July/August Newsletter

THE LOCKSMITH New York District / Division 11 Volume 4 Issue 3

Stuyvesant High School July/August Issue

Editor’s Note: Hi Pandas! On the behalf of the rest of the cabinet, I’d like to thank you all for volunteering and making this summer truly unforgettable.

I’d also like to give a shout out to all the new members; it’s been truly a delight seeing your names in our emails, already volunteering before school starts and I am very impressed.

Director’s Note: Hi everyone! It’s Tiffany, your Locksmith Director! I hope your summer is going well. Let’s savor those last few days before school starts! Don’t worry, we’ll all get through the school year together. :) I’d like to thank Yvonne for all her help with this. I hope you like it! Keep volunteering and sending in photos/articles!

‘16-’17 Stuyvesant Key Club Board: President: Jiaqi Gao jiaqigao12@gmail.com Vice President: Michelle Yang librasapphire2000@gmail.com Editor: Yvonne Pan ypan1@stuy.edu Webmaster: Alvin Zhu alvinzhu33@yahoo.com Secretary: Yuki Lau stuyyuki@gmail.com Treasurer: Sarah Rim sarahrim1221@gmail.com

Contributors to this Issue: Tiffany Chen: Author Yvonne Pan: Author Sarah Rim: Author Bingyi Zeng: Author Wavian Li: Author/Photographer Julia Qin: Author/Photographer James Chin: Photographer Jiaqi Gao: Photographer Christy Guan: Photographer Christine Jegarl: Photographer Wendy Li: Photographer Josephine Leung: Photographer Larry Wong: Photographer Michelle Yang: Photographer Vincent Yang: Photographer Henry Zheng: Photographer Contact Us: www.stuykc.org www.facebook.com/groups/stuyvesantkeyclub/ Stuyvesant High School 345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282

Table of Contents

Timeline of Past Events July/August Events Fundraisers Upcoming Events B&N Gift Wrapping B&N Manga/PokÊmon Rubin Museum Block Party ADA Weekend Walk Harry Potter Midnight Release Summer Streets Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Kiwanis Family Picnic Flushing BID Street Festival Good Health Day Corona Cares Health Fair Ecofest Painting Alice in Wonderland Stuy + Midwood Bowling Fundraiser Dave and Buster’s Fundraiser

4 6 10 11 13 22 23 28 36 41 43 49 56 57 58 59 61 63 64

Timeline of Past Events July 2: July 3: July 8: July 9: July 10: July 15: July 16: July 17: July 24: July 30: August 6: August 7:

B&N Gift Wrapping B&N Gift Wrapping B&N Finding Dory B&N Gift Wrapping Come Out & Play Festival B&N Gift Wrapping B&N Star Wars B&N Gift Wrapping B&N Manga/Pokemon B&N Gift Wrapping Rubin Museum Block Party Chinatown Weekend Walk B&N Harry Potter Midnight Release Party Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Summer Streets Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival NYD Kiwanis Family Picnic

Timeline of Past Events August 11: August 13:

August 14: August 19: August 20:

August 21: August 28:

August Divisional Summer Streets Flushing BID Street Festival 5th Annual Big Apple ASL Festival Good Health Day Blacklight Slide Corona Cares Health Fair Ecofest Painting Alice in the Wonderland Summer Streets Painting Alice in the Wonderland NYC Tour de Cure B&N Tribeca LEGO Build Chinatown Beautification Day Chinatown Beautification Day Rubin Museum Family Sundays Rubin Museum Family Sundays

July/August Events B&N Gift Wrapping (July 2nd, July 3rd, July 9th, July 10th, July 16th, July 17th) Time: 10:00am to 2:00pm Location: Entrance of Barnes & Noble near Stuy (97 Warren St, New York, NY 10007) Description: The Barnes & Noble near our school has asked us to help them with gift wrapping.

Volunteers will be helping the bookstore's customers wrap their gifts and books! This event is always really fun.

B&N Finding Dory (Friday, July 8th) Start Time: 7:00pm Location: Barnes & Noble near Stuy (97 Warren St, New York, NY 10007) Description: The Barnes & Noble near our school has invited us to their Finding Dory event. The event includes a fun scavenger hunt as well as other activities and giveaways. These Barnes & Noble events are expected to last for about 2 or 3 hours.

