The Monthly Clam
University of California, Santa Cruz November 2015
Volume I
Issue 2
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Introduction…………………………3 Service……………………………………………5
Leadership………………………….....10
Fellowship………………………………14
Miscellaneous…………………19
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Hello Hello! Here's to being more than halfway through our 2015-2016 term year (we're 7 months through, to be exact)! I can't believe all that we've accomplished -- from performing over 1,100 service hours, to having a Santa Cruz presence at *all* district events and meetings, to growing our UCSC Circle K family. Seeing how we're almost done with our term, I couldn't be more proud to see how we're still so lit and buzzing with a crazy momentum! That being said, despite nearing our term's end, do anticipate on having a crazy number of events and projects to look forward to... the first big one being 'New Members Installs' on Saturday 21 November! Both E-Board and A-Board are hard at work to bring you only the bestest of things, so do tell your friends there's so much in store! Especially our newer members, do note that things only pick up from here; come winter and spring quarter, this club will literally be nothing but fire. Keep posted. Again, thank you to all our returning members to really keeping our club intact and bumping; but especial thanks to our new members for being so engaged and involved... we really can't be who we are without all of your initiative, help, and energy. Welcome to the team, fam. We hope you stick around! Before signing off, I just want to shamelessly plug ... all y'all are wonderful and great human beings: I AM PROUD OF YOU, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! *whoop whoop* YOU, WAY TO GO YOU, YOU ARE A LEADER, A LEADER-LEADER-LEADER! S-UPER, SUPER STAR IS WHAT YOU ARE, SUPER, SUPER STAR IS WHAT YOU ARE! Keep things bumping my fine felines! Hannah Tuong President, 2015-2016
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MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR Woooooooh! Hello everyone, welcome to the second issue of UC Santa Cruz Circle K’s newsletter, “The Monthly Clam”! As you can see, our theme is “Otters in Otter Space” and I’ve had so much getting creative and making this newsletter super cute. I hope classes are going well and midterms haven’t driven you crazy (I can’t say the same lol.) In this issue we’ll be talking about all of the super exciting stuff that’s happened in these past few weeks. We’ll be recapping on several service events like the Homeless Garden Project, showcasing the AMAZING time we had at Fall Training conference, and so much more! Read on to find out what our club has been up to and what else we have in store! Stay lit, fam. Joshua Pe Publication Editor, 2015-2016
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Service
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Bay view elementary pancake breakfast The pancake breakfast event was a pretty interesting service event. We helped them cleanup as well as make paper witch hats for the children. While we were doing this I got to chat with a lot of the kids as well as new faces in Circle K. We helped sponge down the tables and shuffle furniture but with so many helping hands we managed to finish a lot earlier than expected. The event coordinator rewarded us with some fruits at the end of the event. It was really a good bonding experience at the end of the day we all circled around the kitchen and got to really have a group conversation. Like many of our events the after-event socials were always a blast. We went to Costco at the end of the event and enjoyed some great pizza and laughs. This was the event Jacqueline Tran's (Jay-Quel-lin) nickname was born so it was really a precious moment.
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Sprout up’S
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RAD Carnival
At this service event, Circle K’ers woke up bright and early to help out with the very first Sprout Up Carnival! Sprout Up is all about educating the next generation in environmental awareness and this carnival was a fun way to do it. The day started off with the set-up crew unloading and arranging tables and chairs around the park. Set-up was relatively quick but there was still so much left to do! Once the actual carnival started, volunteers were assigned to run specific booths. A few of these booths included poster-making, food serving, raffle ticket distribution, and a multitude of carnival games. Throughout the day there was entertainment provided by several live artists, an acapella group, and an eight-year-old DJ! Once the event came to an end, Circle K stuck around and helped take-down and clean up all of the booths. Normally that would have been the end of the event but, since there was so much food leftover, some members took the initiative to deliver plates of leftover food to the homeless in downtown Santa Cruz. I think everyone can agree that this event was a blast and that Circle K will definitely be back in the future to help out again.
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Recently, we volunteered with 'Sprout Up', an organization dedicated to providing education of being environmentally conscious to the little spoutletts of the world (elementary school children), at a day carnival hosted at the Louden Nelson Center nearby Downtown Santa Cruz! With the quirky games and fun-filled way to get educated, dare I call this event RAD-ically wicked? (*bada bing*) Circle K was posted throughout the carnival, running the various booths - from the "local, organic" buffet food table, to a bean bag toss, to the bounce house, and more! Throughout the entirety of the day, Circle K brought out 20 volunteers who (in total) served over 80 hours! ISN'T THAT OTTERLY AMAZING?! (*bada chum pt. 2*) In part to being way local to my residence and in part to being an educational event, I really enjoyed my time interacting with the locals and teaching the youngings what and how it means to be environmentally friendly! (Let's Go, Green Machine!)
