The Turtle Times July

The Turtle TIMES

Region 13

Division 10 South

Volume 5

Issue 3

July 2015

Club Articles

Schurr

Heart of Compassion

mARK kEPPEL

Special Olympics Host Town Festival

Gabrielino

4th of July and Kid’s Day

San Gabriel Relay For Life

Rosemead

Featured Member

Heart of Compassion Waking up early on a Saturday morning never stopped Key Clubbers from doing service. On July 18, Schurr high school volunteered with Heart of Compassion at Skid Row. Volunteers met up at the Heart of Compassion’s warehouse in the City of Montebello and were taken by bus to Skid Row. Key Clubbers were then split into groups with their designated leader from the organization. Each group was assigned to different jobs, such as packaging fruits and snacks or delivering the care packages to the apartments. It was a busy day for the members, but distributing food to those in need warmed and satisfied their hearts.

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At the end of the day, the workers at Heart of Compassion thanked the members for their hard work. It was a successful event and the members gained an insightful experience.

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Kerry Mulia, Historian Schurr

Special Olympics Host Town Festival What could be a better way to spend summer than by celebrating the upcoming Special Olympics while also volunteering? Answer: nothing. On Wednesday, July 22nd, key clubbers from Mark Keppel High School received a once in a lifetime opportunity of volunteering at Alhambra’s Special Olympics Host Town Festival. The volunteer was held at Alhambra park and was in partnership with Home of Angels, an organization dedicated to assisting special needs people. The festival was held in honor of the German Special Olympians that were being host by the city of Alhambra.

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In the evening, volunteers gathered in the “quiet zone” on the other end of park from the festival.

We were each loaned a volunteer shirt and assigned to an “Angel”, a special needs person, to look over. With our Angels, we participated in the festivities ranging from booth games to arts and crafts. This volunteer event was overall fun and enlightening. Recent Keppel Alumna, Amanda Wong, remarks, “At the Special Olympics Host Town Festival, I was in charge of the games and activities. It was a once in a lifetime event that I will never forget thanks to an amazing organization and volunteers.”

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Sally Duong, Historian Mark Keppel

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4th of July Kids Day

This month, Key clubbers volunteered at Smith Park for San Gabriel Fourth of July and Kid’s Day. Starting at 8:30 in the morning, volunteers helped set up for the event by preparing food, cutting watermelons for watermelon eating contests, and setting up their respective tents. Once the parade ended and The Star Spangled Banner was sung, the celebration began. As people lined up to get free hotdogs, volunteers served them, passed out drinks, and squirted ketchup, mustard, and relish on hotdogs. Other volunteers were asked to entertain children or assist the elderly and veterans. Justin Truong, a fellow Key Clubber, states, “I was only serving drinks, but I felt good because I was able to help and make a small difference.” Indeed, one person can make a small difference, but as a club, we make a small difference into something big.

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At the end of the day, when people started to go home due to the sweltering heat, key clubbers remained behind to pick up trash, dissemble tents, fold up tables and chairs, and gather up flags. When the service officially ended, Key Clubbers and officers ate snow cones to cool off after their hard work and took a group picture to keep as a memory of this day.

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Andrea Widanta, Historian Gabrielino

Relay FOr Life

On their last weekend before school, San Gabriel Key Clubbers joined together with community members to celebrate cancer survivors and caregivers at the Relay for Life on August 8. Club members utilized their incredible spirit as they cheered on and walked alongside Relay for Life participants.

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Throughout the entirety of the service, San Gabriel Key Clubbers bustled together to create a fun and interactive experience for present community members in the form of encouragement, good company, and synergy. Eventually, all attendees including club members joined together for a joyous line-dance in light of the event’s purpose. Senior Lawrance Huynh recounted his thoughts on the act of celebration.

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“Line dancing was a refreshing way to celebrate the survival of the cancer patients,” Huynh said. “Many of those dancing were very energetic; some of them got pretty crazy.”When asked for his opinion on the event, Huynh described his overall experience and appreciation for the Relay for Life’s purpose.“It was a fun and heartwarming [opportunity] to honor several survivors of cancer and to see their family members and loved ones to walk alongside them,” Huynh said. “Although this was a small event, it was definitely a memorable one.”

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The Relay for Life proved to be a touching experience to both club members and walk participants alike. San Gabriel Key Club will be recruiting new members in late August to early September in hopes of providing more of such opportunities to students like Huynh in the near future.

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Kelly Ho, Historian San Gabriel

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Rosemead Featured Member

Kelly Lien may be camera shy, but she is absolutely not shy in volunteering. On July 19, it was our very own secretary’s birthday! Not only is she our secretary, but she also participates in other extracurricular activities such as band. She is always on her game, even if band camp is occurring or she has to practice long hours for an upcoming performance. She always keeps the club and cabinet in check of what events will be happening and what needs to be done. She stays tough and confident for us to succeed, but she is still the sweetheart that cares about everyone. Kelly loves to joke around here and there to keep people laughing and smiling.

Thank you for staying positive all the time, and looking out for any members that seem to have any trouble! Rosemead Key Club loves you, Kelly.

We hope you had a wonderful birthday and many more to come!

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Vicky Chang Historian, Rosemead

Thanks For Reading Be sure to visit our district and division websites at: http://www.cnhkeyclub.org/ http://division10s.wix.com/keyclub

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