The Golden Gazette
Volume 2 | Issue 1
Table of Contents 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32 33
Lieutenant Governor’s Message // editor’s Blurb Important DATES District events // divisional apparel District committees International committees // schools in golden gate Divisional Progress Golden Gate’s Hall of Fame: members of the Months CLUB SUMMARIES Articles: Introductory page Kiwanis one day: DVC // UC Berkeley April Division Service Project: March for babies spring cazadero May Dsp: Kiwanis Special Games // STC North 2015 UCB EOTY BANQUET 2015 // SFSU EOTY BANQUET 2015 JUNE DSP: Habitat for humanity Golden gate trainer/June DCM LMC Minion Takeover Barnes & Nobles July DSP: Tilden park // DVC Citrus house UCB Waterworld social // Wipeout run 5k Night for Nepal tricycle race // October dsp: Rebuilding together part 2 Crazy kompetition for infants: North 2015 interfamily cook-off // November DSP: Run for REnfrow FALL TRAINING CONFERENCE 2015 DVC’S 24 HOUR SERVICE MARATHON 2015 MURDER MYSTERY BALL | NOVEMBER DCM 2015 DIVISION COUNCIL MEETINGS // SPECIAL THANKS DIVISIONAL BOARD CONTACT
Lieutenant Governor’s Message Hello Guardians, Welcome to the very first issue of the second volume of the Golden Gazette! I must say, it feels really weird writing the LtG welcome instead of the Editor's one. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this issue brought to you by our amazing Graphics and Newsletter Chair, Alan Kwok. We've done a ton of service since the start of the term and I hope this newsletter reminds you of all that we've accomplished. I want to take this time to commend all of you on all the hard work you've done the past few months to make a difference in your community.Our time together may be short but let's make the most of what we have left. You are all so amazing and I'm truly honored to be serving this division. Without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy this issue of The Golden Gazette.
Peace, Love, GG <3 Robert Rodriguez, 2015-2016 Golden Gate Lieutenant Governor
Newsletter Chairâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blurb Happy new year, Guardians! Welcome to the first issue of the second volume of the Golden Gazette! I had a lot of fun compiling everything and listening to many inspiring Circle K stories! Thank you to all the clubs and individuals that contributed to the success of this newsletter. I hope that you will enjoy this newsletter as much as I did creating it. I hope that you will be on the lookout for the next divisional newsletter!
Live to serve, Love to Serve, Alan Kwok, 2015-2016 Golden Gate Graphics & Newsletter Chair
Important Dates! January DCM/ Professional Development Day
San Francisco State University Saturday, January 30th January Division Service Project
! e t a D e h t e v a S
Oakland ZOO
9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland, CA 94605
January 23rd 8am-12pm
Help out the Oakland Zoo by cleaning some of their gardens and exhibits with the rest of Golden Gate!
Member Retreat
Feb. 20th
Further information regarding this event will be announced at a later time.
Upcoming District Events Registration (forms & Fees) RECEiVED by January 22nd Contact Club president for club registration
Early Registration (Received by Feb. 5th):
$131
â&#x20AC;¨ Regular Registration
Contact Your Club President for more information on Registration
(Received by Feb 12th):
$171
Rep Golden Gate! T-shirts: $10 Spirit Pack: $15 Contact Club president or Divisional board for more details!
District committeeS Golden Gate Liaisons Diyar Aniwar
Ana Chavez
Donald Franks
Awards
Kiwanis Family
Finance & Fundraising
Sarah Phan
Frances asha
Membership Development & Education
Golden Gate Members on District Committees
Chad VO
Mike Zhou
District Convention
Claire lee
CHERIE LEUNG
Fall Training Conference
Public Relations
Edison XU
Philip Nguyen
District Service Chair
District Convention Chair
Heyun Jeong
District Publications EDItor
International Committees
Roberto Ruiz
Marlon Gonzalez
Translation Ad-Hoc Committee Chair
International Expansion Committee Member
SCHOOLS IN GOLDEN GATE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, EAST BAY DIABLO VALLEY COLLEGE LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE NAPA VALLEY COLLEGE SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
IN THE PROCESS OF CHARTERING: UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO BERKELEY CITY COLLEGE
Divisional Progress As a division, we have achieved…..
9,202.6 HRS Total Leadership Hours: 7,334.5 HRS Total Service Hours:
Total Fellowship Hours:
4,893.5 HRS
as of November 22nd, 2015
E T A N I DOM
? H N C n i t s ) e e b t a e G h t n e s d l o Who' G , ! n e e t d a l h o u G , (Golden top so don't yo ate) G n o n e e d r ' l e o W G , ! n E e T d A l N o I G M , n O (Golde E TIME, LET’S D ate) ONE MOR Golden,Golden G , n e d l o ! S G ( N A I D R A U G o o o o Go
Golden Gate’s Members of the Months
Hall of Fame
April
May
june
June
Aneeka Latif
Martin Magsombol
Yumi chen
Ramess Rogers
July
August
September
October
Remy D’agniLLO
PAN PAN
Ralph Acosta
Kellie stone
! u o y f o d u We are pro
November Ashley japson
of you d u o r p e r a We of you d u o r p e r a Said we (CLAP X2) you f o d u o r p e We ar of you d u o r p e r a e Said w (CLAP X2)
Kudos to all these Guardians that have gone above and beyond the expectations of a member of Golden Gate!
