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MAC KEY CLUB N O V E M B E R
" A H , A N O T H E R
K I N D N E S S .
S T R U G G L I N G
V O L U M E
W H A T S O U L B E
A
S I M P L E
T H A T
W A Y
T H E R E
F O U N D
I N
I S S U E
I S
T H I S
T O
T E L L
L O V E
T O
W O R L D . "
- A L I S O N
M A L E E
table of contents
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CONTENT
PAGE #
Table of Contents
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Special Feature
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Promotion
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Upcoming Events
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Articles
5-10
Contacts
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Special Feature
This November, wanting to celebrate veterans in a special and memorable way, Mackenzie Thomas, MacArthur High School's Key Club president, came up with the idea of throwing a parade for the veterans living in Lawton's local VA center who were isolated there without any visitors due to COVID-19. It showed honor to them; they seemed to love it!
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"Thirst Project is a non-profit with a simple mission: Build a socially-conscious generation of young people who will END the global water crisis."
"March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality."
"Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) is a North American nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals, medical research, and community awareness of children's health issues."
"UNICEF promotes the rights and
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wellbeing of every child."
g n i m o c Up
EVENTS 12/4 - Key Club Yearbook Pictures 12/5 - CASA Christmas Wrap Party CANCELLED 12/6 - Kids Korral - Mexican
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*How Service Changes Perspective *Describe the Veteran’s Day Parade
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Event *Holiday Season Service Projects *What About Key Club Are You
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Thankful For And How Does Serving Affect Your Life? *Bonding With Members
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How Service Changes Perspective By Kendall Leney
When working with people on service projects it can give you a different perspective on how different other’s lives can be. We see people from all walks of life and it can be hard to realize how we can change others lives just by helping out. Every year my friends and I serve at St. Johns on Christmas Eve to people living in the community. One year Key Club came and helped serve. Every year, I learn something new about myself or others. The event has a coat drive, a raffle, and a dinner. You can always tell people are grateful for the event. Even in times of hardship for some of them, they were still happy to be there. The energy was contagious and it is always a fun event to work on. Of course keeping on top of everything was hard, but when working you begin to realize that you could be making a difference in someone's life, no matter how little, it can be very rewarding to you and all parties involved. I realized that the service was not about me and making people think I'm a better person, but about helping others and making them feel better no matter what they’re going through. It also helped me realize that I need to be thankful for what I have and that I should be thankful for the privilege to serve others.
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The Veteran’s Day Parade By Kamdyn McAllister
To celebrate the veterans this year for Veteran’s Day, our Key Club decided to have a parade for them! The parade was such a cool event to be a part of. It started when there was a realization that the veterans in the Veteran’s Center have been isolated with no visitors for months now due to COVID-19 (as have a lot of people). Unlike some people though, they have no choice to leave. They live there, and people have to come to them. They can get pretty lonely and miss seeing friends and family just like anyone else quarantining or in a similar situation where they do not get to see loved ones. So, our Key Club President, Mackenzie Thomas, came up with the idea of throwing a parade for them! We would just walk around the perimeter with signs and wave as we went by. It was so cool because she did not think many would show up, but you would not believe how many clubs and extracurriculars were there for these veterans and to spread some love, which shows that little things can make a huge impact. There was Key Club, National Honors Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, the Highlanderette dance team, MacArthur’s drum line, and tons of really cool sports cars in the parade. We all came together to show these veterans that we care and though it feels lonely, that they are not alone in these rough times. And though we did not really get to see them or get too close, we could tell it made a difference to them because they got to go outside and see new faces after a long time. I left there so glad to have encouraged and honored them in that
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way.
