BRONX SCIENCE KEY CLUB 7 5 W e s t 2 0 5 S tr e e t , B r o n x , N Y 1 0 4 6 8
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Volume 3 Issue 2
THE KIWI May Issue! Recent Events......................2-7 Service Spotlight..................8-9 Division 11 Updates.............10 Member Spotlight................11 Credits...................................12
Service Events WALK MS Anna Yang, Dedicated Key Club Member The Walk Multiple Sclerosis event took place near the Hudson River at Pier 26. Arriving there around 11:30am, I could already see the participants running alongside the picturesque view of skyscrapers that Manhattan has to offer. Left and right, there was people wearing vibrant colors of t-shirts with the words “FIGHTING FOR KATIE” on it. As I walked closer to the event, where the party was at, the DJ was playing music loudly from Bastille to Katy Perry. Everyone was either jogging towards the end line or from the start line for one reason. They were fighting for their lovers that had sclerosis. After we got our bright orange t-shirt with the words VOLUNTEER written on the back, it was time to get to work. Our first task was to applaud and cheer for the participants at the end line for 20 minutes. There was a particular moment that made the cheering really memorable. This energetic man, in his 50s, told everyone to stick out their hand so he could high five all of us. He took a few steps back, focused his attention on all of our hands, and ran towards us. After he did that, he said, “I just want to thank all of you for helping and making this event possible. It’s amazing to see us as a community coming together and fighting for something we care a lot about. God bless you all and thank you.” I definitely knew tears stood in my eyes. After the 20 minutes was up, the director told us it was clean up time! We all scattered like ants looking for food to pick up. We got into groups and completed what was a two hour task in half an hour! TALK ABOUT TEAMWORK. As I was leaving Pier 26, I saw this huge white poster that looked like a colorful masterpiece. As I examined it closely, I saw that all the participants had signed their names and wrote a comment underneath it. A Key Clubber, Jenny Chen, wrote “BRONX SCIENCE KEY CLUB!” SHOW THAT KEY CLUB PRIDE, JENNY. Lastly, I took a black sharpie and added my last words, “This event is surely unforgettable. Proud to be part of it.”To this day, I still remember how much I almost lost my voice from cheering, how many smiles I captured, and how many brave hearts I saw. The event was so meaningful because even though we were all strangers, we acted like we were family. We supported each other and that’s what made the experience memorable.
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Nami Walk Anonymous Author On a beautiful Saturday on the 10th of May, Bronx Science Key Club gathered at South Street Seaport in Manhattan. We gathered there to help with the Nami Walk. The point of the walk was to raise awareness about mental illnesses and change how people viewed people with mental illnesses. The whole event was really interesting and showed how united people can become to support a cause. At the start of the event it was really calm and quiet. After the start of the event, however, hundreds of people arrived and it was utter chaos. Despite all of it, Key Club did their best to help people register and do a bunch of other things. I was one of the few people that was in charge of registration and it wasn’t an easy job. Many people crowded around the tables looking confused, frustrated, or happy. Most of these people didn’t know where to go or what to do. We directed these people where to go and helped them solve any issues that arose. Despite how early the event was, it was really enjoyable. The free coffee helped with the sleepiness of waking up on a early Saturday morning. The coordinators tried their best to make us feel comfortable by providing us with food, beverages, and answering all of our questions about what to do. It was disappointing, however, that we didn’t do any of the walking ourselves.
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BRONXSCIENCE SCIENCEKEY KEYCLUB CLUBnewsletter newsletter BRONX
Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer Lisa Wang, Dedicated Key Club Member as
Standing outside for hours in the scorching sun is not everyone’s ideal Saturday, but at last we were saved by the rain. The relief that we felt from the rapidly lowering humidity and the steep decline in temperature did not last for long though. The lovely smell of petrichor was shadowed by the more prominent smell emanating from the abundant amount of horse feces. This was the Saturday that the Kids Walk for Kids With Cancer walk was held on. Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer is a walk to raise awareness for pediatric cancer and to raise money for pediatric cancer research at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Since 2001, the walk has raised over 2 million dollars. As the walk was to raise awareness for kids who had cancer, it was very refreshing to see so many children at this walk. I have not been to many walks myself, but this is the first walk I have been to where I have witnessed many children actually walking instead of being pushed in a baby stroller. This walk is a fairly short walk which means that the majority of the afternoon was spent eating Pop Chips and apples, listening to Top 40, and standing around while waiting for the walk to start. On the bright side, the soles of our feet were saved from the immobilizing pain that everyone seems to get when we walk anything more than three miles. This was also a smaller walk which meant that we were able to avoid shouting the slightly embarrassing Key Club chant. Now that I think about it the chant is a bit inappropriate for children to hear. No chant, working limbs, and the satisfaction that comes with doing good, what more could you want?
Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer Zi Wong, Key Club Member The Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer took place in Central park, Manhattan on Saturday, May 10th. The purpose of the walk was to fundraise for children diagnosed with cancer. The walk started approximately at 2 or 3 o'clock inside Central Park. Before the walk, there was food, drinks, and Kids Walk for Kids with Cancer T-shirts being handed out. Music was playing, as well, to get the participants in the mood for the walk. Right before the walk started, there were also inspirational speeches regarding the walk from many people, including a doctor. During the walk, there were many other participants walking alongside Key Club, most of them were wearing the Kids with Cancer Walk T-shirt, creating a sense of unity throughout the walk. It also started to rain during the walk, but no one paid attention since the focus was on the walk. The walk ended around 5 o'clock at the location it started in. This walk showcased a great deal of effort from Key Club and the other participants. It was a very fun experience overall as Key Club helped to donate to the treatment of pediatric cancer.
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The Friends of Rockaway Jasmine Quindala, President The Friends of Rockaway Event has become one of my favorite events for this service year. It was an inspirational event that reminded me why I’m a Key Clubber--to help those in the community. The event took place at Rockaway with the Kiwanis Club of New York City Young Professionals, Circle K members, HSMSE Key Club, and Hope from AmeriCorps who was in charge of the event. At the event we helped in the process of rebuilding a house that had gotten hit very badly by Hurricane Sandy. We did a variety of tasks including sanding, mudding, scraping, and inventory to get the house one step closer to being done. When we got to the house and introductions started, we learned everyone’s names and their spirit animal. We also learned the background of the person who owned the house. The homeowner had just been diagnosed with Diabetes and right before the storm hit, he had to fly to Ireland to take care of his father. He never had the chance to see his house and the damage of the storm until the summer after the storm hit. Because of all this, he is out of a job and is currently still displaced. After we learned this, we were even more enthusiastic and inspired to do whatever it would take to facilitate in finishing the house expeditiously. Before heading off to work, we were taught the basics of mudding and sanding and given gloves and eye protection. Some of us sanded the walls in order to get them super smooth and ready for either more mudding or some painting. The mudding went on spots on the walls that had screws or any other imperfections. The others made sure there were no bumps and imperfections on the floor so that flooring could be started. We all worked together as one big K-Family to make sure every single spot was attended to. Despite the hard work, the first half of the day went by really fast and I was surprised that none of us even noticed. At about 12 we went out to a Spanish restaurant for some bonding and lunch and visited the beach right after. Then, we continued our work on the house with great energy, laughter, and fun. It was really nice seeing Key Clubbers from our division who had just graduated, come back to help out once again. It was also amazing to see how much all of us genuinely cared about what we were doing. In the end, Hope even let us sign the walls of the house with little messages for the homeowner before the walls were painted. Past District Executive Assistant Tina Lee drew a picture of all of us (with Hope as a superhero) by a house with a little note that just warmed all our hearts. When we were being debriefed, Hope told us that after seeing our enthusiasm, hard work, the picture, and the messages we put on the walls, she was about to tear up herself. As we left the house, some neighbors thanked us which put a bunch of smiles on our faces. In the end, after a tiring and messy day, we all just wanted to come back again to continue helping and to be able to finish the house.
