In the midst of the holiday frenzy, many look forward to celebrations, the break from school, or just being able to binge watch their favorite TV show. However, many get caught up in all the festive cheer and forget about the community.
There are many in need of support during this time, and there are numerous ways to get involved in the community. From bake sales to fundraising, many enjoy getting to know what their area has to offer and what they can do to make a difference.
At our school, there are various clubs that devote themselves to giving back to the community. One of the clubs on campus, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, dedicates their club to educating their members about humanitarian issues around the world and then donating to these issues around the world. This club aims to educate their members about their larger mission: to raise awareness for issues around the world, encouraging generations to take a stand.
One way the clubs here on campus give back is by raising money through fundraisers. They hold fundraisers, such as bake sales, in order to raise money to donate to these issues around the world.
“We just recently had a bake sale, and we raised about $140. We’re going to be sending that over to UNICEF, so that’s one way we’re gonna be supporting the global community,” UNICEF president, senior, Julie Shih said.
This club recently had a bake sale in November and they raised money to send to the national UNICEF organization. This club also provides support during the holidays by creating holiday cards for children in the hospital and by hosting food drives. They then donate the food to Families Forward, an organization and place where families can go for housing and help during hardship or difficult times.
Another club on campus that has a goal of giving back to the community is the Hope in Hand Club. Hope in Hand Club founder and senior Nithila Kannan wanted to foster a community that gave people a way to give back to their community while representing something she was interested in.
Kannan started this club to bring hope to others, especially those facing difficult times in the hospital. This club’s goal is to make bracelets which they can then donate to hospitalized patients and bring them hope, also partnering with other companies in the medical field to raise money to donate and give back to the medical community.
“We have fundraisers. For example, last year during the spring carnival, I think we raised close to $300, and then whatever we didn’t need to fund supplies we donated back to the organizations that we were partnered with, like UCI Health, Kaiser and Hoag,” Kannan said.
The Hope in Hand club meets once a month. After meeting and making the bracelets for patients, Kannan delivers the bracelets to the hospital herself. She enjoys being able to deliver the bracelets and having a personal and face-to-face connection with those who also bring hope in the hospitals.
Another club at Woodbridge High that gives back to the community is Key Club. Key Club is the largest and oldest high school service organization in schools throughout the country.
This club is an international volunteer organization that focuses on high schoolers reaching out to different parts of the world. The main goal of this club is to make the community a better place by helping and supporting everybody, no matter what is happening around the world.
“We do bake sales that raise money to help hospitals around the globe. We also do beach cleanups, cleaning up our environment. Overall, there are a variety of different organizations that we work with, such as Forever Footprints and March of Dimes,” secretary of the club Melike Eren, sophomore said.
There are a variety of clubs that work to give back to the community. They work to raise money that they donate to bigger organizations or they help to make the world a better place by cleaning up trash or by working to protect the world. They remind their members that giving back is rewarding and that everyone should have the opportunity to do so.
From bake sales to beach cleanups, everyone has a different place when being able to give back to the community.
Especially during the holiday season, there are many ways to give back to the community, and small acts really make a big difference.