S E T A D P U LUB
C
California State University, East Bay This Fall Quarter, we were able to keep the club running by continuing to recruit new members into the club after a summer of tabling at all the summer orientations at our school. We are still rebuilding our club since being reactivated two years ago and we made some progress in doing that. From the Nike Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marathon to the Concord Tree of Light service, our club has the potential to do something great moving forward and we do have new members coming to various events and show presence there. There are many ups and downs we have but CSUEB CKI has the potential to make it through the challenges and be a great help in the communities around us in the future.
Diablo Valley College November was such an exciting month for DVC Circle K! We started off the month by having 17 members from Diablo Valley College attend Fall Training Conference. This was the largest attendance of FTC attendees from DVC ever in our clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history! On November 9th, we celebrated our 6th year anniversary as a club ever since we were chartered! We have been also doing a lot of tabling on our campus to recruit new members. We VOLUNTEERED AT A Tree LightING event FOR THE City of pleasant hill. We also had one of our biggest events, 24 Hours Service Marathon where we participated in service projects for 24 hours! During the 24 Hours Service Marathon, we helped the Kiwanis Club of Martinez by asking shoppers at Safeway to make a donation for the Food Bank of Contra Costa/Solano Counties by buying a bag of grocery. Next, we hosted a game carnival for the kids at martinez waterfront park. Afterwards, we had a dumpling social where we watched movies, played games, and ate a lot of dumplings! finally, we ended our event with a PTP Doll making event where we made PTP dolls that were donated to a PTP hospital. overall, November was such a exciting and fun month fOR our club filled with friends and service!
Keeping up with Los Medanos College
the clubs in
golden gate!
For November, one of our major events was Ckom held in Barnes and Nobles on November 21 which raised funds for the Eliminate Project. Musicians, storytellers, and magicians got a chance to entertain the attendees. It was a pleasant event where the talents of many shined through. The Valley and Butte Fundraiser Dinner on Nov.14 was hosted by Los Medanos College’s Rotaract Club where Circle K members joined and helped Rotaract with setting up for dinner, preparing food, serving, and cleaning up. It brought two LMC clubs together to raise funds for those affected by the wildfires. Circle K’ers also helped Pittsburg Kiwanis serve pancakes for the Veteran’s Day Pancake Breakfast and handed out fliers for the NBC food drive in front of Safeway to inform people of ready-prepared bags filled of food that they could purchase for families in need. We had tons of fun at our first basketball social. The losing team bought the winning team boba! We also concluded our Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF fundraiser during the month of November. Members returned their orange boxes with coins; the total funds raised was $239. To which we celebrated with a pizza party at the end of the month. That same day we had our first member workshop about Karate. The club learned about the different types of belts, techniques, and how much dedication is needed to be in this discipline. Five members from LMC CKI went to FTC and they enjoyed the various workshops, school skits, and dancing all night. The highlight of FTC was our club obtaining Peety for raising funds for the Pediatric Trauma Program. November was a month filled with talented people, two clubs coming together, and CKI members working hard to provide for kids in need.
Napa Valley College One of our biggest goals has always been to maintain a strong relationship with the Kiwanis Club of Greater Napa. Most of our events this November focused on supporting our Kiwanis as well as clubs on our campus. We hosted the Golden Gate November DSP on November 21:Run for Renfrow with the Veteran's club. The event went really well, we had course monitors and people who cheered on the runners. Post-event and after the clean up the volunteers were able to play in the jump-house and the event was pretty successful and we had just enough volunteers for the event! After that we also had regular turnout at our Kiwanis meetings and we also attended their Shop with a Cop on the 19th that started at 6AM. It was an amazing event to end off our first semester, volunteers were gift wrapping, partnered with underprivileged kids to help them shop and check out or giving them their gifts and free ice-skating tickets when they finished. Seeing the kids light up by getting presents and seeing the Napa cops who hosted this event talk about how much the event has evolved from the original 20 kids to 80+ kids, this has been an annual tradition between the cops and the children of Napa Valley. Currently, our club is preparing for club rush and resources for the next term so look forward to those! It's the home-stretch and I'm excited to see a new term of members and we have a long way to go and a lot to build so watch out for these mighty Thunderstorms!
San Francisco State University SFSU was bustling with events this past November! Firstly, there was a Family Tournament which pitted families against each other in friendly competition while the family heads took the biggest hits for their teams by playing Egg Roulette: a game involving raw eggs and lots of chance. The Big and Little Social was less competitive and was a way for Bigs and Littles to take time out of their busy schedules to bond with each other. We also had a Snapchat Hide and Seek Social which put a whole new use to Snapchat besides sending derpy pics to friends. We of course also had lots of service going on with the highlight being from our Single Service/Special Projects committee: Habitat for Humanity, a 2 day event that allowed us to aid in building housing for those in need. Another notable service project was the Kiwanis Thanksgiving Food Drive which gave us a chance to not only work with our Kiwanians, but give thanks to our community. Moreover, in honor of November being Kiwanis Family Month, we hosted a Thanksgiving Grams Fundraiser with all proceeds going towards The Kiwanis Family House. Members could buy grams for their bigs, littles, friends, and whoever else they want to show appreciation for in the club. We ended the month with a Thanksgiving Potluck and a much needed break from classes; shout out to Golden Gate members who came out to the potluck and any of our other November events! Last but not least, we managed to squeeze in one last service project for the month by helping out at the Excelsior Community Food Pantry during Thanksgiving break.
