At the start of the fall semester, Kaylee McCabe, a junior studying Biology, knew she wanted to get involved and make a difference for the campus community, though she did not know how at the time.
“I really did want to get involved in a club, and I just didn’t see a lot of community service-based clubs at BSU,” she said. “I really wanted to do something that would help students.”
McCabe and her two roommates, Jocie McGill and Paige Bower, decided to start RISE Club, a new student organization that plans and executes service projects for students.
McCabe found the inspiration for RISE online, where she saw other groups creating kits with self-defense and safety gadgets for women. That idea sparked her vision for their first project, creating and distributing safety kits for students as they attend parties and social events.
The officers chose the name RISE to represent the purpose of the club: helping students feel empowered and protected. They paired the name with imagery of a phoenix rising from ashes.
Through Boise State, the trio was able to get the club officially started with $600 in grants to get the ball rolling, purchasing items for the safety kits. They also opened an Amazon wishlist for people to donate additional supplies.
“We got tons of donations from parents of students at BSU,” McCabe, RISE Club President, said. “We got a lot of support right away. People were sending us stuff, we got Amazon packages constantly and that allowed us to make a lot of kits.”
The safety kits include drink covers and drink test strips to prevent drinks from being tampered with. They also include personal alarms and whistles, which can create loud noises in moments of distress, as well as informational materials about safety and support resources in Boise.
“We want students to be able to go out but still be safe while doing it,” explained RISE Club Vice President McGill, a junior majoring in Health Studies. “That’s what led to the kits with the drink covers and the test strips and the whistles and stuff like that because we all should feel like we’re safe wherever we go.”
The club held a tabling event in the fall semester to distribute kits to students. The officers handed out kits to students outside of the Interactive Learning Center and spoke to passersby about resources and safety tips.
“We had a lot of people who really supported what we were saying, just because people need to stay safe, and it is such a big thing,” said Paige Bower, Financial Officer and senior studying anthropology. “I loved connecting with students, and it was really cool to sit out there, talk about our club, hand out these kits and raise more awareness.”
The response to the club and its mission has been overwhelmingly positive.
“I definitely got quite a few messages where people were like, ‘This is a great project. I’m happy that you’re doing this,’” McCabe said.
Bower explained the three officers hope the spring semester will bring new members to the club and more opportunities for students to get involved with their mission as they work on new projects beyond the safety kits.
Students can get involved with RISE by signing up on Campus Groups or donate items for future kits via their Amazon wishlist.
“We are hoping to do some events like fundraising events with different organizations around town,” Bower said. “We want to be able to get their messages out there, and make sure students know that those things are available to them.”
