mac key club
AUGUST VOLUME ONE ISSUE TEN
MACARTHUR REGION 6 DIVISION 18N
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 02 03 04-09 10 11
Photos Promotion
Upcoming Events
Articles
Meet our Officers
Contacts
Step right up & serve! Come one, come all!
01
Promotion "The Thirst Project is a non-profit organization whose aim is to bring safe drinking water to communities around the world where it is not immediately available. The Thirst Project collects money and builds wells all across the continent of Africa where villages do not have immediate drinking water."
"March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies."
"UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child." "Children's Miracle Network is a North American non-profit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals, medical research, and community awareness of children's health issues."
02
UPCOMING EVENTS **Due to COVID-19, times and dates are subject to change.
9/6 Kids korral (bbq)
9/7 45th St. clean up
9/8 & 9/10 School Closet organizing
03
Articles 1.Describe how Key Club has impacted your summer. 2.What quarantine-friendly volunteer opportunities have you or your clubs done/plan on doing? 3.With the COVID - 19 pandemic limiting in-person meetings, how have your clubs adapted to these changes? 4.What are your plans for membership recruitment, especially with many schools switching to online classes?
04
5.HOTO-How was your Key Club experience and what is Key Club to you?
Describe how Key Club has impacted your summer. by Kamdyn McAllister This year has been the hardest year of my life. Forgive me if I sound a bit dramatic, but it’s true-for me and for a lot of people- with COVID -19 and all the extra stuff. This is what my quarantine life looked like: At first it was going really well. I was glad to get away from school and the busyness of life and finally got to sit and do nothing-just like I had always wanted. After a while I was healthier, spending time with family and friends (safely), and it was nice to just stop all the going. That's when things started going downhill. I suddenly remembered that I actually love people and being with them. Being at home feeling hopeless, like things weren't going to change made me feel a bit depressed. Then there's the chores that Coronavirus didn't excuse. All the while my grandma broke her wrist and couldn't really take care of herself anymore. My older sister was moving away to college. My emotions were crazy like never before. That's not even half of all the details. More than me and all my hardships, Key Club was an outlet. It provided a way to go see people and get away from my struggles just for a little bit. It was something that made my heart happy. There were some people who genuinely wanted me there and I loved the community and the army of people wanting to serve together to make a difference-to help others. I had a part in this. That makes me feel so lucky. Everyone has something hard in their life. Key Club makes things better. Even though it really stunk in the moment, I'm glad to have gone through it all. I was able to connect with Key Clubbers and other people. It grew my love for Key Club. So now Key Club means more to me.
05
What quarantine-friendly volunteer opportunities have you or your clubs done/plan on doing? by Mackenzie Thomas Hi! My name is Mackenzie Thomas and I am President of MacArthur Key Club 2020-2021! As all of you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of life greatly. However, our amazing leadership team of officers and sponsors knew that we had to make service still happen. In a time like this, people need more help than ever! Our club has been able to participate in some quarantine friendly volunteer events this spring, summer, and fall. Some of these have included continuing providing meals to Kids Korral in Oklahoma City through donations, cleaning up trash on our adopted street in the community, participating in car parades at the local Veterans’ Center, and working a community car wash! My favorite event has been to go up to Kids Korral, make a home cooked meal, and serve it to the children undergoing chemotherapy treatments at OU Medical Center and their families. Although the virus impeded our ability to enter the building and cook for these wonderful people, we have been able to cook from home, collect all elements of each themed meal (such as Mediterranean, barbeque, or Italian) and deliver it once a month. It makes me especially happy to know that we are still putting smiles on people’s faces even though we may not be able to see them. Next, on 45th Street, our school has been out collecting trash and making our road safer and cleaner for everyone. Seeing the difference just a small group of key clubbers can make in the community and all while benefiting the environment is so rewarding. Additionally, due to the unpredictability of the Coronavirus and its threats to the health and safety of many, the Veterans’ Center has not allowed visitors inside since March. In order to keep their spirits and morale high, we participated in a memorial parade and drove around the premises waving and cheering for the veterans that have sacrificed so much. Finally, we participated in a city scale volunteer effort on Serve Day 2020, hosted by Lawton First Assembly on August 1st. We were tasked with running a free community car wash. We wore our masks proudly and were able to take turns cleaning up community members’ cars! In the future, we will continue to follow CDC guidelines and promote and participate in more service events such as street clean ups, creating welcome bags, and organizing a spirited parade for those in need of a good smile right now! COVID-19 can never stop Mac Key Club’s love and willingness to serve!