By: Hannah Tuong
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Homeless Garden Project 8
By: Patty Garcia In my opinion, the Homeless Garden Project is one of the coolest community projects in Santa Cruz. At their farm location in the Western side of Santa Cruz, they give people who are struggling a chance to develop various skills while on the farm that they can use later on in the job market. They also open the farm to community volunteers, and as a club we have helped them manage the farm by painting, weeding, cleaning etc. It is so great getting to work with kind people who are so passionate about their work. The Homeless Garden Project also has a store located in Downtown, there they sell products from the farm, local art, and other goods from vendors in the Santa Cruz community (they sell some dope candles...just saying). This was my first year visiting the store and it is SO CUTE AND WELCOMING. I definitely recommend that everyone check it out!
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Name: Maggie Chan Year: 1st Major: Environmental Studies/Biology Hometown: San Jose, California Spirit Animal: This summer when I went backpacking for the first time in the Sierras (with WO!) we chose Sierra mountains spirit animals for each other and I was a pika because "they're cute and badass," which is probably my favorite recollection of how someone has ever described me. Favorite Thing About CKI: I love the energy in UCSC CKI! Everyone's just so excited to be here and help out. To be honest I wasn't specifically going to join this service club, but I chose CKI over the rest mainly because of how enthusiastic and welcoming everyone is, even when I was yet just another freshman at the OPERS fall festival. It just makes me happy! c: 9
LEADERSHIP 10
November General Meetings Earth & Marine B206 Tuesdays, 8:00 P.M.
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Committee Meetings 11
New Member Installs Committee was always very hectic because it was so difficult to find matching times but it was always very comforting. I got to spend time with returning members while doing arts and crafts, etc. and it gave me a sort of therapeutic bonding effect, a good break from all the classes and homework. Although it was rough at times each and every member really supported and helped me through the whole process. There were times when ideas clashed but overall the feeling you get when you're done and your planning and efforts finally bear fruit is really rewarding. I would like to just say thank you to all the people who pitched in their time, the event was really successful because of what you contributed. I definitely encourage people to partake in committee meetings no matter which kind.
Those of you who have attended Fall Training Conference know how spirit-crazy everyone gets. The FTC Committee was in charge of creating fun, catchy school and divisional cheers. The committee also made super fun spirit gear such as jetpacks, capes, and otter clothespins!
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By: Britney Luong
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Through November 6th to 8th, CKI CNH’s Fall Training Conference 2015 took place. During the whole weekend, Circle K members from all over California, Nevada, and Hawaii came to join together and celebrate the many hours of leaderships and fellowship that took place the previous year. On Friday and Saturday, there were many workshops were hosted by members from all over the division. Some examples of the various workshops included a KPOP dance tutorial, resume improvement seminar, K-Family workshop, and a real life talk session. After attending a numerous amount of workshops, I have to say they were helpful and interesting, especially the real talk session. Now, of course, the best part of the day was when we actually got to be spirited and mingle with the other districts and schools. I saw some of my friends from high school, and I got to meet many new people. There were so many cheers, including the UC Berkley bear territory and the Sacramento State Boomstick, that are still in my head right now. Honestly, I didn’t know it was possible to be so upbeat and passionate about a club prior to this event, but it definitely changed my mind about that. I encourage members who have never been to Fall Training Conference to head out to it next year. It’s an experience that I say that will change and improve your Circle K experience!
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By: Hannah Tuong Throughout the summer, Kiwanis of the Valley (Scotts Valley Kiwanis) puts on free benefit music concert series (featuring awesome local artists!) to raise money for Scotts Valley Unified School District's Music Department! As someone who personally was involved with music departments all throughout my elementary, middle, and high school years, I was extremely enthusiastic to be able to help out with this event. In total, there were three concerts held the last Sunday during the months of July, August and September. For me, as I was here over the summer, these events were extremely fun and a great way to explore and see another part of Santa Cruz County (I actually even dragged a visiting friend from Virginia to come along). As these concerts were tasked primarily all by volunteer and donation efforts, the Kiwanis of the Valley held a recognition and thank you dinner for all the help they received. Many large donors were recognized, onsite vendors and helpers were highlighted, and a recap of this year's efforts were announced! Representing UCSC Circle K, our Kiwanis Family Co-Chairs (Brianna and Colleen Lustan) and I attended this recognition dinner and were astounded by the results! This year raised enough to donate $20,000 to the music program... which brings the 5-year project to a grand total of $100,000 donated! It was so great to be able to help out our Kiwanian sponsors with such a great cause and see how their efforts fruited over the years! (Besides, who doesn't enjoy dinner in *great* company?)
