the elephant times september 2015 edition
division 35 east
table of contents recognition recognition
02
letterfrom from the ltg ltg letter
03
letterfrom from the editor letter editor
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trash clean-up
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eagle project
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fans in the stands
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preparing school
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planet rehab
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insan project
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isaiah’s rock
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informational news
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upcoming dates
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contact
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member of the month
victor lee
Victor, a sophomore at Rowland High School, has recently, if not before, shown great promise. His face has become a familiar one to not only many in the division, but also many members of the Division Leadership Team and the Kiwanis as well. Victor consistently comes to every event possible, inspiring dedication and teamwork to many. Although he is only a sophomore, Victor has exemplified the ideal qualities of an optimal member. Whenever handed a task, he is committed 110% to it, regardless of how difficult or irritating the job may be. Victor is a perfect fit for Member of the Month.
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officer of 04the month
christopher cruz 05 07
Christopher Cruz, president of Northview Key Club, is a kind-hearted spirit who Division 35 East is lucky to have. He always seems to provide a helping hand for anyone who requests for it. Simultaneously, Chris’s dedication to resolve and finish every task and struggle presented is incredible. Chris can be seen helping any group of people set up for events or aid many through service projects. Northview’s previous recognition in July would have been out of reach if it hadn’t been for Christopher and his amazing board. He continuously inspires others to find their own passion in Key Club by exemplifying the ideal qualities of an officer.
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club of11 the month
nogales 13 13
tommy dang
Nogales has shown exceptional consistency in these past few months. Most events, their entire officer board will attend, creating a very warm environment. With great spirits and better hours than last year, we are extremely proud of them and how they are doing this term! Nogales truly deserves club of the month.
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15member recognition coordinator testimonies by catherine cao, 2
a message from your
ltg
Why Hello There Elephants! How are you all doing? I know, the answer is probably not the best because school started but don’t fret! I know you will all do well in whatever classes you are taking and I believe in all of you. But with proper planning, any and everything is possible so make sure to still make room for Key Club in your schedules! The school year has just begun and the strive for service grows even stronger! How many service events do you plan to attend this month? Make sure to get those hours in! We have to reach our goal of 12,000 hours and we can’t do it without your help! Are you also ready to start helping recruit new members? Always spread the positive image of Key Club! Tell all the freshmen how’s Key Club has impacted you. Let them know your Key Club Moment! Every single member counts and the more the merrier so spread the love! That is my challenge of the month to you: recruit one new member! While it may seem small, every single person makes all the difference. I know you can do it! Come find me at a DCM and tell me how it went. Until then Elephants, I wish you a good school year!
sabrina bodine division 35 east lieUtenant governor 3
a message from your
editor
School has finally started, elephants! I understand the pain and stress that you must already be feeling, but understand that school is necessary for a good future. Nevertheless, don’t let school deter you from reaching your full potential! Be sure to create all of the events you can this month and reach as many service hours as possible. Create a goal for the amount of service you wish to do this year, and hard work will get you far. Also make sure that you have as much fun as possible. For the seniors, this is your last year not only in Key Club, but in high school in general. After this, you end a chapter and begin a new one. Make as many memories as you can so you’ll enjoy the limited time you have left with your friends. Not only that, for some of you, club rush is coming soon. I’m sure that your dedication and passion for Key Club will shine through and reach the freshman and other classmates. And with that, I hope you have a great beginning of your school year!
natalie lu
division 35 east newsletter editor
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trash cleanup It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and I thought it would be a great time to host a trash cleanup. Before we went into trash cleanup, we had to have a brief discussion of future events and a description of Fall Rally. We introduced our members to our Lieutenant Governor, Sabrina Bodine and then we described Fall Rally to our members. The board members who went to Fall Rally gave their experience about the special event, and how it affected them as a whole. We also sold pizza to those who came to event and were hungry because it was lunch time. Unfortunately, the park did not have a credible sink, so the water balloon activity could not be completed. Instead, the members inflated the balloons and tried to make as many as possible. After the meeting, we went around Cortez Park and picked up any scrap of trash we found at the park. Our members split up into many directions and went corners of the Park to pick up trash. At the end, we found many scraps of trash, and we filled up our trash bags and threw them away. I believe that this event helped strengthen the bond with our members while keeping them informed of future events that would interest the members.