Come Out & Play Festival (Saturday, July 9th) Time: 9:00am to 6:00pm Location: Governor's Island Description: We'll be going to the beautiful Governor's Island once again for Come Out & Play's Field Day. This event showcases spectacular new field games & sports for adults to play. Volunteers will help with setup, running of the games, and cleanup.

B&N Star Wars (Friday, July 15th) Start Time: 7:00pm Location: Barnes & Noble near Stuy (97 Warren St, New York, NY 10007) Description: The Barnes & Noble near our school has invited us to their Star Wars event. Do you like Star Wars? Come and have fun!

B&N Manga/Pokemon (Saturday, July 16th) Start Time: 4:00pm Location: Barnes & Noble near Stuy (97 Warren St, New York, NY 10007) Description: Do you like manga or Pokemon? Come and join us at this Barnes and Noble event!!

Rubin Museum Block Party (Sunday, July 17) Shift Times: 12:00pm to 2:30pm, 2:00pm to 5:00pm, 12:00pm to 5:00pm Location: Rubin Museum - 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY Description: We'll be helping out at the Rubin Museum Block Party. Volunteers will be helping out at booths and will have the opportunity to watch multiple performances.

Chinatown Weekend Walk (Sunday, July 24) Time: 11:00am-4:00pm Location: Mott Street, Chinatown (Between Canal and Worth Street) Description: The Chinatown Weekend Walk has invited us to help out at their Disability Pride ADA Birthday Party. This event aims to promote and reinforce pride among all members of the disability community to foster a spirit of unity! Volunteers will be helping up with setup as well as the event itself.

B&N Harry Potter Midnight Release Party (Saturday, July 30) Start Time: 6:30pm Location: Barnes & Noble near Stuy (97 Warren St, New York, NY 10007) Description: The Barnes & Noble near our school has invited us to their Harry Potter (The Cursed Child) Midnight Release Party! (It doesn't actually go until midnight, but you would have to stay late.)

They need volunteers to help facilitate activities all night (costume contests, wand dueling, etc). Any volunteer who wants to buy a copy of the new book would be able to do so without having to wait on long lines. Volunteers are also encouraged to dress in house colors, or come in full witch/wizard fashion!

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival (Saturday, August 6th and Sunday, August 7th) Shift Times: 7:00am to 1:00pm, 12:00pm to 6:00pm Location: Flushing Meadow Park Description: We'll be helping out with the annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing Meadows Park! Volunteers will be helping out with everything from basic setup and cleanup to handling boats, directing traffic and marshaling teams.

Summer Streets (August 6th, August 13th, August 20th) Time: 6:30am-1:00pm; 6:30am-10:30am; 10:00am-1:30pm Location: Astor Place AND/OR Soho Locations Description: On the first three Saturdays in August, from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park, 7 miles of streets will be closed to cars for six hours to allow walkers, runners, cyclists and people of all ages to take back the streets and enjoy many free activities along the route. Volunteers need to be 16 years of age or older and be able to work outside in variable weather. All volunteers will receive a commemorative shirt and goodie bag packed with great gifts and snacks from sponsors.

NYD Kiwanis Family Picnic (Sunday, August 7th) Time: 12:00pm to 5:00pm Location: Prospect Park: 95 Prospect Park W, Brooklyn NY 11215 Description: Join us at the 6th Annual Kiwanis Family Picnic!!! The picnic will take place at The Tennis House South Lawn in Prospect Park. Meet other K-Family members from across the New York District, make new friends, indulge in food, and build fellowships. Cost of attendance is only $5!

Proceeds from the picnic will go to NY Kiwanis Pediatric Lyme Disease Foundation.

August Divisional (Thursday, August 11th) Time: 5:30pm to 6:30pm Location: NYC Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza Description: We'll be attending the August Divisional! We'll be going over divisional and club updates, as well as participating in fun activities with other members from District 11. We will be holding Back to School Drive and honoring all the soldiers who passed away during Vietnam War. Flushing BID Street Festival (Saturday, August 13th) Shift Times: 7:00am to 12:00pm; 11:00am to 6:00pm Location: 40th Road and Prince Street Description: We will be helping out at the 3rd Annual Flushing Street Festival to display the rich, distinct culture that Main Street has to offer! There will be over 70 booths of food, shopping, as well as raffles and bounce houses. In addition, and orientation will be held this Wednesday to inform volunteers and to distribute t-shirts.

