Venture club raises awareness about substance abuse

Members of the Venture Club of Harrisburg are joining forces with the Susquehanna Township Police Department and Susquehanna Township High School to raise awareness about substance abuse.
The club and the police department bought Fatal Vision goggles. The goggles are specially designed eyewear that simulates the impairment caused by alcohol or drugs. Although viewing through the goggles is clear, the wearer experiences a loss of equilibrium. Together, club members and police will visit the school over the next few months to demonstrate the effects.
The Venture Club is a group of business and professional women that focuses on community service and action.
“When I joined in October of 2000 there were 18 members,” says Kelly Schlieder, who is in charge of public relations for the group and is a marketing analyst at Hershey Foods Corp., Derry Township. “We just inducted our 42nd member.”
Sponsored by Soroptimist International of the Americas, Venture Clubs were formed to involve young professional and businesswomen in community service.
“We are Venture Club members until age 40, then we move into the Soroptimist organization,” adds Schlieder. The members include financial professionals, interior designers, office professionals, teachers, accountants, people in manufacturing and nonprofit employees, to name a few.
In November, the club received a $2,500 grant from the Venture Clubs of America for a project at Harrisburg’s Cenacle Shelter for youth in crisis. The group provided art supplies, educational software and a washer and dryer.
For information on Venture Club of Harrisburg, call Sharrel Kint Van Wagner, club president, at 671-8443.