November Newsletter

KEY FACTS November 2014

The official newsletter of the Cypress Woods High School Key Club

Cans for

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President’s Letter Some inspiring words from President Natasha

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Upcoming Events Only a few weeks left to finish fall semester hours

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Perspectives

Inside the canned food drive

Volume 3, Issue 7 December 5, 2014

IN THIS ISSUE...

3 PRESIDENT’S LETTER 4 UPCOMING EVENTS 5 FRIENDLY REMINDERS

TIPS FROM THE TOP 6 CANNED FOOD DRIVE 8 CREDITS 10

Contact Information Cy Woods Key Club Officers President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Editor Representative Coordinator Historian Webmaster Junior Secretary K-Family Board

Natasha Solanki Matt Faga Jacque Chan Ashley Kawakubo Shannon Steele Kishan Solanki Gina Zhang Nick Nguyen Sharon Zhou Ashley Butterfield Grace Teoh Naomi Zavala Madelin Cowden Richa Patel Trenton Bird Daniel Campos

natasha.solanki@hotmail.com mattcfaga@me.com jacque.chan1019@gmail.com

(281) 904-7873 (713) 449-3307 (832) 349-4198

shannonjsteele@gmail.com kitchishere@gmail.com gina_zhang2008@hotmail.com nick.erik2010@yahoo.com happysharonzh@yahoo.com ashleybutterfield97@gmail.com gracelvo@gmail.com naomizavala@icloud.com madelin11@live.com richa928@hotmail.com

(409) 767-5316 (281) 904-8652 (832) 773-3228 (281) 849-4885 (281) 346-9218 (281) 312-9706 (832) 298-4772 (281) 974-7152

Division 3N Lieutenant Governor Amy Jiang

Cypress Falls

amyjiang.kc@gmail.com

Texas-Oklahoma District Staff Governor Secretary Treasurer Editor Convention Liaison Tech Producer

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Kaitlyn Wilson Samuel Kinnin Colin Gonzalez Emily Zhao Andrew Loh Bobby Thakkar

governor@tokeyclub.com secretary@tokeyclub.com treasurer@tokeyclub.com editor@tokeyclub.com cl@tokeyclub.com

A letter from your

Club President Dear Key Clubbers,

It is finally the season for peppermint lattes, cozy jackets, and Christmas lights! With so much to be thankful for this winter, I’m proud that Cy Woods still recognizes the importance of giving back. This year members were exposed to the harsh reality that not everyone is as fortunate as they are, and as a result a good portion of our 300 member club participated in collecting money through Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF boxes.

After sharing what the money raised from UNICEF goes towards, members actively participated in collecting loose change from their peers and family members in order to embark on a journey to eliminate material and neonatal tetanus.

As the pile of filled UNICEF boxes continued to grow throughout October and November, I realized it was time for the officers to sort all of the money. The chaos was surreal as bags filled with coins were being tossed from officer to officer, but I can’t deny that the officer meeting that day was filled with excitement. Everyone was happy knowing that our efforts this year for UNICEF would pay off. It was all part of this year’s theme of “just keep serving.” Cy Woods Key Club will never stop serving their community. Another project we did this season was collect canned goods for those who are in need this time of year. We collected so many cans this year that the officers made a turkey out of the cans and took pictures with it. This is just another small example of how we enjoy giving back as a group.

Although these two projects are hard to beat, one of the service opportunities we have coming up is extraordinary! Cy Woods is collecting snacks, letters, magazines, toiletries, etc. to send to troops overseas who have no one to send them gifts. Apparently, 2/3 of the men who join the marines join because they have no family and want something to be a part of. None of them get letters or packages in the mail so they subscribe to magazines just so they can have something to open with their name on. I just find it really sad that these men are overseas with no family to be thinking about them or sending things, especially over the holidays which is why we are doing everything we can to ensure that their holidays are a little bit more brighter this year!

Anyways, keep up the 212 spirit, Wildcats! Thanks for all of your hard work and dedicated participation!