University of California, Berkeley For the month of November, UCBCKI definitely had a lot on our plate. We kicked off the month with our annual Fall Cazaderoâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an event held alongside Berkeley Kiwanis to help prepare a music campsite for the stormy Winter months. The following week, UCBCKI was fortunate to perform our campfire skit at Fall Training Conference where over 40 members had the opportunity to meet others from across the district, attend incredible workshops, and dance the Saturday night away to great music. Shortly after, members attended the KIWIN'S Fall Rally, SFSU's incredible Key 2 College, as well as Oakland Technical Key Club's Ice Skating social for a weekend up fun KIWIS FAMILY interaction! As the month progressed we began planning our End-of-the-Year banquet logistics, but continued to host fun events such as our Game Night Social where members came out to relax, play a few competitive board games and even win prizes! We also had our 3rd annual Pageant K with members from SFSU to raise money for the Eliminate Project. For those who remained in the area for Thanksgiving weekend, we had a social hosted by board members to ensure that the feeling of family wasn't too far away!
Articles
catch the latest news from all the clubs and members of the golden gate division! from service projects, to fundraisers, socials, and many other exciting events, the golden gate guardians have been busy all year round! thank you to all the guardians and clubs that have contributed articles so the entire division can get the CKI EXPERIENCE as if they were at the events! keep reading for some world-class service, fellowship, and leadership! Kiwanis One Day: DVC/UCB APRIL DSP: March for babies SPRING CAZADERO: UC Berkeley May DSP: Kiwanis special games | stc north 2015 uc berkeley eoty 14-15 TERM Banquet | SFSU EOTY 14-15 term banquet June DSP: Habitat for humanity Golden gate trainer//June DCM LMC minion takeover barnes & Noble July DSP: Tilden park beautification | DVC CITRUS house UCB Waterworld social | wipeout run 5k Knight for Nepal tricycle race | October DSP: Rebuilding together pt. 2 crazy kompetition for infants: north interfamily cook-off | November DSP: Run for renfrow CNH Circle K: Fall Training conference 2015 DVC’s 24 hour service marathon Murder mystery Ball/November DCM
Kiwanis One Day Downtown Martinez Clean Up BY Monica Willemsz, Diablo Valley College Every encounter with Kiwanis is special, and this event was no exception. After waking up early enough for there to be little traffic on the road this Saturday morning, we arrived at the parking lot in Downtown Martinez to meet for cleanup. We signed in and chatted with several Kiwanians and other people who were to be on our team. There was one family in particular we met who stuck in my mind. A man and his two daughters were there to help out, and somehow we found out we were both musicians. We agreed upon a jam session and to volunteer together at more events that were to come. At this point we definitely became friends, and soon headed out together to our assigned streets for cleaning and weeding. With the wind blowing leaves and weeds staying stubbornly put, the road seemed endless. However, it was all worth the impact we made on the community. I cannot count the amount of times people would pass by and smile or thank us for our work. Along with the acknowledgements, the feeling that we had a positive impact on the community was priceless, and well worth pulling out the weeds, hair, and other surprises from the ground. Once our work was finished, we ate lunch with the Kiwanians and other volunteers. The camaraderie was wonderful, and this was a grand chance to hear stories from the Kiwanians. We will no doubt see them soon, if not volunteering, then when we take over their meeting. I loved every moment, and look forward to helping them again.
On the early morning of April 11th, UC Berkeley gathered in cars and drove down to the Oakland Zoo where we met up with our Kiwanis FAMILY MEMBERS from the area. Our club was split into groups—some worked inside of the zoo, planting trees and laying tanbark out to make some of the exhibits and areas more appealing; others helped with beautification and weeding—removing the branches and fallen debris and making the sights cleaner and more accessible. For the next few hours, we worked diligently to complete our jobs both quickly and efficiently. If the going ever got tough, the Kiwanians were quick to help us out. Once our jobs were completed, we gathered again to enjoy some hotdogs, chips and snacks in company with other volunteers. Members from across the East Bay were in attendance, all eager and excited to be working alongside their fellow members in the Kiwanis Family. we were allowed into the zoo where we saw all sorts of animals. We explored the zoo further, going on rides which gave us an aerial view, fell in love with some of the otters, took pictures inside some animal statues, and applauded “animalistically" when we discovered where inside the habitat an animal was, or when it performed a trick. At the end of the day, we regrouped into cars and made our way safely home. A long day of service and fun goes by quick with good company.
Oakland Zoo Beautification by Donald Franks UC Berkeley
April Division Service Project:
March for Babies by Claire Lee, UC Berkeley On Saturday, April 25th, members from Golden Gate woke up bright and early to volunteer at the April DSP: March for Babies! 2015 marks the 46th annual March for Babies fundraiser for March of Dimes. March for Babies is a family oriented and highly attended event with more than 5,500 total participants expected this year. March for Babies is a national event and we volunteered at the one at the Alameda County Fairgrounds! The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. At least 78% of this money went back to communities to support our programs of research, community service, education and advocacy. Upon arrival at the site, we got white t-shirts so the walkers could identify us as volunteers. We were split into groups and shuttled to different stations across the three mile course. At my station, we had the help of two crossing guards and a police officer! We handed out water to the walkers and helped them cross the street. It was definitely sight to see: an endless line of walkers all dressed in purple, braving the cold to support this cause! After the last walker passed our stations, we were shuttled back to the Fairgrounds and ate hot dogs for lunch. Some of us also helped serve the food. We concluded the service project by picking up trash and disassembling the tables! As we cleaned, the DJ played uplifting music such as "Turn Down For What" or "Blank Space!" This was an event that was definitely worth waking up at 6AM for!
