CACOW Student Volunteers

Sponsors: Mark Bradshaw

Number of Members: All MSHS students can be part of CACOW, the Community Action Club of Wichita. Several dozen students participate in CACOW activities each year.

Membership Requirements: Members must devote at least 2 hours to club volunteer projects and activities per semester to be active members, and they’re encouraged to devote 10 hours.  

Purpose of the Club: CACOW aims to involve MSHS students in volunteer service on and off our school campus, to introduce students to diverse populations in the community, and to help meet the needs of local residents. Participating in CACOW activities is a great way to fulfill community-service requirements for students who seek membership in the National Honor Society.

Current Activities: CACOW volunteers help organize on-campus blood-donation drives with the American Red Cross; promote seatbelt use and road safety with Project S.A.F.E. (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) through KDOT’s Traffic Safety Resource Office; and facilitate voter registration at school with National Voter Registration Day. In addition, CACOW volunteers regularly support local fund-raisers, charity runs, and off-campus events like the Run2Believe, Head for the Cure, the ICTSOS Race4Freedom, and the Maize Education Foundation. If you are seeking volunteers for a local event, please reach out to us.  

History: In the early 2010s, a small group of Maize South students founded CACOW outside of school because they wanted to volunteer together as a group and learn more about the Wichita community. In 2014, the second generation of the group's leaders moved to make it an official high-school club and to organize larger projects and involve more students. Since then, CACOW has engaged thousands of student volunteers in community service.