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BRONX SCIENCE KEY CLUB newsletter
Astoria Park Alliance Volunteer Day Michael Chan, Dedicated Key Clubber On May 24th, Bronx Science Key Club worked with Benjamin N. Cardozo High School and members of Green Shores NYC in Astoria Park in order to help with redesigning the garden so that the plants would be able to continue their life cycles. We were working in order to prevent overpopulation of any plant species and to promote diversity of plants growing in the garden. It was a very interesting event because while being able to help with the garden, we also learned about how mugworts could prevent biodiversity since they can easily grow in certain environments. At the same time, they were pretty useful plants because we learned that they were commonly used as medicine as well. The event was pretty fun because while working to pull out the mugworts from the garden, we had a competition to see who could pull the longest stem connected to the mugworts we were trying to pull. One of the fellow key club members, Maria, ended up pulling the longest stem which was taller than Erna, who is another one of our other key club members (Erna is pretty tall). We also had to gather extra twigs, clean up the earthworm compost, and collect leaves during the event in order to re-organize the garden. It’s too bad we didn’t get to take a picture of the garden before anything and compare it to how it looked after our work. My favorite job was working together with everyone to pile the mugworts we collected and jumping on the pile to flatten it because it was like a trampoline. The hardest job was probably trying to gather the twigs in one pile and jumping on them to flatten them because the twigs were extremely strong to the point where we had to snap most of them by hand. Overall, the event was organized pretty well. We were able to work efficiently and finish our job in a decent period of time. It was pretty amazing to be able to work on a garden because I personally didn’t have any gardening experience and I gained a stronger background on how to work on one. We had a few funny moments where some members were afraid of a few bugs we encountered and the work we did together was very addicting to do. It was a good experience for all of us and it’s always great to go to events that help teach people something .
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Aids Walk Volunteer Kimberly Cabrera, Dedicated Key Clubber When I got to the Bandshell in Central Park to volunteer for the Aids Walk on May 18, 2014, I was frantically looking for someone that I knew as I was an hour late. Terrell saw me and brought me to the volunteering booth where I got my volunteering shirt, my info cap, and clipboard that had all the information on the Aids Walk event. I was told by one of the people in charge of volunteers to inflate the big beach balls that had been deflated with two other volunteers. We three spent around an hour inflating the beach balls which was very hard work. Afterwards, we were told to help out with the Star Breakfast as they needed more volunteers. After being security guards for the Star Breakfast, we then met up with the other Info Army volunteers and ate lunch. Later, we all helped set up the finishing line by setting up the tables, certificates of completing the walk, and the balloons. After, setting up the finishing line we all went to where the walkers were starting to come back to direct them to the finish line We all met up with our fellow Key Clubbers who took such a long time going back to the finish line. After crossing the finish line, we saw Stuyvesant Key Club’s signed and wrote Bronx Science on top of Stuyvesant, crossed out their name and of course, wrote “We love you!” Later on some of us decided to go to Chipotle where we all ate and had fun.
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BRONX SCIENCE KEY CLUB newsletter
Service Spotlight Japan Day Labib Hussain, Dedicated Key Clubber Heading into the F train all by myself on the very breezy Sunday morning, I sit down and await my hour commute to the city’s largest wonder- Central Park. I kept getting calls from my friends as the whole club was generously waiting for me, the last person, to finally arrive. Nevertheless, I made it quickly to the tents and I was surprised by the vast amounts of people laughing, cheering, embracing the festival. After a getting together with all the clubbers, we all readily dived into our objective of the day, serving tea at the Tea Tent! At first, Terrell and I were sent to the back of the tent where we would have to break down and separate endless amounts of plastic and cardboard boxes. While breaking boxes in the back, Jonson and one other particular member joined us. I think his name was Alex, and he was from a different school. It was pretty amazing to see a student of another school inter-clubbing with our very own! Throughout the whole day, I could hear the clubbers at the tables distributing the teas with the cutest little catchphrases. I could vividly remember Shatila and Erna’s powerful voices attracting people from the Japan Day festival. Towards the end, Terrell, a bunch of other Key Clubbers, and I began to pitch in and help distribute the tea, mentioning funny little remarks such as “Don’t be caught with no bev!”. The club finished, with a job well done, and for one last time we gathered up and enjoyed the the Japanese culture around us. Japan day allowed me to realize that not only was Key Club full of very new, generous, and exciting people every day, but that we are all able to come together and get a huge task done!
Japan Day Tammy Liu, Dedicated Key Clubber From handing out tea to dressing up in a Yukata, Japan Day was an event that I will never forget. It started with me getting lost trying to navigate my way around Central Park. Around 8 AM we made our way to the Tea Tent, where we would be volunteering. There were boxes and boxes of tea stacked up and I had never seen so much tea before in my life. I wondered how we would be able to hand out all the tea, but boy was I wrong. I quickly learned that we would soon run out. While half of us had the grueling task of lifting the heavy boxes to the tables, the others, including me, had the job of placing the bottles in a orderly fashion and explaining whether each tea was caffeinated or if it had skim milk. About half way through my shift, we ran out of all but two of the teas, Matcha and the Black Tea Latte, after starting out with seven different flavors. Some of the other volunteers were Japanese and they taught me basic Japanese phrases, one of which was “two per person” for when we were handing out the teas. Japan Day was truly a great experience, we were able to meet new people and try new things, like trying on a Yukata and Yo-Yo Fishing.
