The Key Club, led by English teacher Ashley Collins and sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of America, is a mostly student-led group committed to helping the community through fundraising and volunteer work.

“We try to do something different every year,” Collins said, and this year club members came up with the idea of Pancake Tuesdays. Collins, who has been the club leader for six years, said the idea of Pancake Tuesdays was first inspired by the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast, which the Key Club participates in every January.

While the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast raises money to support community events, senior and Key Club President Emily Myers had the idea to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an organization committed to curing the disease by funding medical research and developing new medication.

“Emily has a cousin with cystic fibrosis, so it kind of went close to home,” Collins said.

After researching cystic fibrosis, Myers said she “realized how much the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation helps others and I figured it was time to give back.”

Key Club began selling pancakes Oct. 2 and has been selling them every Tuesday in the rotunda from 7:45 to 8:15 a.m.

“They’re really tasty when they’re fresh and hot,” freshman Mia Hodge said.

Pancakes are two for $1 and students have the option of eating them plain or smothering them in thick, gooey syrup.

“They were nice and fluffy,” freshman Jimbo Alldredge said. Alldredge, along with freshman Andrea Rivera, views Pancake Tuesdays as a second chance at breakfast.

“I didn’t have time to eat at home,” Rivera said.

Pancake Tuesdays have been “fairly popular,” Co-Vice President Jane Hedenstron said,  “but some days are better than others.”  So far, their customers seem to be mostly freshmen, who get to school earlier than many of their peers because they ride the buses.

Despite the fact that “people aren’t rushing the stands,” according to Myers, the club has raised a little more than $45 after four Tuesdays.

While many students claim Pancake Tuesdays are a good way to raise money, some like  freshman Tylei Crawford said, as she munched on two pancakes covered in syrup, that it might be better to sell them only on “special occasions like Christmas.”

To boost sales, some students suggested that Key Club sell more of a variety.

“Maybe if they had chocolate chip or something, it would appeal to more people,”Alldredge said.

Myers said that is something the group will consider  for future breakfasts.

“We’ll see how this goes,” Myers said.  According to her, the club may even consider adding “Muffin Mondays.”  “It might turn out to be better than Pancake Tuesdays,” she said.

The last Pancake Tuesday will be Oct. 30.

To see more photos of the event, please go to Photo Galleries / Pancake Tuesdays.