06
With the COVID - 19 pandemic limiting in-person meetings, how have your clubs adapted to these changes? by Kamdyn McAllister I think we can all agree this year has been crazy and confusing. You’ve heard it all over and over again. These are uncertain times we are living in. The virus came in and brought a lot of disappointment and hardship. This year, Texas-Oklahoma Key Clubs have decided not to let Coronavirus cancel service. n the beginning, Key Club was just like everyone else. We didn't have any meetings to go to or any service events to attend. Everything was cancelled. Everything went virtual. At first MacArthur Key Club’s meetings began on Zoom. The officers and sponsors all got together and started planning out the year. Each one was assigned their duties and went to work! They were able to work hard online and represent our school. Since August, Key Club members have been able to meet in person, taking the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe. The officers met for a social, which was walking up Mount Scott together. Another day the officers met at the White Buffalo Coffee Bar for officer inductions and were able to take pictures behind The Bent Fork, at Elmer Thomas Park, and outside a local coffee shop here in Lawton. Key Club has done what they can to keep everyone safe and continue serving. We have been able to have a few in-person service events such as a trash pick-up and a car wash. They were very fun and helped uplift people and the environment. It’s good to know we’re still making an impact during these rough times even if it is just one thing. By now, some students have decided to go to school and others have stayed at home. It is what it is. That’s the reality. If we can’t meet or serve at events, that just means we’ll have to serve in a different way, right? No one said we had to stop serving just because of the virus. The first official in-person Key Club meeting was Tuesday, September 1. Necessary precautions were taken. We’ll see how things go for the rest of the school year. No one knows what will happen next, that’s why we’re going to try to be flexible and make the most of whatever situation comes our way-whether it’s in-person or at home.
07
What are your plans for membership recruitment, especially with many schools switching to online classes? by Kiana Murray Covid-19 has taken a toll on the entirety of the world, without a doubt. However, as people we must be diligent, flexible, and innovative in life, especially this portion. Despite the delays, MacArthur Key Club has found ways to reach their intended goals. To start, all of our meetings are socially distanced; If a small group meets in the library, only one student sits at each table, and if the club as a whole has a meeting each person sits three seats apart, in every other row. Masks are required at all of our occasions. If a Covid case unveils anywhere in the school, whomever has contracted it is traced, and anyone that may have been exposed is sent home. Everything is consistently sanitized throughout the building. It is regularly reiterated to be careful and mindful of everyone’s circumstances. Another obstacle clubs and organizations now come face to face with is the dropping numbers of participants, as many students opt out for virtual attendance to schools. In order to encourage more members to join we’ve shown, through the use of media, that we can stay safe while still having fun and serving the community. Pictures are posted after every event, each showing how our members wear masks as required while still getting any job done. Club experiences are shared on instagram, facebook, and sometimes even snapchat stories. Officers and renewed members wear their shirts to school regularly to spread more subtle awareness as well. Friends tell their friends, and the Kiwanis sponsor tells just about any student that enters the room. 2020 has not been the year that anyone expected, but that does not make it the year that no one can get through. Safety and service have learned to go hand in hand for years, this year has made the bond stronger.
08
HOTO-How was your Key Club experience and what is Key Club to you? by Kamdyn McAllister I have always loved serving. There's something about helping other people that just does something for your heart. Key Club has given me that opportunity to do something for someone-big or small-every week or so. I am impacting people's lives. That is something. I first joined Key Club my freshman year. I got right into serving and that was that. I was an official Key Club member, but something was off: I felt disconnected; I forgot why I was doing it at a certain point. Going into Junior year, I am realizing that it is more than just getting hours or making your resume look good. When you really enjoy serving, when you really love people, this can change their lives and even yours. When I am having a bad day or going through something really tough, I can go do something kind for someone and it completely turns my day around and encourages me. It is actually fun to serve, and doing it with other people makes it all the better because you can accomplish so much with an army. That is why I love Key Club so much because you get to serve with people you probably already know or have seen around, with different events already planned out for you to attend so you can just simply sign up and be there. It is not too difficult. It is not too demanding. It is an easy way to get involved with community service. It is an opportunity unlike any other. I think serving is a blessing in its own. It brings joy to my life to be able to be a part of this. I would definitely encourage others to be a part of it too while you can! It is something that will brighten your life.
Riddle of the Month What can fill a room but takes up no space? A voice
09
meet our officers! President Mackenzie Thomas
Vice President Savannah Layeski
Lieutenant Governor Austin Urbanski
Secretary Kiana Murray
Historian Gracie Cunningham
Treasurer Matthew Nicholas
10
Webmaster Isabel Celedon Editor Kamdyn McAllister
CONTACTS Officers President: mtho3821@icloud.com Vice President: savvy528@gmail.com Secretary: kianasschoolbiz@gmail.com Treasurer: matthew.nicholas2@icloud.com Editor: kamismc12@gmail.com Webmaster: isabel.celedon@yahoo.com Historian: gracie.cunningham@yahoo.com
LTG austin.urbanski11@gmail.com
Regional Advisor rafsantos68@gmail.com
District Staff Kareena Patel: governor@tokeyclub.com Vivian Thai: secretary@tokeyclub.com Raj Patel: treasurer@tokeyclub.com Katelyn Tran: editor@tokeyclub.com Kaitlyn Roehr, Convention Liaison: cl@tokeyclub.com Alina Dam: techproducer@tokeyclub.com Salma Eldeeb, International Trustee: salma.eldeeb@keyclub.org
11
Thank You For Reading! @mackeyclub MacArthur High School Key Club @mackeyclub http://macarthurkey.club