5th Annual Big Apple ASL Festival (Saturday, August 13th) Time: 10:00am to 6:00pm Location: Coney Island Greenwich Beach - 3030 Stillwell Ave, Brooklyn Description: We will be helping out at the 5th Annual Big Apple ASL Festival! The Broken Drums Entertainment will be hosting exhibition booths at the Coney Island Art Walls. There will be music, freebies, and rides. BBQ and drink refreshments will also be on sale with guests performing in American Sign Language.

Good Health Day (Saturday, August 13th) Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm Location: 136-26 37th Avenue, Flushing, NY 11354 Description: We will be helping out at the Good Health Day fair. This event is open to the public and will feature several different organizations sharing educational information to the public. There will also be fun activities such as face painting, balloon animals, clowns, aerobics, music and other cultural performances. Please sign up especially if you can speak Korean or Mandarin as you will be helping to communicate with non-english speaking patrons. Lunch will also be provided!

Blacklight Slide (Saturday, August 13th) Time: 5:30pm to 10:30pm; 7:30pm to 10:30pm Location: Aviator Sports & Events Center, Brooklyn Description: We'll be helping out at the Blacklight Slide held at the Aviator Center. Volunteers will be checking in participants into an event filled with glowing sliders, watching participants slide down the neon slides, and shooting glow water at the sliders.Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older!

Corona Cares Health Fair (Sunday, August 14th) Time: 10am to 4pm Location: 39th Avenue, btwn 103rd+104th St, Corona, NY 11368 Description: We will be helping out at the Corona Cares Health Fair. Students and family members are invited to come out to Corona Cares to participate in different workshops and receive health related materials for services and other topics. Volunteers will distributing materials and setting up Team HBV NYC's table.

Ecofest (Sunday, August 14th) Shift Times: 10am to 2:30pm ; 2pm to 6pm Location: Times Square Description: We will be volunteering at Ecofest at Times Square. Ecofest wants to promote awareness of urban and global environmental issues. We will help with setup and breakdown of the event. They are also looking for help with photography and video!

Painting Alice in the Wonderland (Friday, August 19th and Saturday, August 20th) Time: 10am-5pm(Friday); 10am-6pm(Saturday) Location: Alice in Wonderland wall next to Stuyvesant!

Description: CITYarts invited us to help volunteer with the mural outside of Stuyvesant. If you're interested in painting and making our environment a more beautiful place, sign up! This is an amazing opportunity for Stuy students to leave a mark on their mural!

NYC Tour de Cure (Saturday, August 20th) Shift Times: 6:00am-12:00pm; 11:00am-5:00pm Location: 20 Randall's Island Park New York, NY 10035 Description: We'll be helping out at the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure! This is the first year in which this race is held at Randall's Island in NYC, but also marks the 25th anniversary.

Volunteers will be helping with registration, checkpoints, serving food and more.

B&N Tribeca LEGO Build (Saturday, August 20th) Start Time: 4pm Location: Barnes & Noble Tribeca (97 Warren Street New York, NY, 10007) Description: We will be volunteering at the Barnes and Noble near Stuy with their LEGO Build event!

Volunteers will be helping customers design and build provided LEGO kits.

Chinatown Beautification Day (Saturday, August 20th and Sunday, August 21st) Time: 10:00am-4:00pm (8/20); 10:00am-4:00pm (8/21) Locations: 273 Bowery St (8/20), Chatham Square (8/21) Description: We'll be helping out at the 14th Annual Chinatown Beautification Youth Conference and the Clean up Day. At the Conference, youths will attend workshops that explore the theme—Map Yourself: Navigating the Intersectons of Identity. Lunch and refreshments will also be provided! On the 21st, we will be sorted into groups with brooms, dustpans and garbage bags to show the Chinatown community we care and will also act as a reminder for people to take care of their community as we help beautify Chinatown.

Rubin Museum Family Sundays (Sunday, August 21st and Sunday, August 28th) Time: 12:30pm to 4:15pm Location: 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY Description: Rubin Museum needs a few volunteers for their family art program. Volunteers are needed for check in and to assist the teaching artist with the weekly lessons. There are limited spots available for this event.