Yours in service,

Natasha Solanki President of Cypress Woods Key Club

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Upcoming Events Senior Prom December 6 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

5:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Ainsley Court Assisted Living Christmas at the North Pole December 6 2:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Coles Crossing

Choir Holiday Concert December 9 4 - 7 p.m.

CWHS Choir room

All-Star Martial Arts Event December 22/23 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

All-Star (Telge Rd.)

Facebook: “Cy Woods Key Club” Email: cywoodskeyclub@gmail.com Twitter: @CyWoodsKeyClub Instagram: @cywoodskeyclub Website: www. cywoodskeyclub.wix.com/home/home Be sure to check signupgenius and Facebook regularly for new event opportunities!

Do you have a service idea? email any information to: cywoodskeyclub@gmail.com 4

Fall hours The fall semester ends December 19. Hours earned over the winter break can be applied to fall or spring semester. Turn in hours forms to Mr. Kent’s room 2411 or an officer at the next meeting.

Hours concerns The hours database is current. If you notice a mistake, please send an email to cywoodskeyclub@gmail.com with the correct information and an officer will fix hours as soon as possible.

Event etiquette You are a representative for the Cy Woods Key Club at every event.

Remember to wear a Key Club shirt unless specifically told otherwise.

Do not play on your phone while volunteering.

Photography If you take any pictures while volunteering at a Key Club event, please send them to cywoodskeyclub@gmail.com.

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Soaring up the Key Club ranks.

Tips on how to join the Top 25 clubs list Jordan Miller

Sophomore Representative

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ecoming part of the Tex-OKey district’s Top 25 clubs is a fairly daunting task, but can be accomplished with a good amount of hard work. In order to have a better shot at becoming part of the top 25 are lot of membership, service, and creativity in your club. Although this may seem hard (how can I get all of my club members to be creative with service?), it can be accomplished.

Membership. Getting members at the beginning of the year is hard for some, but it can be accomplished with the right crew of outgoing members.

When recruiting possible members at the beginning of the year, try and select a few outstanding, friendly, well-liked members from the previous year to try and bring newcomers to your Key Club. Selecting a member who is very shy for this task would be very uncomfortable for the member and the possible member. Also, when talking to this possible newcomer, emphasize the positive benefits of Key Club (like the great feeling volunteering gives you, the new friends you can make, etc.) as well as letting them know the requirements of being a member (25 volunteer hours per semester, meeting attendance). These simple tips will help you gain many members, and it will make sure new members are aware of requirements.

Service. Bringing as many volunteer

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events as you can to your club is a great way to make it into the Top 25, especially if your club has a high volume of members. Try and get interesting events, too, so that it can pique your members’ interest, even if they have already gotten their hours for the semester. Having incentives for people who go above and beyond their service requirements is a great way to get more hours for your club, thus moving up your rank in the Top 25.

Creativity. Volunteer hours are the

core element of Key Club. However, it never hurts to have fun as well.

Organizing fun socials can increase membership and activity in you club and can also help you come up with different service projects to do as a club. Creative lock-ins with different service projects can help inspire determination in your club as well.

Following these tips will lead your club into the district’s Top 25, and even could possibly make your club’s ranking soar to number one.

Cy Woods Key Club won 9th in the district at DCON 2014

Inspiring change.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF inspires representative.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF boxes are a simple way to raise money for a cause

Nikita Dhar

Sophomore Representative

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hen I first saw the Trick-orTreat for UNICEF boxes, I thought the whole thing was a bit absurd. How was filling a few boxes with some spare change going to make a difference? How were some pennies and dimes from a few Key Club members going to help such a huge organization? I was skeptical to say the least, but I soon found out that UNICEF boxes were so much more than spare change.

I found the whole idea of filling a box with change crazy until I saw how enthusiastic members were about it. Being close friends with the treasurer, I was able to see just how many members were taking a part in this event. I had assumed maybe 25 members would take part in Trickor-Treat for UNICEF, and maybe

the members would fill it with some spare change they found around the house. Within the first few days, however, I watched the UNICEF checkout sheet exceed 100 members.

