Like a good neighbor, Good Neighbors Club is there

Gena Baek, Co-Business Manager|April 4, 2016

Photo Courtesy Hannah Kim

Sophomore students organized a club in order to raise funds for poor people in South America and Africa

With a single goal of spreading care to people in need, it is no surprise that the Good Neighbors Club is raising much support from the community.

“Good Neighbors particularly focuses on  trying to provide a better education for those who aren’t able to receive much help in countries in South America and Africa,” sophomore and club secretary Lucia Chang said.

Good Neighbors is an international humanitarian non-profit organization, founded in 1996, that tries to improve quality of life and educational standards in areas of natural disasters according to www.ngo.com. Through activities, such as selling corsages and t-shirts, the Good Neighbors Club raises enough funds to send to the organization since it began last year. The organization then distributes the donations to impoverished regions throughout the world.

“I decided to start a Good Neighbors club here at Woodbridge because I truly believe that a club, united by the same hopes and visions, has potential to change the world,” sophomore and club president Hannah Kim said.

Excited and motivated, club members started off the year with a fundraiser selling corsages for Winter Formal and were able to earn around $400. They set their bars high for the year with a goal of raising $800 to $1,000 to donate to the Good Neighbors organization so that they can build stoves in Guatemala.

Not only have the club board members been involved with fundraising activities, but also other students and people from the local community took part in these donations.

“As I started, I was inspired by the idea of helping the people in need, and this had a completely new purpose to me as a person,” sophomore and club member Gayatri Subramaniam said. “We are planning more ideas we think everyone will like and something that will make people interested in donating.”

Despite challenges the club has faced in regards to coming up with fundraising ideas, club members strive towards their goal of raising money and awareness of the hardships that people across the globe face.

Meetings are held every Monday during lunch in Room G105.

Believing that their efforts can bring hope to different people, the Good Neighbors Club encourages friends and family to take a stand and make a change.