Fundraisers

Stuyvesant + Midwood Key Club Bowling Fundraiser (Friday, August 26th) Time: 1:30pm-4:00pm Location: Melody Lanes in Brooklyn Description: Stuyvesant and Midwood Key Club will be holding a bowling fundraiser on Friday, August 26th from 1:30PM to approximately 4:00PM at Melody Lanes in Brooklyn. Come and have fun bowling while also helping to raise money for the American Cancer Society and the Kenya Education Fund!

Stuyvesant Dave and Buster's Fundraiser (Wednesday, August 31st) Start Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm Location: Times Square Dave and Buster’s Description: Stuyvesant Key Club is holding a Dave and Buster's fundraiser on Wednesday, August 31st with the meetup time being 12:00PM to 1:00PM at the Times Square Dave and Buster's. The cost will either be $13 or $23 depending on how much you want to play and all profits will be donated towards the district project, Icing Smiles! All games will be half their regular price which means more game time and more tickets to exchange for prizes!!

Upcoming Events

Color Run (Saturday, September 3rd) Time: 7:30am-1:30pm Location: Aviator Sports and Events Center, Brooklyn Project Captain: *needed* Description: Color Run is a 5k, un-timed race in which thousands of people, or “Color Runners�, are doused from head to toe in different colors at each station. We'll be helping out at color stations, the finish line, festival area, water stations, etc. Although this event is still some time away, volunteer spots fill out extremely early every year, so please sign up ahead of time if you are planning to go.

Ridiculous Obstacle Challenge (ROC Race) (Saturday, September 10th) Time: 11:00am-5:00pm Location: Aviator Sports and Events Center, Brooklyn Project Captain: *needed* Description: ROC Race is the original game show-inspired obstacle run featuring larger-than-life obstacles including the infamous Wrecking Balls, the menacing Sweeper, the newly re-imagined Jump Balls, and an epic finish line slide down The Hippo! Volunteers will be helping with of variety of tasks including check-in, T-shirt distribution, merchandise tent, bag check, water stations, working at obstacles, and motivating runners through the course. Please select Event Support Shift 2 on the second link!

Photoville (Saturday, September 24th and Sunday, September 25th) Time: TBA (will likely be 12:00pm-9:00pm, separated into two shifts) Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park Project Captain: *needed* Description: We'll be helping out at the 5th annual Photoville located on the Brooklyn Waterfront! Photoville is a massive and unique photographic event that showcases over sixty exhibitions of photos taken around the globe in shipping containers. They aim to connect photographers and their audience through the power of visual storytelling. In addition, there will be multiple activities for volunteers and visitors to participate in such as the NY Times Photo Hunt and the Daylight Book Signing Event. There will also be an orientation prior to the event, details TBA. (Photoville will also provide you with a food voucher to redeem at one of the yummy Smorgasburg food vendors!) Since the last shift ends a bit late, you will be able to leave early if necessary.

Dog Vaccination & Licensing Event (Saturday, October 15) Time: 8:00am-5:00pm Location: Cunningham Park in Queens Project Captain: *needed* Description: The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will be hosting their annual dog vaccination and licensing event in Cunningham Park. Volunteers will primarily set up tents and chairs until around 10~11am, and will later have the chance to interact with visitors and dogs for the rest of the day. Do it for the puppies!

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Wavian Li

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Larry Wong

B&N Gift Wrapping

By Julia Qin: The TriBeCa B&N was the second home of my childhood, a pristine library populated by glossy covers and uncreased spines. Imagine my delight when I heard the bookseller had invited Stuy Key Club to its doors for an event. After I stepped off the escalator, I greeted the coordinator and introduced myself. As the security guard set up the station, the coordinator began showing me how to gift wrap, providing me with a variety of gorgeously patterned paper and two long tables for workspace.

I spent the first half hour practicing with a variety of objects: flat, three-dimensional, and irregularly shaped. The key to professional gift wrapping, I found, was in neatness, executing sharp folds and folding tight edges. Finishing a gift gave the greatest feeling of satisfaction. After wrapping for my first client, I discovered that the praise for my work was an even better compensation than the tips I received.

As I presented my final client with her gifts, I admired how vastly I’d improved.

Events where I can gain new skills are always my favorite.

A few weeks after I left B&N, I passed my tips to Sarah to be donated to Icing Smiles.

