Experts say you should replace your mascara every few months. Thanks to students at Donegal High School, your trash can become a wild animal's treasure. The Donegal Key Club is collecting mascara wands to donate to Wands for Wildlife, a program that began through Appalachian Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.

"We collect clean mascara wands, or if you want to donate them as is, you can put them in a plastic bag, and we'll clean them," explained senior Madison Arroyo. "They are used to take care of wildlife, to remove oil and debris."

The club members have placed donation boxes for the wands throughout the school and in the bathrooms as well as in the office.

Susan Heydt, Key Club adviser, noted that the group has been organizing the drive for about 10 years. "We used to have a partnership with a local salon, and we got a lot of donations from them, but the business closed, so now we're hoping to connect with another business to partner with," she said.

Along with the wand collection, Key Club members are also seeking donations for their Rent-the-Runway closet. "We collect clothing from students and members of the community, and we have it dry cleaned and then we store it in a closet here at school," remarked senior Alessia Archer. "We sort donations by size and type."

As senior Emily Fasig explained, donations can include anything from dressy clothes students could wear for an in-class presentation or job interview to formal wear for prom or other school dances. "We even have some ties and sports coats," she said.

The group opens the closet for a few weeks before school dances, and students can rent an outfit for a minimal donation which covers the cost of the dry cleaning. Heydt noted that any donations that the group feels would not suit high-school students are offered to the school's performing arts department or donated elsewhere.

In addition to the Key Club donation drives, students in the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) at Donegal are collecting markers to recycle for the Crayola ColorCycle program. "We are collecting any brand or type of plastic barrel markers," stated senior Sydney Snyder. "You can drop them off at any school office in the district or in collection bins at the high school."

Holding the donation drives throughout the school helps the Key Club and NAHS members fulfill their groups' purpose. "It's all part of our mission to focus on sustainability and not to throw everything away but to find ways to reuse items," Emily commented. "It's a way to keep products out of landfills."

Madison agreed, adding, "These are easy habits for high school students to get into. It's an easy way to make a choice to be sustainable."

Affiliated with the Kiwanis Club of Norlanco-Rheems, the Key Club is a service-oriented group. The members hold a clothing drive and a toy drive annually, and they help with community events at the Milanof-Schock Library. They are also beautifying and maintaining a courtyard on the high school campus, removing weeds and working with a Master Gardener to plant items native to Pennsylvania.

For more information on the donation drives, contact Heydt at susan.heydt@donegalsd.org.