I was thrilled to see that so many members were willing to help make a change. Additionally, I was surprised by how fast and to what extent the boxes were getting filled with change.

I had no clue members would actually go through the trouble of filling the boxes, and seeing it be done was quite amazing. Members would check out a box one day, and then come back the next day with the box filled to the brim. Even more fascinating, they would ask for another box! I was so excited by everyone’s participation and enthusiasm in the event that I went home and

researched about UNICEF and their cause to learn more. I learned that UNICEF takes proven, low-cost methods that save children’s lives and makes them available regardless of income, ethnicity or location. I also found out that by simply donating, one could help provide children with lifesaving vaccines and bed nets, emergency relief following natural disasters, educational opportunities and school-in-a-box kits.

The goal of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is an amazing one that I find absolutely admirable. It is quite astounding how it only takes the help of a few students filling up boxes with spare change to make a monumental change beyond belief.

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FOOD for You can’t beat the can drive: Secretary organizes canned food drive with surprising results Sharon Zhou Junior Secretary

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f you have even spent a second around anything or anyone Key Club, you know that Key Club synonymous with volunteering and service projects. Of course, while all service projects are amazing and bring happiness for the community, my favorite one that we’ve done this year is the Canned Food Drive for the Coles Crossing Turkey Trot.

Every year on Thanksgiving Day, the nearby community of Coles Crossing holds their annual Turkey Trot Fun Run, perhaps as a way to surreptitiously help people into dropping those last couple of ounces, before they gain them all back that night at Thanksgiving dinner. As part of the fun, they always ask competitors to donate canned goods or other non-perishables, which organizers later take to various food banks and organizations around Cypress to help them during the holiday season.

In 10th grade, I became a sophomore representative for the Cy Woods Key Club. As a part of my job description, I was required to bring a volunteering opportunity to the club. I knew that having the can drive for the Turkey Trot would be perfect. The event was announced to the club, and a due date for the cans was set for two weeks later.

The whole week, I was excited to see how many people would bring

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Just one of the numerous boxes of canned goods donated.

cans for “my” event. On the Friday before Thanksgiving break, I was not disappointed. After lugging bags and bags of cans and non-perishables to my mom’s car and driving back home, I gave myself the task of putting the bags into boxes to make them easier to transport. After 30 minutes of counting and organizing, a total of 73 non-perishable food items were ready to be taken to the Turkey Trot to be donated.

This year, I once again offered the Turkey Trot can drive as a donation hours opportunity, this time, unfortunately, we had only one week before the due date. As the days flew by, the strains of junior year completely dashed the can drive from my head until I was reminded by my president of the collection day.

I worried about not having cans to bring to the Turkey Trot. What if we hadn’t advertised enough? What if no one had time to bring cans? What if all of them were expired? Imagine my surprise when I walked into the room where the cans were being collected and found a massive pile of bags of cans that almost went up to my knees! With the help of many faithful friends, I eventually got all of the non-perishables into the car, shocked at the exponential increase in donations from last year.

Back at home, a sense of déjà vu overcame me as I once again settled down in the garage to count and sort the cans. As I packed the cans away, I was suddenly overwhelmed by the impact of what I was doing. I kept on reminding myself that every can

that I stacked would be able to help feed another human being. At the same time, I was in awe (but not surprised) at the way that the Cy Woods Key Clubbers had risen to the occasion, clearly shown by the seemingly endless amount of cans I was counting and packing. An hour later, over 160 cans and other nonperishables were packed into boxes.

I couldn’t help but let a grin escape as I stood back and felt an immense source of pride; an event that I had helped bring to the table would result in 160 cans going towards meals and helping someone stay full for at least one more day. That was not something everyone could say they had done.

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CONTRIBUTIONS COVER PHOTO

JACQUE CHAN

PHOTOS

ARTICLES

NIKITA DHAR JORDAN MILLER SHARON ZHOU

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

NATASHA SOLANKI

ARTICLE AUTHORS

KEY FACTS CYPRESS WOODS HIGH SCHOOL KEY CLUB NOVEMBER 2014