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Julia Qin

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Julia Qin

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Jiaqi Gao

B&N Gift Wrapping

By Tiffany Chen: I walked into Barnes and Noble at 10:00 AM on a perfectly good Sunday morning listening to Pandora. I was a bit nervous because, only having last wrapped gifts eight years ago, I was afraid that my lack of gift wrapping would make me a bit of a burden during this event. I was happy to find out that it was the opposite.

I was able to get some boxes for the group of nine to practice on. There were six different rolls of wrapping paper: one was yellow and said “Happy Birthday” on it, one was blue with bookshelves filled with books, one was colorful, one was white with green open books on it, one was dark green, and the last one was gray. I was shocked that they all fit the two tables we were given. Henry retaught me how to wrap gifts, and with practice, I got decent at it. You know what they say: practice makes perfect.

We wrapped a few gifts, most of them birthday presents for children off to a birthday party. Some parents were super rushed, but others were calm, but nonetheless, they were all considerate. Most of them tipped, and we were all happy to learn that it was enough to buy us lunch! Since business was slower than usual, we were able to get to know each other more. Some of us even caught a couple of Pokémon in the store.

The event was amazing and loads of fun. I was able to learn more about the other volunteers and have fun gift wrapping as well. I hope I can do this again soon.

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Wendy Li

B&N Gift Wrapping

Photos taken by Henry Zheng

B&N Manga/PokĂŠmon

By Sarah Rim: I really love the diversity of the pop culture events at Barnes & Noble. Another thing that I appreciate is that participants can have fun for free. For this specific Manga/Pokemon event, we were organizing tables for free manga books, posters, pins, and coloring pages. Additionally, we prepared spaces that children can come and color, draw, or doodle Manga characters. Unfortunately, because this event was taken pretty late at night, not many people were able to stay and partake in the activities that B&N had. However, this meant that the volunteers were able to relax and enjoy the activities themselves. It was really relaxed and fun. After Michelle, the only other volunteer, and I set up all the coloring materials, we were able to color some pages along with a few children and the event coordinator from B&N as well. We all created some awesome manga pictures and ended to clean up everything that was set up. I am excited to volunteer at another B&N pop culture event in the future and would recommend these events to any Key Club volunteers.

Rubin Museum Block Party

Photos taken by Wavian Li

Rubin Museum Block Party

By Tiffany Chen: I was walking to the Rubin Museum of Art from the Union Square subway station. The first few minutes of the walk were about as peaceful as it could get in downtown Manhattan.

However, a block away from the museum, I could barely hear the music playing from my earphones: kids were busting and having fun, dancers were jamming on the stage, and arts and crafts were being made all around. I knew from this environment that I would have a blast volunteering.

I was afraid that I would feel out of place because I arrived at the later shirt starting at 2:00 P.M., and since they ran out of red volunteering shirts, I felt like I stood out more as the newcomer. However, I still fit in just fine and had loads of fun. I was assigned to the rainstick table, where volunteers would help visitors make rainsticks, sticks that make the sound of rain when flipped upside down. The leader of the table, Emily, was super kind. At first, I helped with setting up the rainsticks for the children to finish making. But I was quickly moved to helping the children make them instead. I was taught how to make them: take the coil and stretch it, push it into the paper towel roll, pour in the cup of lentil, fold over a piece of green paper on the open end, and tape it shut.

I quickly got a hang of making them and started helping the kids. While it was scorching hot, I never wanted to stop. Bringing a smile to their faces made me feel happy and worthwhile.

Once the block party was about to end, I was really sad that we had to close up our booth.

Some of the kids were, too, because they wanted to make some rainsticks but just missed it.

I quickly gave them some of the premade ones, which made them just as happy.

Cleanup was quick, and before I knew it, I was chugging down a bottle of water inside the Education Center of the museum. I had tons of fun and hope to do an event similar to this soon.

Rubin Museum Block Party

Photos taken by Wavian Li

Rubin Museum Block Party

By Wavian Li: Turning the corner of West 17th Street, a feeling of excitement combined with a sense of relief filled me. The thought, “I’m finally here,” continued to resonate through my mind as I surveyed my surroundings.

Even though ten minutes remained before the block party officially started, the fair was already crowded with people. Excited chattering between visitors and volunteers filled the air as each and every person held a heartwarming smile on their face. Not only were people exuding an aura of optimism, but the environment itself appealed to my senses creating a lively and positive atmosphere: the sunlight peering through the leaves on the trees created dancing shadows on passerbyers, the rows of neatly placed white tables, adorning either side of the road, complemented the dark asphalt, and the upbeat yet soothing music seemed to embrace the entire block.

