Miles Burns is the sort of teenager who makes you wonder what you did when you were at school.

The Reporter first met the Skyline High School senior at an early morning meeting of the Sammamish Kiwanis.

This was a few days before he left for a month-long stay in Istanbul, Turkey and Israel. In Tel Aviv, Israel, Burns interned at a local law practice, researching law trends.

It was an interesting way to spend the summer for a young man heavily involved in his school and his city.

A member of the Junior State of America (JSA) debate organization, Burns also works as a communication liaison for JSA clubs throughout the Pacific Northwest.

He’s on the National Honor Society board. In his spare time, of which there isn’t much, Burns is working toward an International Baccalaureate diploma, an optional program which aims to give students in interdisciplinary thinking and identify areas for intensive study.

For that, he is tackling a 6,000 word exploration of the Wood Ducks of the Hazel Wolf Wetland, a topic which reflects his interest in the environment and ecology of Washington.

But Burns was at the Kiwanis meeting because he is also the President of the Skyline High School Key Club, a group of students who follow the lead of Kiwanis Clubs in helping out where they can in their local community.

The Key Club raises money, volunteers where it is needed, provides the manpower for community events – it is basically an army of student energy, young people looking to do good in a society that increasingly needs them.

The Skyline Key Club is the largest club in the school, boasting more than 100 members who each pay $25 a year in dues. Burns first joined the club as a sophomore.

“When I came to Skyline I knew I wanted to get involved in the community somehow,” he said. “But I wasn’t really sure how to do it. One day, in the hall, I saw a Key Club poster. And that was it.”

Three years later Burns is the key figure of that remarkable group, and is using his time at the helm of the club to do as much as he can to help those who need it the most.

At a Kiwanis meeting last year Burns told his mentors that the Skyline students would reshape their focus this year away from international and national programs to things that could directly benefit the people of Issaquah and Sammamish.

While the Key Club certainly has contributed to local charities and fundraising efforts in past years, Burns said he felt there was more their group could do, during these tough times.

“If you look at the mission statement of the Key Club, it is very much a global organization,” he said. “We felt that this year would be a good time to focus on what was happening in our own communities.”

Key Club liaison Stacey Slyke said although there was great support for area food banks and social services, the needs of families on the Plateau often went unnoticed.

“A lot of people probably think that because this is a relatively affluent community, there aren’t the families out there who need a hand,” she said.

The recession did a lot to expose that myth – local schools reported more and more families were seeking assistance with paying for programs, lunches, uniforms and text books.

And so in the spring Slyke spoke with the Key Club students, as well as past advisors, and decided that is where they could do the most good.

In December, Key Club members provided money and manpower for the “Cheerful Givers” initiative, packing gift bags for families in need before Christmas.

In their weekly meetings, the Key Club made it clear that it wanted to continue to directly impact local families, and so through a partnership with local food banks raised more than $600 for one family in the community.

Key Club members were also a big part of the Issaquah Schools Foundation’s “Calling for Kids” initiative this year, which raised more that $230,000 for the Issaquah School District.

In addition to these remarkable contributions, the Skyline students are also busy behind the scenes at such local events as the Nightmare at Beaver Lake and Fourth on the Plateau. Christmas shoppers might have noticed a few caroling with Kiwanis members in Sammamish this Christmas.

Key Club members are required to contribute 40 hours a year with the group. For people like Burns though, that number isn’t close to his personal commitment.

The people of Issaquah and Sammamish should be very proud of the generous contributions of these hardworking young men and women.