“We wanted to make a club, but what did we all feel passionately about?”, sophomore Gianna Fasoli giggles to herself when remembering how one of the newest clubs at Hingham High School came about. The Hingham High School Animal Rights Club (HARC) is nothing short of passionate in its love for animals and their safety.

Sophie Paven describes the club to be, “about preserving the rights of animals and spreading awareness about endangered animals.” Being a highschool club, there is only so much of an immediate effect that they can have on their community; however, their goal is to more­so spread awareness to the general public for endangered animals and share ways to help: hopefully to provide a lasting legacy on the members of the club and the rest of Hingham High School.

In their meetings, which are held roughly once a month in room 286, they show powerpoints that not only educate people on a particular animal or species, but also bring about awareness for the challenges that the species is facing. For example, March’s Animal of the Month was the Indian Elephant, which is poached for their ivory tusks. Along with being informative, the meetings are also extremely laid back and relaxing.

A youthful club, the HARC is led by sophomores Caroline Barry, Gianna Fasoli, Sophie Paven, and Chloe Williams; however, in this case, young age does not mean they lack maturity and the ability to express their bold ideas. As well as educating the masses, HARC also is in contact with various animal shelters in the area including Hull Harborside Rescue.

In the future, the club plans to visit the shelter and do some volunteer work and even possibly travel to the Blue Hills Trailside Museum. Other work in the future includes a prospective bake sale to raise money or to have a supply drive to donate to local shelters. Another unique idea that the girls had in mind was to raise money to participate in a program ran by the World Wildlife Fund that would enable Hingham High School to adopt an African Elephant. For more information on the program, click here. Interested students can find additional information on HARC by joining their Facebook group, following their Instagram, or paying a visit to their new website!