The whole block party was flawlessly put together as there was an activity booth for everyone: henna tattoos for those who wanted to explore new things, hybrid animals for those who wanted to express their creativity, frog masks for those who wanted to get in touch with their artistic side, and education booths for those who wanted to learn more about Nepali culture. Not long after, we met one of the event coordinators who requested us to be floaters.

Walking through the block, we visited each booth and asked if they needed help. After several smiles and polite refusals, we finally met someone who said she would be grateful for some assistance. While we helped her fold pamphlets, she introduced herself as Megha. She was representing Adhikaar, a group fighting for the rights of the Nepali speaking community. She passionately explained how they fought for human rights, social justice and specifically domestic workers’ rights. She added that Adhikaar worked with other Asian advocacy groups to stress civic engagement because the majority of the Asian population did not know their rights and the power of voting. Ultimately, she said she was here to make a difference.

After we finished folding the pile of pamphlets, we continued down the block receiving multiple small jobs. Eventually, we were stationed at the block party's entrance, only several yards in front of two women—beautifully dressed in traditional Nepali clothing—who were sharing the Nepalese community's cultural traditions of tikka marks. We greeted visitors and informed them that the marks were worn on the forehead as a gesture of welcoming, blessing and good luck. As they grinned with anticipation, I knew the tikka marks were simply the first of many Nepalese traditions they would have the opportunity to experience that afternoon.

Rubin Museum Block Party

Photos taken by Wavian Li

ADA Weekend Walk

Photos by Wavian Li

ADA Weekend Walk

Photos taken by Michelle Yang

ADA Weekend Walk

By Wavian Li: An odd sensation from the back of my mind was telling me something was off as I traveled the familiar curving road in lower Manhattan. It held the general essence of Chinatown: the stores, the people, and the usual tangy whiff that always lingered in the air. Yet at the same time, something was missing. Then it clicked.

The customary blaring of horns and screeching tires were absent. Looking around, I saw blue police lines being placed along the intersections of Mott Street for the Chinatown Weekend Walk’s Disability Pride ADA Birthday Party.

The fact that it was only 8:30 on a Sunday morning could have contributed to the peculiarly spacious sidewalks; however, this was the perfect setting to set up the festival that was announced to begin in only two and a half hours. Despite the hardships in setting up the countless tents and figuring out their locations, the crowded blocks and smiles on visitors’ faces made it worth it. We were also given the opportunity to live out our childhood fantasies as we were assigned to chalk a large green heart and the text “NYC Chinatown” sprawling across pavement that typically was occupied with zooming cars.

When the festival started, we were quickly pulled aside by a woman who urgently asked us to stay and watch her tent. Before hurrying off, she quickly informed us she was representing the American Death Advocates and was selling stickers, magnets, caps and shirts for her cause. While we manned her booth, I studied the merchandise and quickly saw that they were all extremely witty and well thought out. There were equal signs on pins, “I Heart ASL” on magnets, and “Deaf Rights Are Civil Rights” on stickers.

During the festival, I had the opportunity to visit and experience many of the activities they had set up. I quickly became fond of one booth and decided to visit it one more time. When I arrived, one volunteer was playing a game with a visitor. He was extremely friendly and humorous as he immediately made a joke upon our arrival. He jokingly admitted he has been at the table for over thirty minutes, yet has not won a single game. When the timer began, over ten pairs of chopsticks extended over the edges of the table and darted to pick up the smooth pebbles laying at the center of the table. One game quickly turned into sixty amidst the determined declarations and laughter. We created teams, changed the time limit, competed against ourselves and each other.

Ultimately, we were creating friendships. Dustin, the person we met, was so much more than a person on a wheelchair: he was funny, he was charismatic, and he was a person with countless different dimensions.

A simple game involving a pair of chopsticks and a pile a pebbles bonded a group of strangers and the event truly was achieving its goal: “chang[ing] the public perception of people with disabilities… tear[ing] down the barriers and boundaries that divide us in order to foster a spirit of unity and collaboration.”