alec phong, covina
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john wen's eagle project troop 730 Helping John Wen and his troop with his project was a very fun experience. We met at 7AM, tired but excited to begin. We started the day by unloading supplies from trucks. Suddenly an issue came up, and we were short on the amount of cacti. We waited while John Wen went to buy a few more cacti in order to fill in empty spaces. After, the group was split into two. One half was handed gloves and shovels in order to dig holes into the ground and plant cacti. The other half of the group sanded down sheds and painted over them for a new look. Everyone worked very hard even though it spontaneously rained several times, and we had a great time making new friends as well. We took a break with a prayer and a provided dinner. After dinner, we quickly got back to work and finished up sanding down the sheds and painting them. We even had a bit of time to enjoy the company of a few horses. At the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, dirty, and satisfied with the finished project!
julie ha, rowland
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fans in the stands phong nguyen, bonita
Two of the things that Key Club loves to do is show ourenthusiasm and help a good cause. Well, what better way to do both then to show our support for the Special Olympics during an important competition? This is what a member of Bonita Key Club did along with the rest of D35E during the Fans in the Stands.and it was inspiring to see so many people move past their disabilities. Those from our school that came changed their perception of people with disabilities, and I’m positive that the same happened for many other people. Bonita High School often helps our local Special Olympics members during weekly practices during the school year, so coming to this competition to support them let us see the pinnacle of Special Olympics. It was also another excuse—ahem, I mean opportunity to meet with other Key Clubbers from the division. One especially memorable moment was when Key Clubbers started a huge wave to cheer on the participants! Olympics events. Special Olympics is similar to Key Club International in that both allow youths with a common goal to work together to reach that goal. For us, it is to give back to the community, and for them it is to overcome their limitations. There is a lot of overlap in these two goalsI’m sure many Key Clubbers have surpassed their own handicaps in some way, as much as I’m sure members of the Special Olympics have enriched their community. I hope that many more events will be as inspiring as this! Teams from all over the world came to compete against each other, It’s especially fitting that Key Club participates in Special Olympics events. Special Olympics is similar to Key Club International in that both allow youths with a common goal to work together to reach that goal. For us, it is to give back to the community, and for them it is to overcome their limitations. There is a lot of overlap in these two goalsI’m sure many Key Clubbers have surpassed their own handicaps in some way, as much as I’m sure members of the Special Olympics have enriched their community. I hope that many more events will be as inspiring as this!
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preparing school
Today I signed up to help teachers move back into their rooms, but it was so much more than that. I felt like I was a part of bringing better education to students by helping teachers with small tasks such as unboxing workbooks or re-shelving books. My partner and my small contributions helped educators feel more relaxed and less stressed, which allowed them to focus more on preparing their classrooms for another year of vigorous learning. I was so glad to offer assistance to teachers since they do so much for us, and it felt truly amazing to hear them appreciate our work as much as we do theirs. This was the first year we had implemented this program so we started out small. Despite the challenges, the four volunteers, myself included, helped a majority of the teachers in some small way, or another. In conclusion, this was a wonderful experience; one that I would hope would continue in future years. I would be so delighted to see the number of volunteers grow as time progresses because I think it is really important to show teachers how much we appreciate what they do for us.
stacey lau, charter oak 8
planet I didn’t know what to expect when I first arrived at Planet Rehab. From the outside, it looked like any other neighborhood home, except it had a little more greenery that covered the front lawn. The moment my fellow Key Clubbers and I stepped through the gate was the moment we entered a whole different world. Tropical trees towered above us, flocks of colorful parakeets and exotic pheasants chirped, and gigantic tortoises roamed their kingdom. Gary Mitchell, the owner, introduced himself and explained the environmental crises occurring in the world we live in today. For example, the monarch butterfly, an important pollinator for many crops, has been driven nearly to extinction, with 95% of its original population gone. Therefore, Gary set up a butterfly sanctuary to help increase the number of monarch butterflies. Once we were given a quick tour of the property, Key Clubbers went to work! Together, we helped to take care of approximately 350 animals by doing a variety of tasks. Some emptied the chickens’ dirty water dishes and refilled food, while others hand-fed the mandarin ducks. I fed the rabbits in their hutch, and later shoveled out old nesting material so the animals had a tidier space to live in. We also swept and raked fallen leaves and branches throughout the backyard and moved the nesting material to a separate pile for compost. After several hours of hard work, we walked around and admired the range of animals that Planet Rehab had rescued and adopted: dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, parakeets, pheasants, tortoises, goats, rabbits, an alpaca, butterflies, a crow (aptly named Russell), and even three baby raccoons! This is one unique Key Club experience I will never forget: it showed me that just one person could make a difference, and that, if we all work together, we can change the world.
