The Soap Club is working to promote exceptional science while commemorating one of Piedmont’s late staff members by mixing chemistry and business.

“In the club we make soap, so that involves a lot of chemistry, which is super cool because a lot of it is applying concepts from chemistry class,”  club president senior Marissa Glick said.

The club, which meets every Tuesday at lunch in room 24, was created by the science department to generate money to award a cash prize to an exceptional science student. The proceeds go directly to The Eileen Rohmer Science Department Award.

The award and club honor chemistry and physical Science teacher Eileen Rohmer, who passed away in 2012 after her battle with breast cancer.

“Eileen was very low profile, yet I had the chance to see how special she was,” science teacher Tom Huffaker said. “We wanted to do something to remember her, so we changed the science award to be in her name and attached money to it by selling soap.”

In the past, it was suggested that award winners donate a portion of their prize to a charity.

“This speaks to the idea of Eileen and the importance of giving and sharing,” Huffaker said.

In addition to selling soap at school, they also sell at small boutiques such as Atomic Garden, and are looking forward to high profits as the holiday season begins. The club will also be holding their first Find the Duck Promo, where a rubber duck will be hidden around school, and whomever takes a picture and brings it to room 24 first is awarded free soap.

“Our goal is to start selling the soap every Friday at lunch around the school.We have a cart that we can wander with,” said  senior Arielle Albert, “ But if people want soap they just need to contact a member or Mr. Huffaker and we can make them soap in any scent of their choice.”

The club  offers community service hours for participation.

“People can join the club and find a focus for themselves,” Glick said. “For example if you are a computer and design person, you can be involved in the label making… If you like chemistry then you can be more involved in the making of the soap.”

New member sophomore Danny DeBare enjoys spending time with his other club members.

“The club is important because some of the money raised through soap sales goes to to charity,” DeBare said. “Not only does this club give real world experience of selling a product, but it is for a good cause.”