Spring Cazadero By ana chavez, UC Berkeley Deep in the woods where cell reception is nonexistent and volunteers become monkeys to set up tents, Berkeley Kiwanis invited Circle K volunteers to help with Spring Cazadero which is setting up a summer musical youth camp. This year we had a total of 30 hardworking Berkeley Circle K members and Golden Gate Guardians from different schools join on April 17th-19th to help out! As the K-Fam Chair, I got to "supervise" most of the weekend and see the different jobs everyone worked on! Most of Friday until sun down consisted of climbing, pulling, and pushing on 3 with brooms to set up all the tents we would be needing for the night while cars kept arriving with more volunteers. Then at night after the ground rules were set by our Kiwanian project coordinator, Jack Rosano, it was free time to socialize and play card games with each other all night until the idea of waking up at 7am started to sound dreadful. Saturday being the full work day, much got accomplished. As soon as breakfast ended, teams headed out to finish putting up tents around the camp, make over 60 PTP dolls, build a fire pit, put together a puzzle mat, set up bed frames, chop wood, sanitize mattresses, paint benches,and even build a new tent deck with our kiwanians. It was an incredibly long day that paid off in the end! When all the work was finished, we got to play by creek, some went for even a dip, then had the traditional steak dinner with everyone as a family and ended with a bonfire with the storytelling and s'mores included! Once only Circle K members were up, we went back to play our games again. Sunday finally came around to finish up the last tasks. Many of us visited the bakery across the camp that has bread that delicious doesn't describe it's taste! We cleaned up, took our group family picture, said our thank yous and goodbyes, and headed back home after a memorable weekend! Seeing everyone come together to do service was by far an incredible feeling. I'm not sure what I enjoyed the most, hearing all the team nicknames like the Mattress Mavens, Mimi driving the big truck, the food, everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s company or Jack patrolling in his cart! After this, nothing best describes a weekend service project, old-fashioned style than the annual Spring Cazadero!
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May DSP:Kiwanis Special GAMES
by Emmanuel Escobal, CSU East Bay On May 15 2015, schools from the Golden Gate Division travel to De Anza College in the Sunset Division to help out with the 37th Kiwanis Special Games. It was a one Day event held every May for children with special needs from around the area where the children feel special that they can succeed in the games. It is also one of their favorite days of the year. There are different tasks volunteers have to do throughout the event. Most of us led a group of kids based on disabilities while some of us are in charge of the different events the kids are participating in like the 50yard dash, obstacle course, and Frisbee throw. At the end of each event, everyone gets a ribbon for participating including the 1st place ribbon, 2nd place ribbon, and best effort ribbons. This is a very wonderful event for volunteers to help at every year and is one of the great ways to help out along with Sunset Division. All the kids enjoy the event too with lots of smiles.
Spring Training Conference 2015: North
by Joe Samson, Napa Valley College
Spring Training Conference North was the first District event of the new term, and it was conveniently located at UC Davis. STC is an informative event where officers and general members have the opportunity to learn more about the various officer positions and attend unique workshops host by other Circle K’ers from various parts of Northern California. As a first timer at STC, I didn’t expect this event to be very casual than other conferences that I have attended in the past. Going through the motions of attending workshops and participating on my first workshop panel, I realized that I still have a lot to learn about how to run the world’s largest collegiate service organization at a community college and a four year university. Being a part of the small and new club panel, I was able to give and obtain some ideas about how to a run a club that is small and new. Many of the advice came from a mixture of the panelists and past officers of clubs. Lastly, planning for the panel helped me feel more involved with the organization and brought me closer with people I worked with in the panel. The planning stages actually helped me figure out how to shape Napa Valley CKI as an established club. The advice given to the officers of small clubs can hopefully help them create a better vision for their respective clubs.
UC BERKELEY CIRCLE K: EOTY BANQUET 2014-2015 TERm
by James Seto, UC Berkeley
Thousands of service hours after the beginning of the term, the 2014-2015 term was coming to an end. Each board member was brought up and thanked everyone, but for some reason, it was not a sad occasion. They were being retired, but it was a celebration. A day to relook upon the past and see what we had accomplished, and boy was there a lot to look back upon. Each member had their own speech to talk about their year, and everyone was cheering and screaming. Numerous awards were given out, but the senior speeches brought many people to the verge of tears. It was sad to see them go, but we know that they gave their heart and soul to the club, and we would always keep in touch with them. Everyone was moved by Bertha’s retirement speech that was long, yet entertaining. It made us all remember all of the good moments of the year, and then made us more driven to reach further for the years to come. To end it all we watched a composition of all the videos and pictures from the term, and we all had a blast reliving the great memories. It was an amazing first year for me, and I am looking forward to the years to come. Thank you everyone that made my first year one in the history books.
