Everyone has seen them setting up bake sales and organizing blood drives in the Brickyard. But the N.C. State chapter of Circle K does so much more for the community.

Circle K is an extension of the Kiwanis Club, similar to the Key Club at the college level.

According to Matt Avery, a sophomore in textile engineering, the club focuses on service, fellowship and leadership.

“Most people don’t know it is a service club,” Thomas Eldridge, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, said.

Throughout the year, Circle K participates in a myriad of different service projects including the blood drives, Toast the Triangle, a food bank and caroling at rest homes during the Christmas holiday.

The club is strictly volunteer work. Eldridge, the club’s president, said it was set up where members could do as little or as much work as they wanted to invest.

“Volunteering should be about volunteering, not because you have to,” he said.

Another community project is mentoring elementary schools. Circle K visits schools like Dillard Drive Elementary and eats lunch with the students.

Dale Pennington, a sophomore in history, said the club tends to focus on new students and at-risk children who need positive role models to look up to.

“We are indirectly giving them the idea that there is something past high school,” she said.

Circle K tends to work with already-established service organizations. One of the ways it has volunteered in the past is by making pancakes for breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House, which helps families who have children receiving treatment in nearby hospitals.

Blood drives are usually hosted twice a semester by the club. Each time, the bloodmobiles collect about 100 units of blood-enough to save 300 lives, according to Eldridge. He said most of the donators are walk-ins.

Some of the upcoming events for Circle K include working for the food bank April 14 and teaming up with the NCSU chapter of Habitat for Humanity to build homes.

Eldridge said the club is looking to do more on-campus activities next year in hopes of getting the campus involved. He said it also wants to plan a service challenge with other campus organizations, such as fraternities and other clubs.

“The whole goal would be about service,” Eldridge said.

The profits from the bake sale go to fund the cost of the trip to the international convention-this year held in Portland, Oregon.

Pennington said the club also attends district conventions, which include other Circle K chapters from North Carolina and South Carolina. She said there are themes every year, such as Hollywood movie stars where the members get to dress up in fancy dresses and tuxedos.

The club is made up of people from all different backgrounds, according to Eldridge. He said there were members from Student Media, Student Government and many different colleges.

“The only thing that we have in common is we are all volunteers,” he said.

Still, the club said because it is small, its members close with each other and get along very well, often hanging out outside of meetings and events. Eldridge said they go to parties together and go out to dinner with each other.

Another fellowship projects for Circle K was the Carolina Campout. Avery said the club went to a few basketball games throughout the year, besides the Carolina game.

Events like these basketball games have brought group members closer together, according to Eldridge.

“We started out as a group of strangers, now we are a closely knit group of friends,” he said.

Because of the closeness of the group, Pennington, recently elected vice president, said elections were very civil. She said the club pretty much knew the results, and there was little competition for offices among members.

Circle K is open to any college students who want to get involved with fellowship and service projects. The club meets every Wednesday night at 7:15 in the Green Room of Talley Student Center on the fourth floor.

Meetings consist of reading the agenda, some icebreakers, relaying past events and planning future events.

“[Meetings] are very casual, and it is a friendly environment,” Avery said.