VALERIE TRUONG, WALNUT This month, South Hills High School Key Club had another chance at helping Planet Rehab with their International Food Festival. Upon arriving, our members were educated by our lovely host, Gary, on how much better going vegetarian is for the environment. We learned about everything from fossil fuels to GMOs. The fabulous Planet Rehab backyard was absolutely amazing. We helped feed the animals, and sweep the floors in preparation for the big food festival. At the festival, attendees paid twenty dollars to try vegetarian food from twenty different countries! While some of our members continued to help out with cleaning up, some of us were able to help cook food and sell tickets for the big event. Not only were we able to help with the event, but we were able to learn so much about how we can change the environment. We will definitely be coming back to Planet Rehab in the future!
vivian tiet, south hills 9
t rehab
Once again, we were given the opportunity to serve in a San Dimas High School sponsored event with Key Club at Planet Rehab. On August 8, Planet Rehab hosted an International Food Festival featuring vegetarian and vegan foods from over twenty countries. The objective of the event was to display the significance of organic produce over the production of meat. Four Key Club representatives attended the event. Upon arrival, we were quickly assigned to sweep the front yard, backyard, and rake leaves. However, as the day progressed, our tasks became allocated: Vivian assisted in the preparation of the food in the kitchen, Natalie prepared for the raffle and constructed the signs, and Chris and I aided in the setup/rearrangement of tables and chairs. After the setup was complete, we helped manage the raffle station. Among the various items being raffled, there were handmade Persian blankets, scary movies, watches, Lush products, hair care products, and a large packet of toys. As the initiation of the event advanced, people began to arrive with a variety of food. We rushed to accommodate each specialized product into its desired location in the divided backyard. We helped line up the incense as the arriving volunteers rushed to get into their costumes and their positions. Soon the event commenced followed by the arrival of the guests and the opening of the petting zoo and butterfly exhibit. We were instructed our final task in which was to inform the guests to park on Cataract to avoid the disturbance of the neighbors. Though tiring, this event helped us to understand the difficulties yet satisfaction of transforming earth into a clean and habitable planet which allowed us to have happy experience.
wendy tang, northview 10
insan project INSAN is a non-profit organization that aims to feed and help-out the homeless in any way possible. They work in multiple cities like Walnut, Pomona, San Dimas, and many more cities with a more prominent amount of homeless peoples in their communities. They have an extensive list full of dates set aside to feed the homeless and we chose to help out in their Pomona soup kitchen and drive for the homeless. We started the day by helping them set up chairs, tables, and canopies creating the food drive line which the homeless people would file down grabbing food, water, and other miscellaneous items. After setting up all of the tables, chairs, and canopies we were tasked to start bringing out food, organizing it and distributing it amongst the stations. One of the stations had water, fruit, and vegetables, another station had meat items, and the station that I worked at had dried goods like dried fruit, pasta, and crackers. While we were doing this outside, on the inside there were volunteers preparing for the actual soup kitchen. On the inside, people were setting up chairs and tables for them to sit at and eat whilst other prepared food and drinks like punch and pasta. After an hour it was finally ready to start allowing the homeless in to eat. We served them their pasta and gave them their punch at the table. We had more than enough (even seconds!) for everyone who came to eat that day! After a prayer and everyone eating, everyone came out to help pass out the food for the food drive. We were all stationed at different parts, some with the meat, some with the dried goods, and some with the vegetables and fruit. In an orderly line, the people grabbed food in certain amounts in order to make sure everybody had some food to put in their trash bags. Unfortunately, it started to rain extremely hard causing a lot of the food to get wet and a lot of people to get wet. Due to the rain, much of the dried goods were not salvageable and had to be thrown away. Many of the homeless people who weren’t under a canopy got wet and some of their food went bad. Despite this minor set back, spirits were still kept high and extra food was given out to those who had their food soiled. Our last task for the day was to clean up the inside and put the canopies, tables, and chairs away; with our number of people this was no problem and we did it very fast! All in all, INSAN with Pomona was a huge success despite having the rain soil a small part of the day. The objective of feeding the homeless was met and then some and everyone left with a smile on their faces!
christopher moy, san dimas 11
isaiah's rock peyrin kao, diamond bar Several weeks ago I went to Isaiah’s Rock, a local nonprofit organization that supplies and distributes food to those in need. Isaiah’s Rock also holds two major events during Thanksgiving and Christmas, providing meals to the hungry and toys to the children. The food is donated from local supermarkets, corporations, and individuals. A truckload of fresh bread had been brought in that day for distribution, so it was my job to help unload the bread. While I was working, I saw other people sorting the food by category, packaging the food into bags and boxes for distribution, and even building shelves to hold the food. In addition to members of Key Club, there were other volunteers from all walks of life; some worked for other organizations, some worked independently, but everyone came together for a common cause. It was inspiring to see so many individuals devoting their weekends helping others.