SFSU Circle K: EOTY Banquet 2014-2015 Term
by Marianne Lagasca, SF STATE
April 4th, 2015 was a night full of laughs and tears as the Circle K members of San Francisco StateUniversity celebrated all of their accomplishments from throughout the year. The 2014-2015 term was quite an adventure and as a club we had our ups and our downs but we were able to finish the year as a better and stronger club.Throughout the night, we reminisced all the memories we created, the strong bonds that were formed, and friendships that we made which fit perfectly with the banquet theme, nostalgia. As the night went on, the past E-Board officers gave their farewell speeches and did not forget to thank the people that helped them throughout their term and to get where they are. As the speeches went on, you can see the smiles and tears that were being formed upon everyone’s face since they are saddened over seeing their officers retire and their members graduate. After the speeches, we were closing the night with a gift exchange from the old E-Board to the new E-Board and then held the traditional candle lighting. The candle lighting exchange is a symbol is of the old board passing on their position to the new board where they would continue the hard work and dedication that comes along with their respective position. Also, we can’t forget the wonderful volunteers we had to help prepare our meals and worked as servers.This banquet was an opportunity for the officers and members to say their thank yous and goodbyes. It was truly a memorable night filled with sad endings and new beginnings.
June DSP: Habitat for Humanity by Ramess Rogers, UC Berkeley
In my time with Circle K, there have been so many meaningful projects and events that it's almost hard to keep track of them all! However, one event that really sticks with me is Habitat for Humanity (and not just because there's still paint on my shirt). On a steamy, warm Saturday in June, thirteen of us from UC Berkeley (and numerous other places) traveled down to San Jose to participate in a massive undertaking: painting an entire house! Habitat for Humanity, as an organization, primarily builds and repairs homes for lower income families: in this case, most of the heavy work had already been done by the family and other volunteers. Once we'd been briefed on the task at hand, we began painting the lower half of the house, along with the garden shed and support beams. It was a slow process, as each area needed two coats of paint and time to dry. However, by noon, things were really starting to come together! The bottom half was finished, but once we came back from lunch, the hard part really began. The front of the house was surrounded by shrubs and lovely little statues: excellent for decoration but perhaps not so much for painting! With an old ladder in place, a few of us were able to climb up to finish the top of the house. It was pretty nerve-racking: the ladder shook in the wind, and climbing down into a pine tree isn't the most pleasant thing to do! Regardless, the experience was truly gratifying, for both us and the family we were helping. They were so kindhearted and gracious that they brought us some delicious snacks and drinks to keep us going: it was truly heartwarming to see the smiles on their faces as they looked over their house! All in all, Habitat for Humanity was a really rewarding experience! It's hard not to notice the impact we all made: the house looked just like new by the time we headed for home. I know I'll never forget the time we spent with this organization!
by Marilyn Nguyen, Napa Valley College On June 28th, Golden Gate Circle K hosted the Pokemon-themed Golden Gate Trainer at Dwinelle Hall at UC Berkeley to train and educate new board members. It was a great way to kick start a summer of service, since everyone had gotten out of school and were looking for ways on how to get involved. This year's training conference had a huge amount of amazing and informative workshops to show both members and board on all things Circle K: from Erinn Wong's Circle K Education workshop to Board Responsibilities by Chris Tung and board breakout sessions, how to get involved as a general member by Sarah Phan and much more it was a great way to get everyone's summer started. I had an amazing time hosting my icebreaker workshop with featuring a customized Circle K mad libs icebreaker and had a great time with everyone especially with the 10 plagues of Egypt game where everyone had to diagnose Sarah Phan and Stephanie Ruiz to see what not-so-real disease they had. Spoiler alert, Sarah had â&#x20AC;&#x153;thirstosisâ&#x20AC;? and Stephanie had BGS, or Basic Girl Syndrome. After lunch and 5 sessions of workshops, we had our DCM. At the DCM we announced that the theme for Golden Gate this year is Passport to Service and we had some surprise guests from Capital and Sunset who had just gotten back from ICON - some serious dedication right there! Overall, it was a day of leadership, fellowship and service and an inspirational start the summer. In the words of my childhood show, "Gotta catch 'em all!" or should I say, "Gotta [serve] 'em all?"
BELLO, TANK YU!! KAMPAI!!!
er v eo le k a b T o n l, N o o b e ni s & m i so leg M e g a ol n r C M C in os Ba t LM ar an
LMC’s Minion Takeover was successful as a fundraiser for Project Eliminate and as a community event, involving people from Walnut Creek. Everyone’s support in advertising this event reached even the cashiers of JCPenny. WOW! The event took place at the Barnes & Noble along Lone Tree Way at Antioch. The total amount of funds raised was $411.63. Kiwanians from the Brentwood club and the Delta Antioch club came in and showed their support. Friends from Diablo Valley College Circle K as well as Key clubbers from Dozier Libbey High, Mount Diablo High, Concord High, and Northgate High volunteered their hearts out. It was wonderful to see the whole store filled with minions plus a walking banana. Our event consisted of four activity booths: Face painting (with Crystal Reyes), Coloring (with Me Magsombol), making friendship bracelets (with Clare Dinh), and caricatures (with Martha Magsombol). On top of that, our photo guy, Ryan Pham, went around and took pictures of Banana ROBerto Ruiz with the customers and volunteers. I’d like to give special thanks to Shannon Skinner, the Barnes & Noble event coordinator, who was extremely helpful with booking and planning this event for us.