ADA Weekend Walk

Photos taken by Wendy Li

ADA Weekend Walk

Photos taken by Julia Qin

ADA Weekend Walk

By Julia Qin: Calling this event a “walk” is rather a misnomer. Hosted by the Chinatown BID and the Chinese-Planning Council (CPC), the event was more of a street fair than a walk. The volunteers arrived early at 8:30 A.M. to begin setting up the fair, putting up tents and dragging chairs and tables. Lucky volunteers took on the fun job of chalking life-sized images on the sidewalk.

As 11 o’clock rolled around and the fair began, a number of stores had set up booths outside their business. People were greeted with everything from ethnic food (Yeah Shanghai Deluxe) to massage stations (New Health World Inc.) to $2 bubble teas (Silk Road Cafe). Charitable causes, public officials, and sponsoring businesses occupied the official walk tents.

The period between setup and breakdown was incredibly chill and relaxing.

Volunteers had the opportunity to enjoy the discounted food and refreshments and to play the provided games. The event even featured an exciting mystery as a certain Key Club leader found herself in a curious and curiouser situation. The fun event concluded with an hour of breakdown. Afterwards, the volunteers dispersed playing Pokemon Go.

ADA Weekend Walk

Photos taken by Julia Qin

ADA Weekend Walk

Photos taken by Julia Qin

Harry Potter Midnight Release

Photos taken by Julia Qin

Harry Potter Midnight Release

Photos taken by Julia Qin

Harry Potter Midnight Release

By Julia Qin: Clothed in Ravenclaw robes and wand in hand, I sprinted excitedly up the escalator to Barnes and Nobles. The night I’d been waiting weeks for had finally arrived; for the first time in almost a decade, J. K. Rowling was releasing a new Harry Potter work. As I arrived at the events section of the store, the sight of dozens of kids and adults in full wizarding regalia greeted me.

There were a number of wizarding backgrounds for photos and both children and teenagers tested their knowledge on the Harry Potter worksheets prepared for them. The Group That Shall Not Be Named (TGTSNBN), who had been entrusted with leading the activities, awed fans as they practiced their dueling choreography. Stuy’s own Harry Potter club even made an appearance through the new president of the Order of the Phoenix and Horntails Quidditch.

The premiere party officially began with the same way all students begin their time at Hogwarts: the Sorting Ceremony. A perfect imitation of Professor McGonagall led excited first-years to the Sorting Hat. After loud and lengthy consideration, the Hat would then send the child to their House of choice (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw found themselves considerably enlarged). The Sorting Ceremony was followed by a raffle in which, surprisingly, all the volunteers managed to win minor prizes.

Afterwards, TGTSNBN led a wand dueling workshop in the last event of the night. Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers taught an elaborate choreography composed of the movie scenes, various types of dance, and fencing.

The amazing event concluded with the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Harry Potter Midnight Release

Photos by Julia Qin

Harry Potter Midnight Release

Photos by Julia Qin

Summer Streets

By Yvonne Pan: I yawned as I stepped out of the Broadway-Lafayette train station at 6 A.M., having woken up hours before sunrise to attend this event. Summer Streets was an event I had been dying to attend for weeks. Summer Streets is a three-week program dedicated to helping bikers, rollerbladers, joggers, and anyone who wanted to get some exercise to do so, right on the streets on Manhattan.

I made my way to the white tent to get a volunteer shirt and complimentary drawstring bag from one of Summer Streets sponsors: Nike. I was told I would be on traffic duty with a kindly middle-aged man named Emil. He was super friendly and explained that he had been volunteering for Summer Streets for years.

As Emil and I continued our conversation, we also warned bikers to stay on their path to avoid hurting people they shared the lane with. For almost seven hours, the two of us and the rest of the volunteers had some difficulty with traffic duty but it was all worth it, to give the people the time to enjoy themselves.

As a runner myself, it is disconcerting to see that few of us have the opportunity to exercise every day, and even fewer seize the chance to do so. I’m so glad that events like Summer Streets take place to encourage New Yorkers to exercise.

Summer Streets

Photos taken by Mohammad Siraj

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Photos by Julia Qin

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Photos by Julia Qin

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Photos taken by Wendy Li

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

By Julia Qin: The Hong Kong Dragon Boat festival is one of the largest events of the service year. Attended by all of the major service clubs in Stuy, the event is virtually a summer reunion for Stuy students. A number of other city service clubs make an appearance every year as well, such as Bronx Science Key Club and Division 8 Key Club, making the event a great time to make new friends and catch up with old ones. The festival also features a plethora of corporate sponsorships and representatives from local politicians.