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Japan Day Volunteer Sabrina Chen, Dedicated Key Clubber On May 11th, 14 other Key Clubbers and I went to Central Park to volunteer for Japan Day. We were assigned to work at the tea tent for the morning shift. At the tent, the workers there taught us the different teas they had and what each one had in them. The flavored teas we gave out were matcha green tea latte, black tea latte, mugicha (which was barley), grape and apple. There were several things to do at the tent. Some volunteers were deconstructing the boxes that held the tea, others were restocking the tables that needed tea and the rest of the key clubbers handed out the tea to people who were passing by. I was one of the members who was handing out tea. In the morning, runners who were participating in the Japan Day marathon came to our tea to stock up on refreshments. It was awesome to help pick out drinks that would suit their taste and that would help them during the run. Since Japan Day was held on the same day as Mother's Day, a lot of families came to Japan Day. Throughout the course of the day, a lot of mothers and kids would come to the tent to get some tea. A lot of people were pleasantly surprised when we told them that the tea was free to take. Volunteering at the tea tent at Japan Day really allowed the club members to bond as well because we relied on each other to help get the job done. It was also nice to interact with the people as well and to see them smile. Japan Day is definitely one of my favorite Key Club events.
Japan Day~ Shatila Quader, Dedicated Key Clubber みなさん、こんにちは！(Or just Hello everyone!) As one of our club’s most famous events, Japan Day lived up to its name. On the 11th of May, the volunteers showed up at Central Park to celebrate the Japanese culture. Because I was volunteering for the later shift, I roamed around the park to look at the festival before my shift began. There were many other volunteers in the area as well, from other organizations. A bit before our shift started, we were given bento boxes for lunch. Bento boxes are part of Japanese culture, which is why it was so cute of them to give us this special lunch. Right after lunch, we got started. As volunteers, we were given a tent full of teas. We gave out these different teas from three sides of the tent. It was a big crowd, and boy did they want the tea! So as Key Clubbers, we yelled and got the attention of people passing by to give them tea. A lot of people seemed really happy that it was free. This event was personally one I’ve been wanting to go to. It was an exciting event at which I got to celebrate a culture different than mine. There was Japanese culture from the bento boxes to the yukatas, origami, ramen, and much much more. It was just really exciting. Not only that, but the area was also full of cosplayers! Altogether the volunteering, the cosplayers, the teas, domo, and all of these Japanese traditions and culture made the day a lot of fun.
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BRONX SCIENCE KEY CLUB newsletter
Division 11 Updates Divisional Training Conference Kaitlin Ma, Dedicated Key Clubber The Divisional Training Conference was an amazing experience for me. As soon as I entered Bayside High School, where the event was located, familiar faces and new faces greeted me. When we went into the auditorium, we learned all about Key Club. We learned about the different organizations that are a part of Kiwanis International and the significance of each one. We also learned about what being a dedicated and distinguished Key Club member means. Afterwards, we went into the gymnasium and did a fun interaction exercise. I laughed so much while meeting people and talking with them. Everyone was being active and running around, we even sat on each other for an exercise. Then, we all separated and went to different panels. During these panels, I learned about leadership, organization, and time. In the last panel I went to, I made cards for children at St. Judes Hospital and it was a lot of fun! At the end, everyone went into the auditorium to have lunch and talk. As I entered, “Let it Go” was playing and people were singing along to it. I couldn’t get it out of my head when I left and kept humming it. Ultimately, DTC was a wonderful event for me and I was so happy I attended. It opened me up and I met a lot of new people from our Key Club and from other schools. I’m usually very shy, but during this event, I made more friends and talked to more people. It was both an exhilarating and a thrilling experience. It was one of the best events I’ve been to this year. I learned more about Key Club and interacted with so many people. :)
DTC- District Training Conference Claire Chen, Dedicated Key Clubber I don’t think anyone understands the significance and scale of Key Club until he/she attends an event such as DTC- or at least I didn’t. Before, I knew what people said about how integrating Key Club was, but at DTC I saw it in action. There were 3 divisions - division 8, 8A and 11 at this event. It was the day I saw how dedicated people are, not just in Bronx Science Key Club, but in other schools as well. I met people from Cardozo and LaGuardia HS, which was exciting, to see that they too had a passion that I shared. My favorite part of DTC was probably at the end, where we did a “Happy Quarters”, but I enjoyed the panels as well. The funny part of Happy Quarters was when someone declared that his donation would be the last one. Being the competitive members we all are, that sparked a rise in donations from the different divisions. It was so funny watching people top the donation of others as the amount of money donated grew. In the end, division 11 came up with the most money and ended the Happy Quarters competition. Overall, DTC was an enjoyable event that opened my eyes to what Key Club is- a community that shares their passion for community service and dedication to others around them.