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M e by s M Lo
July DSP: Tilden Park Beautification by Marilyn Nguyen, Napa Valley College The Tilden Park DSP was really fun especially since we not only were able to garden and pick out some slightly poisonous stinging nettle plant, we were also able to meet some fuzzy and feathered new friends. Before we started, we went over the ground rules. they thanked the volunteers for coming out on the anniversary of the park's opening and volunteers were given gloves to protect them when they were gardening. They had us picking some form of localized nettle that would be used as feed for the goats. The coordinators announced that there would be a prize of local eggs from the hens on the farm for the people with the biggest piles of nettle. It was crazy how quickly we were able to actually finish both gardens! Though a few of us had hands that were stinging from the nettle, it was fun to see everyone work together to get everything done and even have some time to meet some of the goats, rabbits and geese there. One of my favorite parts of the event was actually seeing huge piles and not even seeing people but just seeing the most competitive members piles grow bigger as nettle literally flew into the pile and strategizing how to grow their pile the quickest. I know some members literally grabbed huge handfuls of it and was throwing them into the pile. It was fun meeting the goats and feeding them some thistle and seeing the huge pile of stinging nettle we picked together at the end and earning our green thumb.
DVCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Citrus house
by marilyn nguyen, napa valley college
Citrus House is a fundraiser hosted by Diablo Valley Circle K for The Eliminate Project which aims to eradicate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus. There certainly wasn't anything sour about this event, I would even call it a sweet Citrus House! A huge line of performers from magic card tricks to singers and bands as well as much more were able to fundraise enough money to save over 200 mothers and their future babies from MNT. The event went swimmingly as there were plenty of snacks and much entertainment to keep guests busy. One of the most interactive parts of the event was the dance put on by Chie Ishii and Darshweni Darsh when they danced to the YMCA and got everyone dancing. Another highlight was the magic tricks performed with a deck of 52 cards by Andrew La when everyone's minds were blown, especially Andrew Pagan who was so freaked out, it was hilarious. There were too many wonderful acts to talk about. Props to the performers, and Gina Alvarez, Monica Williemsz as well as the DVC board to hosting a wonderful event.
UC Berkeley Waterworld Social
by Neiron Penalba, UC Berkeley
What kind of California Summer would it be without getting a chance to cool down from all the heat? And being able to cool down while having fun, UC Berkeley Spirit&Social Chair, Neiron Penalba, had that all that in mind when planning this social. After weeks of planning and coordination, on Saturday, August 2nd, members from UC Berkeley Circle K, Golden Gate Division, and a few passersby from Capital Division. A total of 14 Circle K members attended the event. Penalba admitted that, "I didn't expect this many people to attended initially. Last year's Spirit&Social Chair not to discredit them only brought 4-5 people but to be able to bring 14 people made me so happy." Meeting up in Concord's Water World at 11am, members were ready to hit the water attractions in their swimwear. On this specific day of August 2nd, local Northern California radio station Wild 94.9 was also hosting an all day event at Water World, where they played live pop music throughout the park as well as have live performances on their stage. With the mood set, the summer sun beating down, and sunscreen being applied the many water slides, wave pool, and lazy river were ready to be used by the Circle K'ers. After a few hours of play, the attendees drove to a local restaurant to eat Vietnamese food for lunch, but returned to the park for one final ride before the park Closed. UC Davis Circle K member, Justin Cruz, said, "The experience of tackling a water park with such a friendly group of Circle K'ers allowed me to cherish this experience when I initially thought it was just going to be a simple social." Gina Alvarez of Diablo Valley College Circle K also said, "The Water World Social was the perfect summer ending with my fellow Circle Kâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ers." Golden Gate Lt. Governor, Robert Rodriguez said, "Water world was honestly one of the funNest events of my summer. I haven't been to a water park in years and I forgot how fun they can be. It was a blast hanging out with everyone in the division. One of my favorite rides was going down Big Kahuna and screaming my head off with Ryan [Tsao] while Monica [Willemsz] and Gina laughed at us."
Wipeout Run 5K
by Lindsey Yenor, Napa Valley College On the bright and sunnY day of September 5th, Napa Valley College Circle K headed north to the annual Wipeout Run that took place in Sacramento. The Wipeout Run is a 5k obstacle course fun run that raises money for many different foundations like the Foundation for Challenged Athletes. Marilyn Nguyen and I got there on time for the second half since traffic to Sacramento can get a tad on the hectic side. As soon as we got there, the staff gave us T-shirts and loaded us up with snacks and an abundance of water. They assigned each group to their own challenge. We were assigned The Drop which involved climbing up one side of the giant contraption and sliding down the other. I was assigned to have the microphone so I was in charge of announcing and cheering people on, while Marilyn was at the base of the slides encouraging the participants and taking care of line management. Many of the participants were wearing matching outfits with their teams which led to some pretty great costumes. One team had each member dressed up as a different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while another had the whole Marvel gang. We had a blast and were "wiped-out" by the time the event was over. We helped clean up and then explored the other challenges for a bit. I must say, we are totally stoked to volunteer again next year with more members!
This was definitely a night to remember as Los Medanos College CKI hosted a dance to raise money that went towards hygiene kits for the victims of the earthquake that hit Nepal. Activities throughout the event included a dance, performance, dinner, photo booth, and raffle contest. Along with the fun that happened throughout the night, we also had help from other schools in the Golden Gate division that produced a successful night. Without the support from our kiwanis family, we wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to put on such a success event. Furthermore, we want to extend our thanks to our sponsoring Kiwanis clubs and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church for contributing to the supplies and venue we needed to make this event a successful one. Thank you everyone who came out to the event, and special shout out to Maranyeli Estrada and Martin Magsombol for setting up a successful night!
