BUpdate… CKI edition October 2016 ||
Fourth Edition
Check it out… 1. Editor’s Note 2. Boo at the Zoo 3. October Bake Sale 4. Howloween 5. Event Highlight 6. Incentives 7. Trick or Canning 8. Member of the Month 9. Halloween Social 10. Upcoming Events 11. Page of Puns! 12. Contact Us
A Month for the Boooooo-ks Hello Binghamton Circle K! This month was another great success for our club, as we had tons of Halloween events and some great fundraisers. If we keep it up‌ then we might have other clubs scared to the bone!! Stay tuned for more awesome events and service projects in the month to come. Let’s end the semester with a bang!
Boo at the Zoo by Anne Quirk On October 22nd, a few members and I went to the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park to volunteer for the 25th annual Boo at the Zoo. This event is held in the weekends before Halloween each year and visitors make their way through the zoo on a “haunted tour” and encounter gruesome creatures and scenes. Everyone wears costumes and makes their way through the path full of zombies, ghosts, and more! My fellow Circle K members and I were part of the “random scares” along the path. We wore all black outfits, put on masks or terrifying makeup, and jumped out at unsuspecting guests as they walked past the animal exhibits. It was so much fun to see the faces of visitors, young and old, as they were frightened again and again. We were able to scare a majority of the guests and seeing the kids in costumes was awesome! I would definitely volunteer again next year, although I would probably wear another layer or two, as it got to be pretty cold. The zoo put on a great event and it really got everyone in the Halloween spirit!
October Bake Sale by Cassie Jiang
Circle K International had a bake sale on Wednesday Oct. 26, raising money for CHOW to fight hunger. It was Halloween themed. We baked brownies, chocolatecoated pretzels, cupcakes and Oreo truffles. The bake sale was a great success! We raised $86. In addition to the money, we also do weekly food recovery runs every Monday and Tuesday at the CIW dining kitchen. All left over food is packaged for CHOW to feed people who are less fortunate.
Happy HOWLOWEEN! by Emily Fenter Howloween was a great event that Circle K members participated in this October at the Ross Park Zoo. It allowed us to interact with members of the community and entertain kids in a safe and fun Halloween setting. My role at Howloween included myself and two other Circle K members being placed at a station within the zoo, we ran a mini golf station! Although most of the times the parents helped the children finish the mini golf course, sometimes we had the opportunity to help the kids which was a lot of fun! It was adorable to see so many kids and families at this event showing off their cute Halloween costumes and participating in fun activities. You could see the excitement on the children’s faces when they got the ball through all of the holes and received the coins. For every activity they completed the child would be rewarded a coin and by the end they would have 8 coins that they could redeem at the exit of the zoo and get prizes such as candy, a bouncy ball, and other fun little toys that the kids enjoyed. I had never been to the Ross Park Zoo before and it was fun to get a chance to walk through and see some of the animals while also getting to provide a volunteer service to people in our community. I definitely look forward to Howloween again next year, except next year I will wear more layers because it got pretty cold at the zoo by the end!
Event Highlight… How Soup-er!
Soup Kitchen Visits
For the District Project Committee, my mission is called “Hope 4 the Homeless.” As the title implies, my job is to develop service events
and locate volunteer opportunities for the members of my club to participate in, which will ultimately benefit the homeless in some capacity. As such, one of the ongoing activities that I have created for our club is to help out at the soup kitchens at the Binghamton Salvation Army downtown. So far we have only done one session at the soup kitchen (October 29th) and have dates for November 5th, 13th, and 20th reserved. Unfortunately, at the first date, I, as well as Emily Fenter, and Allison Tipaldo were not able to do anything substantial as there was a mix up in reference to who was supposed to be at the soup kitchen at the time. Luckily, everything has been sorted out and we will have no more confusions as to when we should show up to help. Normally, our job would be to serve the homeless individuals the food that gets prepared by the cooks in attendance. After they finish their food, they would put their plates in a designated area and the volunteers would take them to the kitchen. After the men and women leave, we are supposed to clean the table tops, move the chairs to the side, and fold tables up to the wall. As I stated before, our initial trip wasn’t very fruitful as there was some confusion as to who was meant to show up. Nonetheless, three of us stayed to soak up the atmosphere and listen to the manager’s story. She explained to us that times were very tough and that she used to get more benefits/assistance from other organizations and people. However, as time passed, the amount of help she used to get slowed down tremendously. For instance, she stated that she used to get food from the Food Recovery Network. However, after some exchange of words that she felt was relatively aggressive, the food stopped coming to them and started going to CHOW instead. In addition, she doesn’t get paid the amount that she should get from her boss, which just makes her situation more dire and complicated. Her story really impacted me as well as Emily and Allison. It makes me want to help her, in whatever capacity I can, even more. All in all, I feel that our club can do some really good work with the Binghamton Salvation Army and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store!