Holiday Season Service Projects By Kendall Leney
Every year Key Club searches for ways to help people during the holiday season, as the holiday season is always crazy and is the most service project heavy season. The holidays can be stressful for a lot of families that are less fortunate with lots of kids. Many parents work extra hours during this time of year to afford gifts for their children. Especially with the virus, families are struggling more than ever before because of the rise in unemployment and major restrictions throughout the community. Key Club and many other clubs throughout the school participate in an angel tree hosted by The Salvation Army. The clubs all pick children to sponsor and members sign up to buy gifts for the children. Usually the kids will list interests and needs and the gifts are up to the buyers’ imagination. They also list things like clothing size, a gift they want, and what they are in need of. We also participate in coat drives and supply drives for people in need of coats and other clothing items. Members can bring in lightly used, or new coats and clothes. Many people do not have access to a warm place so it is important that they’re able to have access to warm clothes during the colder seasons. The club also donated things like toys, gift cards, and made personalized cards to the children in need.
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What About Key Club Are You Thankful For And How Does Serving Affect Your Life? By Nour Bou Alwan
I am very thankful that I get to be a part of Key Club and for the opportunities it has given me throughout the year. I am especially grateful for all the members of this club and that I get to serve the community with them. Key Club gives every member an equal opportunity to serve and be in touch with our community, and that is one of my favorite things about it, no one is left out and everyone gets to feel how great it is to help others in need! I am especially grateful that I get to volunteer in different places. Volunteering with Key Club has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of new people that all have great and unique stories, and I cherish every moment of getting to know and help everyone that I meet. The Key Club community has been very welcoming and kind and I am more than grateful for that. Serving the community has become one of my favorite things to do and it makes me feel even more connected to the community and the people that I am around. Volunteering has affected me positively in many different ways, one of them is that I am getting to help people in need. The many wonderful experiences that I have had this year have caused me to develop a great love for giving back to the community. I have also been inspired by Key Club to begin volunteering even more in my free time. I am looking forward to all the future opportunities that Key Club will give me and can not wait to get to serve more. I am very thankful that I get to be a part of this great
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club and that I get to volunteer with such amazing people.
Bonding With Members By Kendall Leney
Over the years, working on projects with other members has brought out new friendships and opportunities to bond with my friends. When working the Alzheimer's walk, I was able to meet new members and have bonding time with my inner circle as well. Whether we were painting faces or handing out the flags, we had time to talk to people about their experiences and learn from each other. I was able to talk to members I never really had spoken to because we were in different grades or different friend groups. The walk was usually around 11am but we would have to be there by 6 to set up so we definitely had a little time to kill in the morning after preparing which gave us all time to talk. Another event that I really enjoyed working with other members was serving food at the Patterson Center to people in the community. There were members there that I usually would not have hung out with and it was nice to get to know them throughout the event in between cleaning. We helped set up tables and clean up everything after a table would leave so there were times when we were busy and able to talk and times when we were working with no break. Around the end when we did have a break, I was able to get to know our sponsors better since I had never really spoken to many people in the club including the sponsors. Key Club has always been a very inclusive club where everybody gets along for the most part. It is nice to work with students I don’t personally know because I have made some friends along the way.
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CONTACTS Mackenzie Thomas
Officers
mtho3821@icloud.com
Savannah Layeski
savvy528@gmail.com
Kiana Murray
kianasschoolbiz@gmail.com Matthew Nicholas
matthew.nicholas2@icloud.com Kamdyn McAllister
kamismc12@gmail.com Isabel Celedon
isabel.celedon@yahoo.com Gracie Cunningham
gracie.cunningham@yahoo.com
LTG
Austin Urbanski
austin.urbanski11@gmail.com
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Rafael Santos
Regional Advisor
rafsantos68@gmail.com
District Staff
Kareena Patel governor@tokeyclub.com Vivan Thai secretary@tokeyclub.com Raj Patel treasurer@tokeyclub.com Katelyn Tran editor@tokeyclub.com Kaitlyn Roehr cl@tokeyclub.com Alina Dam techproducer@tokeyclub.com Salma Eldeeb salma.eldeeb@keyclub.org
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THANK YOU FOR READING! @mackeyclub MacArthur High School Key Club
@mackeyclub http://macarthurkey.club