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international news 2015 international convention award winners categories: Oratorical Club posters (Digital and non-digital) Club scrapbooks (Traditional and non-traditional) Club video Single service (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum) Major Emphasis Distinguished Diamond Club Robert F. Lucas Outstanding Lieutenant Governors Outstanding District Editors Outstanding District Secretaries Outstanding District Treasurers Outstanding District Governors Key of Honor President’s Awards Outstanding International Board Member
CLUB SCRAPBOOK TRADITIONAL Third place: North Shore High School, New York District Second place: Cloverdale High School, CaliforniaNevada-Hawaii District First place: James Wood High School, Capital District
Oratorical contestants gave five-minute speeches based on the following question: “What will Key Club accomplish in the next 10 years before Key Club’s 100th Anniversary?”
SINGLE SERVICE Bronze Division (35 members or fewer) Third place: Waverly High School, Illinois-Eastern Iowa District Second place: Palatka High School, Florida District First place: Cloverdale High School, California-NevadaHawaii District
Third place: Bri Dixon, Michigan District Second place: Mina Wilcha, Pennsylvania District First place: Jasmine Schmidt, New England District CLUB POSTERS DIGITAL Third place: West Fargo High School, Minnesota-Dakotas District Second place: Avery High School, Carolinas District First place: Corona Del Sol High School, Southwest District NON-DIGITAL Third place: Streator Township High School, IllinoisEastern Iowa District Second place: Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, Alabama District First place: Sanford High School, New England and Bermuda District CLUB VIDEO Third place: Bay High School, Ohio District. Second place: Notre Dame High School, West Virginia District First place: Cy Fair High School, Texas-Oklahoma District
NON-TRADITIONAL Third place: Booneville High School, Missouri-Arkansas District Second place: Phillipsburg High School, New Jersey District Second place: Shikellamy High School, Pennsylvania District First place: E.D. White Catholic High School, Louisiana-Mississippi-West Tennessee District
Silver Division (36-60 members) Third place: Sullivan North High School, KentuckyTennessee District Second place: Calvary Lutheran High School, MissouriArkansas District First place: North Shore High School, New York District Gold Division (61-85 members) Third place: Daphne High School, Alabama District Second place: Streator Township High School, IllinoisEastern Iowa District First place: St. Andrew High School for Girls, Jamaica District Platinum Division (86 or more members) Third place: Cheveros High School, New England and Bermuda District Second place: Fridley Senior High School, MinnesotaDakotas District First place: Murphysboro High School, Illinois-Eastern Iowa District First place: Jenks High School, Texas-Oklahoma District
SEE the remaining category winners on the key club website!
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upcoming dates pre-fall rally #1 division rec night
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where: Creekside Park when: September 12 time: 12:30 PM - 4:30 PM where: TBA when: September 26 time: 4 PM - 8 PM
read this month's district newsletter on the cnh cyberkey too! 14
contact presidents christopher moy san dimas
thechrismoy@gmail.com
clarissa garcia charter oak
clarilucinda@hotmail.com
jacqueline ye
adrian ramos bonita
ramosadrian2000@gmail.com
alben burlas nogales
ben_burlas@yahoo.com
john a. rowland
jacquelineye@hotmail.com
alec phong covina
sean aquino
alecphong@gmail.com
walnut
seanjasonaquino16@gmail.com
christopher cruz northview
eric chen diamond bar
e.chen@msn.com
christopherjcruz32@gmail.com
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contact division team sabrina bodine
catherine cao
lieutenant governor
member recognition chair
d35e.cnhkc.ltg@gmail.com
lingers.catherine@gmail.com
vivian tiet
terry xiang
executive assistant
head spirit task coordinator
d35e.ea.cnhkc@gmail.com
txiang25@gmail.com
valerie sato
vivi nguyen
secretary
inter-club coordinator
d35e.dsec.cnhkc@gmail.com
vivinguyen18@gmail.com
natalie lu
michael yu
news editor
inter-club coordinator
d35e.dne.cnhkc@gmail.com
michaelyud35e@gmail.com
emily chen
jessie chan
tech editor
head fundraising task coordinator
d35e.tech.cnhkc@gmail.com
jessie114chan@hotmail.com
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check out d35e’s website for updates! http://cnhd35elephants.wix.com/d35east
cyberkey website: http://www.cnhkeyclub.org/ key club international site: http://www.keyclub.org/