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Member Spotlight monthly recognition to Key Club Extraordinaires
"Michael has shown to be a very dedicated key clubber by attending various volunteer opportunities. He is very hard working. I remember at the Astoria Park Alliance Day event, Michael did not just pull the mugworts out of the ground but also asked and learned more about the plant and its origins from the director." - Jenifer Zheng
"The first time I met Michael, he was the only person that looked out of place during the Concern run event. Everyone knew everyone else and he was just there. I thought I'd introduce myself and hopefully get another freshman to be dedicated to Key Club. A few months later, Michael is now one of our most dedicated members ever and has contributed so much time and effort to carry out the Key Club spirit. Congrats Michael! I'm so proud of you (:" -Raina Wong
"Ever since I met Micheal, he's been one of the most devoted key clubbers I have ever seen. He is extremely dedicated to key club and it would take more than words to describe how enjoyable he is to work with. He's silly sometimes, but that never makes him any less friendly or sociable or hardworking! - Harry
"Michael first started coming to events in April/May and soon became an extremely dedicated member. He's at most, if not all the events and fundraisers and is willing to help anyone out with difficulty." -Yingchao
For the Month of May, Michael Chan 17' In a club as large as our own, it is important to recognize those who are dedicated, and those who go above and beyond the call and role of a member. That is why it is vital we recognize a familiar face in the crowd during various Key Club meetings and events.
"Everytime I go to Key Club events, Michael is always there; he’s extremely dedicated on going to events even though he lives in Brooklyn. He always has a smile on his face and he’s always willing to help out. He gives off a positive aura and it affects everyone around him!" -Jenny Chen
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BRONX SCIENCE KEY CLUB newsletter
We have a lot of upcoming Events for the Month of June
Great Strides 6/1 Drums along Hudson6/1 The Fault in our Stars: Movie Fundraiser 6/15 Pass the Lemonade 6/20 Water Wars/ Picnic Fundraiser 6/27
Hello Key Clubbers. I am Wesley Li and I am your editor/webmaster for the service year of 2014-2015. My job as editor is to create these newsletters to show you the experiences that our key clubbers felt at the events they have went to. If you feel have any kind of feedback to give me, please feel free to speak to me! I won't hold a grudge against you if you criticize my newsletter or the website so please contact me whenever needed. I hope that this newsletter was able to draw you in and that you guys will continue to be as dedicated as you are. Thanks for reading the newsletter and I hope to see you guys at any future events! Yours in Service, Wesley Li' 16 Club's Webmaster/Editor
Go to visit our website to sign up and keep updated with more upcoming events at: http://bxscikeyclub.weebly.com/ Board 2014-2015
Credits
Jasmine Quindala Club President
Wesley Li Editor
Timmy Zhu Vice President
Erna Radoncic Public Relations Committee Chair
Raina Wong Secretary
Angie Chen Public Relations Committee Chair
Sophia Yu Treasurer
Valued Contributors: Jenny Chen, Yingchao He, Harry Huang, Raina Wong, Jenifer Zheng, Shatila Quader, Tammy Liu, Labib Hussain, Sabrina Chen, Claire Chen, Kaitlan Ma, Anna Yang, Lisa Wang, Kimberly Cabrera, Jasmine Quindala Thank you so much for those who contributed to the newsletter! If you submitted and article and it hasn't appeared in this newsletter, worry not, it has been submitted to have a chance to be displayed in our divisional newsletter! Be sure to check out our divisional newsletter when it gets released!
Email us @ bxsciencekeyclub@gmail.com
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Wesley Li Editor