As Partners Club gets underway for the 2015-2016 school year, many people ask the same question numerous times, “What is Partners Club?”

“ Partners Club is an opportunity for students to help special needs students in a sports-themed environment,” according to Nick Winkler, the sponsor of Partners Club and a special education teacher here at Dimond.

Partners Club comes from the ideas of Camp Shriver, a Special Olympics summer sports program that was run by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of former president John F. Kennedy.

Partners Club offers many benefits to its members.

It gives students “the ability to work with the entire school population, which creates a lot of friendships and community,” Winkler said. After being asked how the students like Partners Club, Winkler said, “The kids that are here absolutely love it. They can’t wait for the days that we meet up. They get extremely excited and look forward to it.”

Taylor Dintzner, a sophomore at Dimond, has been a part of Partners Club since his freshman year.

“I love seeing the students progress and get better every time we meet,” Dintzner said. He also said, “The fact that I can make a difference in my community and my school is a great feeling.

“The one thing I would want to change about Partners Club is that people need to show up consistently rather than every other week. Sometimes it can be hard because there are very few people that attend, therefore, it’s hard to help all of the students.”

Dintzner was also asked about colleges and transcripts that have Partners Club reflected on them.

“It looks good on the transcript” he said, winking.

Sophomore William Seibel loves when the members come to Partners Club.

“I like the parties! We have the parties to socialize with the other students. I like talking a lot and K-Troy [Walker] gets everybody in a good mood,” Seibel said. He enjoys being with Walker because they laugh together the whole time.

“I wish Partners Club could be all day, and every day.” Seibel said. “We meet in the gym and we play volleyball and basketball. Last year, we had a Valentine’s Day event, and we gave away candy to other people who signed up for Partners Club. It was really fun.”

Nick Hill is a sophomore who likes when the members come because it allows him to perfect his basketball shot in the gym.

“I like how we get to play sports and hang out with people. The people that come are very nice and helpful. One of my favorite people who comes to Partners Club is Tiffany Jackson. She keeps the mood up and makes me smile.”

Partners Club is a chance for students to meet other students that they generally wouldn’t meet in a normal school day. Winkler said Partners Club is always welcoming new students to come and experience new activities and meet other students.