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Tricycle Race by Roberto Ruiz, Los Medanos College
It might have been a very warm Saturday in the Bay Area, but it did not stop Los Medanos College CKI from enjoying racing with tricycles with the children at Mary Casey Black Elementary School. Collaborating with Brentwood Kiwanis and Key Clubbers from Division 26 North, the club helped prepare for the first annual Tricycle Race that promoted health safety and accident prevention. Special shout out to our LTG for coming and helping out along with members from Diablo Valley College and UC Berkeley CKI!
October DSP: Rebuilding Together Part 2 by Wesley Ihezue, Diablo Valley College A couple members from the DVC Circle K and I headed to Oakland one day to assist the Rebuilding Together organization restore an old house. The plan was to get the house as close to brand new as possible and turn it into a place where the community could gather for an event or for guest to look at the historic home. From the moment we walked in there was an almost instant rush of positive energy that nearly knocked me and my group off our feet. It was so heartwarming how welcoming everyone was, the entire place had to be running purely on positive energy.Besides just having DVC Circle K, I also met a lot of new Circle Kâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ers from Golden Gate. In addition there were other organizations volunteering for Rebuilding Together as well. We first sat down to eat with our new friends, and soon after we geared up and began our real work. I was given the honor of being handling the trash filled with a lot of excess plants, branches, etc. We worked very hard for hours, and though it was physically taxing I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think of a better way to spend my day.
Crazy Kompetition for infants: North by Donald franks, UC Berkeley
Welcome to American Canyon! On Sunday, October 25th, 2015, clubs from across the northern half of the district gathered together in the bay area for our annual Crazy Kompetitionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a district-wide fundraiser that supports the Pediatric Trauma Program. Divided into teams of 6, competitors worked together and competed in small relays in order to be crowned Crazy Kompetition Champions. Games challenged the participants to do all sorts of crazy things! From crab crawling across grassy fields, to jumproping endlessly to set a record, to becoming a dragon and tackling other teams, to summoning your inner dodge-ball warriors in a heated couple of rounds, there was something for everyone to show off their skills! Following the preliminary rounds of relays, the divisions gathered for their monthly DCMs, the attendees were dismissed to eat, and the results of the Crazy Kompetition were announced, leaving 4 lucky teams to complete for the championship title. Eventually 4 teams became 2, and 2 teams resulted in one overall winner: Team CBM&T. The local newspaper also featured an article on the event, which can be found and read at this link. As a member of the Finance & Fundraising committee, it touched my heart to see how many people were able to attend CKI North, despite some minor setbacks, and still make the most out of their day, meet new friends, reunite with old ones, and have some fun you can't find anywhere else! Shoutout to our incredible CKI North Chair Seng Khang for pulling off a wonderful event (: Crazy Kompetition usually raises between $2,000-$3,000 for the Pediatric Trauma Program each year. Whether you were a judge, a participant, or a spectator, everyone enjoyed Crazy Kompetition 2015 and I hope that you'll join us again (or for the first time!) next year in 2016!
Interfamily Cook-off
by Java Villano, UC Berkeley It had been several months already since the family revelations; afterwards, many families rushed to hold a few socials, whether it was just eating together or studying together, to know their newfound CKI siblings, parents, and even some grandparents. However, the Interfamily Cook-off in early November was the very first social held to allow all the families to mingle together. It only lasted a few hours, but a great deal of fun and exciting memories were made over countless potato dishes and friendly competitions. For me, the day began by getting to the Wesley House before noon and helping add the finishing touches to the dish my family decided to make. As time passed, people from other families trickled in. Some rushed into the kitchen and asked if they could use the microwave to melt some cheese or the oven to keep their baked potatoes warm, while others stayed in the main room to help set up tables. Even before the event began, a friendly aura radiated throughout the place as members shared their cooking stories with their families over small snacks. Finally, after all the families set their dishes out for serving, the event officially began. People continued to socialize as they waited in line to fill their dishes with potatoes. Overall, the dishes were all delicious; some creatively used potato as a substitute ingredient while others prepared more traditional dishes. The event, however, didn’t end with the eating, as there were games to nna o g follow. From trying to guess a family member’s answer to amusing questions, to a rs very intense match of balloon-popping, and finally to some suave pick-up lines, Hate hate. the energy within and between all the CKI families filled the Wesley House through oes t a t cheering and celebrating. Although it was a cook-off and the games had winners, as Po nna a whole, all the families were enjoying each other’s company and celebrating each go te. other’s successes. At the end, the unity and newfound bonds between each family could pota be felt as warmth in everyone’s smiles as they said goodbye to each other.
November DSP: Run for Renfrow by Marilyn Nguyen, Napa Valley College Run for Renfrow was hosted at Napa Valley College by the campus veteran's club partnered with Turkey Trot to fundraise for a scholarship in honor of Patty Renfrow, a faculty employee from the financial aid office. The veteran's club had wanted to plan this event for Patty for years and accomplished it this year. Patty helped the Veteran's club establish their resource center and was there to support them whenever they needed help, however she soon passed away from illness. Once everyone had arrived, volunteers were assigned to check-in, jump house or course-monitor as well as helping set up and clean up the venue. Course monitors were given cow bells to ring and direct the volunteers. The marathon had brought in plenty of stands for veteran non-profit organizations and they also had a spin the wheel prize-booth as well as a food truck from the Salvation Army and Cousin's Main Lobster from Shark Tank. The event went really well for the first marathon hosted by their club. Post-event cleanup, volunteers were able to play in the jump house and some got free shirts and medals for scrapbooks. Afterwards we stopped by Crave Cafe & Catering for an after-event meal on the way home to conclude the event. Patty Renfrow was an amazing woman and despite not knowing her personally, she made a huge difference to those around her - her help to the Veteran's club was just one thing she did and to see her philanthropy evolve into a waterfall to help the Napa community makes this DSP that much more meaningful. From Napa Valley College for all of the volunteers who came and wanted to come help out to support Napa a huge thank you for making this event happen!
