SYMPATHY
April 2023
Bloomfield High School Key Club - Division 19
EDITOR'S LETTER
Janiya Angoy bhskeyclubeditor@gmail.comWelcome to April and the lovely weather that comes with it! There haven't been many April showers, but with those 80-91 degree days... I can't complain. But most importantly, welcome to the new Key Club service year that we have just entered! I am so, so proud of how far we have come as a club, and although my term as editor is coming to an end, I am so excited to see it through to the rest of the year with all of you as the school year comes to a close.
Besides unusually warm weather, something April has in store is the Townwide Cleanup, where you will help clean up one of Bloomfield's parks. All shovels, garbage bags, gloves, etc will be provided at the site. More information will be provided on Google Classroom and Remind in the coming days.
Although this will be my last editorial, it has been amazing working with our wonderful board, general members, and advisors. Try to make the most out of this year and keep your nose to the grindstone. It's been a pleasure working with you all!
Yours in Caring Service, Janiya Angoy
PRESIDENTS' LETTER
Hello all and happy Spring! We hope you are enjoying the warm weathe
This past month, the BHS Key Club has been busy! We successfully completed our annual Glow in the Dark Volleyball Tournament. With 14 teams, we were able to raise over 200 dollars for the Ronald McDonald House! We appreciate all of the teams that participated and hope that everyone had a great time.
Over the last weekend in March, a few members went to the annual NJ Key Club district convention also known as DECON. This year the theme was Service is Sweet and we had an absolute blast! Our club was able to win 6 awards including 1st place for our club newsletters!! Our President Nick, was even fortunate enough to win a scholarship. We also attended many workshops, danced the night away at the Bubble Gum Ball and for the first time, won the SPIRIT STICK! This was definitely a weekend that some of us will never forget.
Sadly, DECON also means the end of the service year. We just want to thank each and every one of you for your passion for service this year. We could not have done it without you. To our 2022-2023 board, we send an even bigger thank you! Your dedication to help make this organization better than it's ever been never disappoints! We wish all of our seniors good luck on their future endeavors.
Coming up in April we are participating in the annual town-wide cleanup. If you would like the help, please see the Google Classroom or Remind. We are also currently planning our end of the year banquet so keep an eye out for information coming out soon!
For the last time, Yours in Caring and Service, BHS Key Club President,
TOWNWIDE CLEANUP
Join us at our Townwide Cleanup on April 22 from roughly 8 am to 12 pm to help remediate one of Bloomfield's parks.
All garbage bags, gloves, garbage picker-uppers, rakes, tshirts, etc. will be provided at the site. We will notify you when we select a site to clean up, but until then, please stay tuned on Remind & Google Classroom in the coming weeks for more info as well as for sign-ups!
Last year's Fall Rally trip was super fun, and we got to wear banana costumes!!
Definitely stay tuned for more details as the year progresses!
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS EXECUTIVE BOARD ELECTIONS
The results of the 2023-2024 Key Club election will be released soon. To those who applied -- check your email regularly for any updates/interview requests! Once again, best of luck to all future officers!!
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATE
Want to make an impact? Change lives? Become a strong leader and changemaker?
The Global Leadership Certificate program allows you to take courses on a wide range of topics surrounding building meaningful relationships, civic engagement, communication, resilience, critical thinking, and much more! You can work at your own pace while practicing some of Key Club's core values (leadership and service). Upon completion, you will receive a certificate commemorating your progress and growth within this program.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Link:
https://www.keyclub.org/ global-leadershipcertificate-program/
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS NJ
KEY CLUB DIVISION 19 OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER
Bloomfield Key Club is part of Division 19, which is a group of Key Clubs around Essex County. It includes some other Key Club chapters such as: Belleville, Clifton, Glen Ridge, Nutley, and more. We have a Lieutenant Governor, who is essentially the leader of our division, and she has created a newsletter to provide us with updates regarding events and other things happening on the district level. Here's the link:
https://issuu.com/div19/docs/division 19 april newsletter (it's also posted on Google Classroom)
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS KIWANIS FOOD DRIVE AT SHOP RITE
A big thanks to all who helped out! As you can see in the photos below, we collected a huge sum of food at the Bloomfield Kiwanis' Shop Rite food drive. This wouldn't have been possible without our amazing volunteers.
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS GLOW IN THE DARK VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
On March 23, we held our annual Glow in the Dark volleyball tournament! We had a total of 14 teams. Congrats to the winners who pulled through with an impressive score!
I hope you all enjoyed a night full of spikes, bumps, sets, serves, friendly competition, and glow-in-the-dark attire (especially the glowsticks!).
Thanks to you, we raised over $200 which was donated to the Ronald McDonald House, which is an organization that helps provide housing for children dealing with pediatric cancer and other illnesses!
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS DECON RECAP
We couldn't have done it without you!
On March 24 at the Hyatt Regency located in Princeton, NJ, every Key Club located in NJ came together to celebrate our collective accomplishments!
A huge part of DECON is the awards ceremony, where we were recognized for our hard work. We won:
1st place: Club Bulletin Award (a.k.a Club Newsletter Award, woo!)
2nd Place: Single Service Award
3rd Place: Kiwanis Family Relations award
3rd Place: Platinum Major Emphasis Award
Distinguished Club (Diamond Level!)
Early Bird Award (for paying dues on time!)
W so proud of y your co mfield community. Your hard wo lub so far, and we're so glad that recognized for its successes. Tak ss and acknowledge the vital You earned this!
RECENT & UPCOMING EVENTS MONTHLY CALENDAR
There is a monthly calendar posted on the bulletin board outside of the Key Club office so that you can stay updated with all of our events. Also, on Google Classroom, you can find this calendar as well as a list of the hours you've earned by clicking the i button located on the Key Club banner.
ADVOCACY FOCUS
Health Conditions & Disease Awareness
Cardiovascular Disease
Our Advocacy Focus is a way for us to raise awareness for specific relevant issues. This year, we are focusing on various prevalent diseases in America. For the past couple months, we focused on Alzheimer's Disease Awareness, and for April, we are focusing on Cardiovascular Disease. Being the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S., heart disease is a huge issue afflicting people of all ages. In February with our Drop N'Dine event, we were able to raise money for the Ethan Lindberg Foundation, an organization supporting those with Congenital Heart Defects (heart defects present at birth). Just last month, we raised money for the Ronald McDonald House charity which provides housing and other resources to children battling with pediatric illness.
Stay tuned for future service opportunities related to this cause!
DISTRICT PROJECT
Education is Key!
The District Project is a way for Key Club to make a difference towards a certain cause every year. This year, our District Project is focused on education and stopping the widening of the learning gap; our goal is to help others reach their full educational potential. So far, we have achieved this through our Key Traits 4 Kids field trips, and in February, we held our Week of Service.