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By: Hannah Tuong
As early as the Kiwanis Meetings are, there's nothing like getting energized than with the spirit and cheer of our Kiwanians! Each and every Kiwanis member is so kind and welcoming and so genuinely interested that we Circle K'ers are there to send our 'Hellos'! Even though we attend these meetings to meet our sponsors and give update of what we've been up to, we're also here to see what they are up to and provide help if needed (because the only thing better than sharing an early morning breakfast with them is helping them with a service project or event!). Surf City always is up to something fun and is really good about bringing an "education" to their meetings, so trust me when I say it's neverboring. As they say... the most important meal of the day is breakfast, and there's no better way to spend breakfast than with a visit out to Surf City Kiwanis! 15
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Golden Griffin & Green Minotaur Wingstop Social
This was our very first joint-family social of the year! The Golden Griffins and the Green Minotaurs linked up and ate dinner at the local Wingstop. We enjoyed delicious wings and got to spend time with each other and get to know the other family.
Capture-The-flag Social Originally, we had planned to do a dodgeball social competition between the different families to see who would come out on top. Unfortunately, we were unable to get ahold of the dodgeballs. This did not stop us, however! Instead, we ended up having a friendly competition of capture-the-flag. With the sun beating down, we broke into two teams, red and blue, and that’s when things got intense. Using teamwork and strategy we all had a great time as we battled it out with each other!
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Golden Griffin/Blue Phoenix Movie social
By: Hannah Tuong
Movie Nights are always best paired with snacks and good company... which happened this past Friday 13th! The Golden Griffins and the Navy Blue Phoenixes came together and warded off the "eerie" vibes with the happiest of flicks - Kiki's Delivery Service! (Subbed, of course!) Complete with pop-popcorn, BBQ flavored Lays, a bit of fizzy pop, and (healthy) fruit gummy snackies, I would say our movie night was one helluva good one!
Blue phoenix/purple dragon Study social
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UCSD CKI’S M-Ball
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UC Santa CRUz CKI Officer Board 2015-2016
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Upcoming Events -General Meeting/White Elephant Gift Exchange • When: Tuesday, December 1st 8 P.M. • Where: UCSC, Earth and Marine B206 • What: Bring a gift between $5-10 and play white elephant with us! -December DCM 4th
• When: Friday, December (Time TBA) • Where: Ice Center Cupertino • Come find out what Sunset Division has been up to! -December Service Project • When: Friday, December 11th 10 A.M. • Where: Palo Alto Opportunity Center • Partake in a service event with schools from all over Sunset!
Shout Out to These Fantastic People for Contributing to the Newsletter! Albert Chang
Jane Rivas
Aston Nalls
Justin Ayala
Britney Luong
Maggie Chan
Daniel Tjandra
Patty Garcia
David Liang
Victoriya Balashova
Hannah Tuong
Want to help contribute to our newsletter? • Pictures • Articles • Announcements • Random Blurbs Submit articles to our newsletter, and it’ll go toward one of your MRP (Membership Recognition Program) Requirements! E-mail me with any questions or concerns!
Circle K International Pledge I pledge to uphold the Objects of Circle K International, to foster compassion and goodwill toward others through service and leadership, to develop my abilities and the abilities of all people,
AND TO DEDICATE MYSELF TO THE REALIZATION OF MANKIND’S POTENTIAL! 19
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BOARD CONTACTS Website: http://ucsccirclek.wix.com/ucsccki Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ucsccirclek/ Snapchat/Instagram: ucsccki
President: Hannah Tuong pres.ucsc.cki@gmail.com Vice President of Administration: Chris Hetzler avp.ucsc.cki@gmail.com Vice President of Service: Aston Nalls svp.ucsc.cki@gmail.com Treasurer: Alison Chan treas.ucsc.cki@gmail.com Secretary: David Liang sec.ucsc.cki@gmail.com Fundraising Chair: Patty Garcia pgarciaa@ucsc.edu Historian Co-Chair: Victoriya Balashova vbalasho@ucsc.edu Historian Co-Chair: Daniel Tjandra dtjandra@ucsc.edu Kiwanis Family CO-Chair: Brianna Lustan blustan@ucsc.edu Kiwanis Family Co-Chair: Colleen Lustan clustan@ucsc.edu MD&E Chair: Albert Chang ucsccirclekmde@gmail.com MRP Chair: Norma Vazquez njvazque@ucsc.edu Photojournalist: Justin Ayala jumayala@ucsc.edu Public Relations Chair: Josh Pe jpe@ucsc.edu Service Chair: Michelle Tran mtran19@ucsc.eduu Spirit/Social Chair: Brandon Vasquez bJvasque@ucsc.edU Technology Chair: Jason Chou jchou7@ucsc.edu