Take a bunch of malleable kids, infuse them with the sprit of giving and community well-being and out of the mix comes a dynamic force.

Such is the merit of the St. Joseph Key Club, which has set the world of volunteering agog by virtue of its meaningful projects. The 80 students, aided and abetted by the irrepressible Betsy Beacham, a social sciences teacher at the Catholic high school, have established a record of achievement that is surprising, given the fact that they manage to carry a full load of classes, leaving precious little time for study and other activities.

But they've managed to squeeze out every ounce of time for good works that benefit residents of Independent Living Services, the Humane Society, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the Conway Lions Club eyeglasses project, fund raising for St. Jude's Hospital of Memphis, Bethlehem House, and assist with projects of the Conway Kiwanis Club, the chief sponsor of the group.

The Key Clubbers have been in evidence here for a number of years, about 30 years by some estimates, but under the forceful style of Mrs. Beacham, the youngsters have flowered. So outstanding has their volunteer action has been that it has caught the eye of the United Way, the American Management Company and Regions Bank. Together, these entities have selected the St. Joseph Key Club as the Volunteer of the Month entry for April.

A ringing endorsement of the Key Clubbers comes from Jackie Fliss, executive director of Independent Living Services and Creative Living, who says:

"I think they demonstrate the best example of people caring for and about their fellow man. We hear so much about violence in schools and about teen-agers making bad decisions. This group needs to be recognized for making good and right decisions. They make us proud to be associated with them. They will make us proud in the future, too, because they will be great community members and leaders."

The St. Joseph students have built a strong connection with the residents of ILS, people with developmental disabilities who live in group homes and apartments. The students are fully in tune with the goals of the program, which are to help establish connections that assist in helping them make their way through the adventures of daily living.

"These kids are wonderful," Mrs. Beacham attests. "I can't say enough good things about them. They are so willing, constantly asking what they can do to help. They recognize the urgency of what they're doing to help others."

The Key Clubbers, ages 15 to 18, are individualized into various committees. Some are involved in Toys for Tots, Coats for Kids, working at aluminum can collections for the Humane Society, bell ringing for the Salvation Army and performing all manner of projects for ILS.

"At Christmas time, they're busy stringing hundreds and hundreds of lights at the residences on South German Lane, arranging parties for them, making Christmas cards of each resident complete with their photos attached. Our kids take the ILS people to St. Joseph basketball games, sit with them and purchase their food.

In addition to performing a plethora of tasks for the St. Joseph Church annual bazaar, the kids last year collected 140 coats for the needy. Raised $500 for St. Jude's, received donations for the purchase of pet food for the Humane Society, and sold candygrams for the society. That contributed 30 pints of blood for the Red Cross bloodmobile drive, gathered an untold number of eyeglasses for the local Lions club projects, and made fund-raising pins that were sold for the benefit the Bethlehem House homeless and performed other jobs for the Kiwanis Club's pancake days and its fund-raising runs. The Key Clubbers were unstinting in their zeal to help.

"This year we are making little frog pins that will benefit Bethlehem House; they'll be available for Toad Suck Daze," Mrs. Beacham reports.

The Kiwanis Club, in turn, donates money from its projects to support some of the work of the Key Clubbers.

The students also direct their energies toward Toad Suck Daze events like the golf tournament, the Toad store and the kiddie corner in addition to others.

Mrs. Beacham is the guiding light in all this energy. She admits that her work in scouting, with 4-H Clubs and Future Teachers of America during her public school teaching years at Morrilton, have helped in recharging the Key Club efforts here.

"I think I have the knack of working service projects," she says in a grand understatement.

Mrs. Beacham has a bachelor's degree and a master's in psychology and counseling, disciplines that unquestionably helped her community-minded attitude.

"I love it here at St. Joseph," she says. "I don't even mind getting up on Monday mornings to go to work."

Away from the business of helping others, the Key Clubbers enjoy several social events and attend leadership conferences on the local and state levels.

On tap for the Key Clubbers is a fete arranged by the Conway Kiwanis Club scheduled for April 25 at Howard Johnson.