—Oluponle Iluyomade
Incentives!! Check out this awesome Circle K t-shirt design! If you want one… be sure to pay your dues at the next meeting! Dues are $12 and can be given to our treasurer, Tim! The shirts will be long-sleeved.
And if you complete 5 service hours this month… …then you will be given one of these shortsleeved t-shirts from last year! Best of luck to you, and happy service!
Trick or Canning! by Ryan Madigan
On Friday, October 21st, Members of Circle K participated in Trick or Canning. The Trick or Canning event entailed our members going door to door in the neighborhood collecting canned and nonperishable foods to donate towards CHOW (The Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing food to the less fortunate and homeless. The event took place in the neighborhood behind the Target located off of Vestal Parkway from 4:30 PM-6:30 PM. On the day the event took place, there was quite a bit of rain, to quite a lot of rain. However, we were still up to the task to collect as much food as we could. Our first few houses were empty and it seemed hard finding people who were home at the time of collecting, but we endured. Soon we began finding more and more houses, with people more than willing to donate what they could, and many times allowing us to step in and get a little warm. As the rain began to settle, and the sky began to darken, we had collected more than enough food to donate. It was great experience we had, even though the time ahead seemed a tad dim, and very wet. We split into two separate groups, boys and girls, and tackled different halves of the same neighborhood. Although not all people I came across wanted to or had anything to donate, they still seemed to appreciate what we were doing, and that was great. This was my first act of community service ever, so I really didn’t know what to expect. The comradery I had with the group was great, and it made the experience (and rain) way more than bearable, it made it a great one. At the end of the day, I would gladly do it again.
Member of the month‌
Lila Fairclough! Full Name: Lila Marie Fairclough Major: Nursing Minor: Scholars; forensic health Hometown: Hamlin, Pennsylvania Fun Fact: I have a betta fish named Max Favorite Circle K Memory: Doing the Howloween event at Ross Park Zoo because it was really great seeing all the children dressed up in their costumes. Goals for the Year: To meet new friends and get more involved with the club Why I love Circle K: All the people are really nice and made me feel welcome when I joined. There are so many different kinds of opportunities and fun ways to get involved.
Lila was chosen as member of the month because of her great volunteer work! She has been participating in food recovery run every week, and she has also helped out at several other events this month. Great work, Lila!
Spooooky Social By Jenna Spak
It was the Friday before Halloween. The sun had already set and there was a chill in the air as I made my way to Marcy in Mountainview. I thought I heard a werewolf howl in the distance as I approached the building. A kind man in black let me in. My nostrils were assaulted by the aroma of cheese and sauce, and I looked to see that there were boxes of pizza waiting, along with delectable frosted cookies and sweet treats. Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach greeted me, and I knew that this was going to be a good night. The werewolf I had heard earlier even decided to attend. I mingled with Pikachu and a hipster before Kester, the master of ceremonies, began a series of different games, each one more fun than the last. We all played musical chairs, in which Mario proved why he's the face of Nintendo, and not his younger brother Luigi. We also played Spyfall, Ninja, and Mirror. The night concluded with a classic showing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." We all felt for the kid that only got a rock. Overall, it was a great time, and a splendid Halloween treat for everyone that came.
What can I do this month?
Soup Kitchen Trip 5-5:45 PM Food Recovery 5:30 PM
Cold Stone Fundraiser 6-9 PM
New York Speaking
New York Speaking
Bake Sale 12-4 PM
Salvation Army BellRinging 11AM-7PM
Food Recovery 5:30 PM New York Speaking
Food Recovery 5:30 PM
Community Meal 4:30-6 PM
Food Recovery 5:30 PM Soup Kitchen Trip 5-5:45 PM
Krispy Kreme Tabling 12-4 PM
Food Recovery 5:30 PM
Food Recovery 5:30 PM Soup Kitchen Trip 5-5:45 PM
Krispy Kreme Tabling 12-4 PM
Food Recovery 5:30 PM Food Recovery 5:30 PM
Food Recovery 5:30 PM
Game Night 7-9 PM
Citrea Fundraiser 11:30 AM-2 PM; 4-9 PM
Owl of these puns are a HOOT!
Contact Us! Executive Board 2016-2017 President
Treasurer
Courtney Aronica
Tim Leung
caronic1@binghamton.edu
tleung@binghamton.edu
Vice President
Editor
Melissa Levine
Kora SIleo
mlevin10@binghamton.edu
ksileo1@binghamton.edu
Secretary
Webmaster
Emily Fenter
Kayla Bautista
efenter1@binghamton.edu
kbautis3@binghamton.edu
International Project Emily Saba Service Project Christina Holzhauer Fellowship Kester Francis
Bake Sale Cassie Jiang Fundraising Elle Swete Historian Anne Quirk
Public Relations Melanie Dietrich Governor’s Project Jessica Siegal District Project Oluponle Iluyonmade
K Family Relations Paty Acipreste bingCKI
@bingcircle k
Binghamton Circle K
@bingcirclek