The Compass Club, a mental health organization, held its first meeting of the semester at Troy University this past week for new and returning students.

The club was first chartered at the Troy Campus in November 2019 and was established to help the mental health of special needs individuals.

Magdalene Skaziak, a junior psychology major from Guntersville, Alabama, and also the President of the club, describes the student organization as a group that “focuses on helping special needs children and adults, as well as those who suffer from traumatic brain injury.”

The Compass Club is also an international organization that is sponsored by Pilot International, the parent body of the organization, with the club being a collegiate version.

The organization hosts different projects every semester to volunteer services, which helps local businesses in Troy.

“So far we have sponsored two children during Christmas time,” said Skaziak. “It was a project for the Salvation Army Angel Train where we bought gifts for the children, a 4-year old boy and girl. We also help out with the Salvation Army bell ringing.

“We did GrainLiners, a Pilot International sponsored event that focuses on teaching mental health awareness to elementary school children,” she continued. “We also did a special needs Christmas dinner where paired up with the Pilot Club of Troy and put on a dinner for special needs children and their families.”

There are limited future projects the organization hopes to achieve this semester due to social distancing mandates, some of which includes making gifts and “thank you” baskets for health care workers and first responders.

“We are also going to do Backpack for Kids on campus with Campus Kitchens and we’re going to collect toiletries and items for campus ministry,” Skaziak said. “We’re also thinking of sponsoring a child for Angel Tree, if we have any members around during the holidays.”

Members of the club believe that the organization is important for students on campus because of its main goal of helping others and making the world a better place.

“The club benefits students because it reaches out to everybody in the community,” said Kaylyn Tomlinson, a sophomore nursing major from Pelham, Alabama, and Secretary of the club. “We have members who are from different countries, backgrounds and cultures, and we all get to come together with one goal in mind, which is to help others in the community such as ours, and just bond as a group on campus.”

“We get to meet a lot of new people, we come together and help each other, help the world around us and make the world a better place,” said Dalton Keel, a senior land surveying major from Alex City, Alabama, and the Treasurer.

Compass Club meets every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Patterson 201, and all students are welcome to attend.