With such a large event, the coordinators divided the volunteers between land-side positions and water-side positions. Water-side volunteers spent the Friday afternoon before the festival attending a mandatory hour long training session. At the event itself, they spent their time bailing water, docking boats, and helping contestants on and off their vessels.

Having done water-side the previous year, I decided to try land-side this year. I spent the morning transporting chairs and tables around the site, helping to set up the festival. The rest of the day was spent at the arts and crafts tent, teaching festival-goers intricate origami.

Towards the end of the day, while we had begun breaking down the tents, a sudden downpour trapped all the volunteers on site. The heavy rain drenched everything from the pizza to the people, turning the roads into rivers and the soil into mud. Luckily, the sky cleared as quickly as the clouds had formed and as I rode away in the “shuttle bus� (in reality, a school bus), a vibrant rainbow was my goodbye.

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Photos taken by Christine Jegarl and Michelle Yang

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Photos taken by Vincent Yang

Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

By Bingyi Zeng: Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival was on August 6th and 7th at Flushing Meadow Park. It took me forever to get there. I was stuck at volunteer tent with other volunteers and waited for an assignment. I was assigned to arts and craft tent so I grabbed a pizza and immediately went to the tent. When I arrived, a lady who seems really nice and asked me if I want to help her with her monkey origami. She taught me how to make them and then she told me that my job will be to teaching the little kids how to make that origami. Despite the fact the it was sunny in the morning. It started to pour when the festival ended. Everyone tried to help with break down of the event. When we finally finished, we had to wait for the coordinator to sign us out. As a result, we waited until the rain stopped and we saw rainbow. Then, I saw everyone took out their phone and took a picture of it. I also snapchatted the rainbow to my friends.

Kiwanis Family Picnic

Photos by Jiaqi Gao

Kiwanis Family Picnic

Photos taken by Jiaqi Gao

Kiwanis Family Picnic

Kiwanis Family Picnic

By Wavian Li: As if I entered a storybook, the scene of friends and families unfolded when I walked past the large metal gates looming over the entrance of Prospect Park. The smell of meat sizzling on top of grills lingered throughout the park and the conversations that could be heard from every direction fused to set the enthusiastic atmosphere of the park. After passing a grove of trees, the 6th Annual K-Family Picnic came into view. A large white table comfortably resting under the shade of a tree was piled high with food: loaves of bread, slices of packaged meats, greens and a jar of mayonnaise. Essentially, they were cleverly chosen ingredients to create the perfect sandwich and introduction to a picnic. Throughout the rest of the day, a series of activities took place from aiming bean bags to potato sack races, which were set apart with periods to socialize and mingle with other Key Clubbers. A photo booth with a basket of bright green accessories for the Pediatric Lyme Disease Foundation was also set aside for Key Clubbers to pose with while taking a bite out of a lime. After several rounds of watermelon and cake, we concluded the picnic with a final fundraiser. Volunteers wore black trash bags in anticipation to be face planted in pies, while shouts energized the crowd into a frenzy. $40! $50! $60! The bids to pie the volunteers mounted higher and higher. Splatters of whipped cream covered the grass and onlooking students. The picnic- and experience- had ended on a particularly sweet note.

Kiwanis Family Picnic

Kiwanis Family Picnic

Photos taken by Michelle Yang

Kiwanis Family Picnic

Photos taken by Wavian Li

Flushing BID Street Festival

Pictures taken by Henry Zheng

Good Health Day

Photos taken by Christy Guan

Corona Cares Health Fair

Pictures taken by Henry Zheng

Ecofest

Photos taken by Christine Jegarl

Ecofest

Photos taken by Christine Jegarl

Painting Alice in Wonderland

Photos taken by Christine Jegarl

Painting Alice in Wonderland

Photos taken by Christine Jegarl

Stuy + Midwood Bowling Fundraiser

Photo from Josephine Leung

Dave and Buster’s Fundraiser

Photos taken by Jiaqi Gao

Dave and Buster’s Fundraiser

Photos taken by Jiaqi Gao

Dave and Buster’s Fundraiser

Photo taken by James Chin

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this newsletter. I really appreciate how dedicated all of you are to Key Club and I’d like to thank you for contributing to this issue and helping do our part for our community. Let’s enjoy the last week of our summers doing what else: volunteering!