lasting and fulfilling, so it’s something that can be carried over and passed on,” Ryan said.

Ryan hopes to leave a legacy of how future leaders at his school or at any school across the country can make a difference right in their own backyard. With his sights set on the next big challenges after high school, and his eyes on a career in the medical field, Ryan’s days of helping build better communities are just beginning.