e c n e r e f n o c g n i n i a r Fall t EXTRODINARY
Fall Training Conference. Three seemingly meaningless words for others, but for us, it means a weekend of fun, laughter, friends, and service. There were so many highlights it would be impossible to fit them all into a single entry, but I will try. The first day was great. Absolutely incredible. It was a day of fun workshops, and endless amounts of cheering. Even the drive up was incredible. The views and stories that were seen and heard were breathtaking. But what was even better was the second day. A whole day of fun filled goodness. Starting from the games we played with our group, and then moving on to general session where it was the only place where losing your voice was encouraged. It was amazing seeing all the people from Golden Gate present workshops, and they were amazing. All of the workshops had something to take away, and there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a single one that just repeated old information. But by far, the best part of the day was the talent act. Berkeley represented Golden Gate so well. After watching the skit over and over again I was speechless. They put so much time and effort into it, and it really showed. But the night had to end, and then came all of the awards. So much blood, sweat, and tears went into the clubs, and I am so proud of everyone that participated in all the service hours, fundraising events and socials. You make me so proud of all the improvements within the division, and I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thank you enough for all the time that you put in. Golden Gate Guardians Forever!!!
by James Seto, UC Berkeley
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No v. 6th-8th , 2015 Sonora,CA FAMILY
Life-changing
by Alan Kwok, DVC DVCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 24 Hour Service Marathon
On November 21ST-22nd, Diablo Valley College CKI hosted an 24 hour service marathon for our club to participate in. We had numerous service projects during the twenty four hour period! First, we started off by helping our sponsoring Kiwanis Club of Martinez by asking shoppers at Safeway to donate a bag of groceries to the Food Bank of Solano & Contra Costa Counties. We handed fliers, asked for donations, and talked to shoppers about our cause. We volunteered for around 4 hours with our Kiwanians. Next, we held a game carnival at Martinez Waterfront Park where we had kids play games and win prizes. We had toss-a-ball, balloon stomping, hot potato, and donut dangle! We stayed for two hours until the park was empty! Next, we had a dumpling social for our club where we had a DIY Dumpling party. We played games, watched movies, and ate a lot of dumplings. Finally, we spent the rest of our time making PTP dolls and friendship bracelets. We hope to donate these items to PTP hospitals so that doctors and children could use them for their benefit. Overall, this event was a major success and we were able to get a lot of club members involved!
Murder MysterY Ball/November DCM by Marilyn Nguyen, Napa Valley College On a cold November night, over 50 Circle K members and Kiwanians gathered at the Boy's & Girl's Club of Martinez for a night of mystery and intrigue and a ball that was simply "to die for." A night filled with pearls, feathered boas, as well as a little poison to keep everyone on their toes throughout the night. After a wonderful dinner and DCM as well as a workshop by Donald Franks, guests played a game of Mafia to lead into the night. James Seto, a businessman and a big cheese in the stocks industry was murdered and his body found with drops of unidentified purple liquid. Earlier during the night, attendees witnessed a row between James and Kim Cruz, his daughter when he refused to fork over another allowance. A huge revelation when James found found out that his fiance, Java Villano, and his business partner Robert Rodriguez were found necking privately during the party! Well, I'll be! I'd say it just wasn't his night. Strangely enough, Cecilia Nguyen, a rookie news reporter and journalist seemed to be the little birdy who knew about everyone and anyone. After his murder, participants were divided into 2 groups and scoured the venue for clues. Participants were put into rooms to look for clues hidden around the venue and solve a mini-game mystery that would give the group proctor prize that would give a huge hint to who murdered James. Afterwards, they discover Robert had a vial of poison that he had no idea of in his bag and apparently Java wasn't the only one Robert was in a relationship with. It was later revealed that the one who bumped off James was none other than Java! Once found out she exclaimed that he never paid enough attention to her and that she would get Robert too. Truly a crazy night, but truly was the bee's knees because of the task force, actors, and guests.
Division Council Meetings STC North: May DCM
Ohlone & MDE: July DCM
GG Trainer: June DCM
LMC BBQ: August DCM
DVC Dodgeball: Sept DCM
ONLINE: October dcm
SPECIAL THANKS: Murder MysterY: Nov DCM
Robert Rodriguez & Divisional Board All clubs in golden gate All authors of the articles Donald Franks Marilyn Nguyen Frances Asha Java villano Kim Cruz Andrea seet
DIVISIONAL BOARD CONTACT
Robert Rodriguez lt. governor rob.v.rodriguez@gmail.com
Aaron Dante Exec. Assistant
JOE LEE Regional advisor goldengate-advisor@cnhcirclek.org
jasmine Liu CO-Service Chair
Bryan WU Co-service chair
GOLDENGATESERVICE.CKI@GMAIL.COM
BRYANXWU@BERKELEY.EDU
Marilyn Nguyen Co-spirit & social chair
James seto Co-spirit & social chair
Alan kwok Graphics & Newsletter chair
MARILYNNGUYEN815@GMAIL.COM
JSS94SETO@BERKELEY.EDU
a.kwok9713@gmail.com
CKI.AARONDANTE@GMAIL.COM
THANKS FOR READING!