Skyline Key Club News Volume 1 | Issue 1 |Oct.-Dec. 2014
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Table of Contents
1. SF Alzheimer’s Walk ( written by Quyen-Vi Nguyen | contribution from Erica Li)........................3 2. Q&A Oaktoberfest (interviewing Vivian La)..................................................................................................4 3. Building a Park (written by Dan Nguyen)......................................................................................................5 4. The North Face Marathon Endurance Run (written by Quyen-Vi Nguyen)......................................6-7 5. Baking and Bonding (written by Quyen-Vi Nguyen).................................................................................8
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SF Alzheimer’s Walk
9/20/14 *contribution from Erica Li | secretary
On September 20, Skyline’s Key Clubbers took the bart to San Francisco and cheered on the people partaking in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s. At this event, they were surrounded by a plethora of children and adults who were all passionate about raising awareness and money to end Alzheimer’s. Not only did they get to watch and be inspired by all the participants that showed up, but they also cheered on all the walkers as they walked by! According to Erica Li, "being there to cheer others on while they were walking made me feel great inside. Some people would be so tired and our cheers actually encouraged them to keep going. Everyone would tell us that our cheers were great!"
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!
10/4/14
Topic : Oaktoberfest with : Vivian La | Spirit Monster What made you want to go to this event? What made me want to go to this event was that it was nearby and I lived close to Diamond. Any kind of festivals are also fun and so of course I would want to go. What activities were available to key clubbers at this event? The members were able to see Oaktoberfest tshirts and help make root beer floats,from pouring the root beer and scooping the ice cream. What did you do? I helped pour the root beer into the cups and then later on I switched shifts and started scooping ice cream. How did it make you feel when you attended this event? It was really enjoyable and it really felt like a community because people were friendly and open. How was this event different from the other events you’ve heard about/attended? This event was more interactive with the community and you get to talk to people and work with food and drinks. What did you like/dislike about this event? I disliked how there wasn’t much jobs we could’ve done that would be fun. Or that you had to be a certain age to help a certain position. Would you recommend this event to other people? Yes i would recommend this event because you don’t just sit there but you actually put work into something that people want.
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11/1/14
Building A Park By Dan Nguyen | Club Member Our most recent event was held on November 1. Up to 8 members came at 1:00 P.M, and around 13 in total (it’s always fun seeing new members go to service). We briefly signed in their sign in sheet, fidgeting with the pen on a piece of paper. They gave us a brief overview of the tasks at hand, which was to clean up the area and take out invasive species like English Ivy. We did this by pulling on it with our hands or using a rake. This was comparable to salvaging materials in a MMORPG though your skill level doesn’t increase. There was a lot of interaction from everybody so no one had a frown on their face. Working in invasive plant removal with all the Key Clubbers was very satisfying because we were able to see the fruit of our labor. Every leaf of ivy that was raked or pulled was accumulated into huge piles and transported onto the back of a white pick up truck. After we were done, we chilled and talked amongst ourselves. One honorable member took this opportunity to make a makeshift sign in sheet and walked around so she could track how many hours we did. It was around this time when one of the new members I was talking to stated that he was inspired to attend more events, which made me cry (in the inside, of course). The event ended at the designated time of 3:00 P.M.
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12/7/14
North Face Endurance Run By Quyen-Vi Nguyen | Bulletin Editor
On December 7th, Skyline Key Clubbers had the opportunity to volunteer at the North face sponsored Half Marathon from 8 AM to 12 PM in San Francisco. In order to reach the site, we met up at Fruitvale Bart, took the bart to SF, got on a bus shortly afterward, and then took a shuttle. After a somewhat long but entertaining trip, we made it to where the starting and finishing line was and talked to the person in charge of signing in all the volunteers. The site was a circular opening in a semi-foresty area and was bordered by tents. We were treated with the best care and greatest hospitality. She made sure we were well fed and fitted appropriately with our volunteer shirts before leading us to another person who would assign us our actual tasks. One of the cool things about this service opportunity was the fact that it was a joint service with Skyline’s BuildOn. We were also working side by side with clubs from different schools once we got to the site. There, we accomplished a plethora of simple but laboring tasks. We were kept warm despite the cold weather. We cheered for the runners while they finished their race, and when the last runner ran through, we were to help clean up and pack up all the tents, signs, fencing, tables, and parasols. We gathered in a group of about twelve people and we all listened intently as the worker explained what what we had to do. Two by two he assigned us jobs to do and dispatched us once we nodded our heads to indicate we understood what we had to do. I was paired with my friend, and our first task 6
was to collect all the stands, pull their metal stands out of the dirt, and stack them in a pile in the middle of the opening. Once we were done, we went back to ask for another assignment. After the coordinator surveyed the area and gave us a thumbs up, he told us that our next assignment was to fold up the tables and parasols, and take down the barricades that ran along the border of the running trail. We teamed up with another couple of volunteers and took down all the tables and parasols. Shortly after we joined an even bigger group to take down all the fencing. This consisted of taking the mesh material off the poles that were wedged in the ground, pulling up the poles that supported the fencing, dismantling the extra components in the fence, and rolling up the mesh material while also piling up the add ons. After we finished dismantling everything the set up at the site, we were given water bottles for all our hard work and our choice at more shirts. This event was amazing to take part in because we were working and being active throughout the whole service and worked collaboratively to reach a goal. Not only did we get free stuff but we also got to bond and have fun by chatting while we worked.Â
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Baking and Bonding
12/20/14
By Quyen-Vi Nguyen Over the course of winter break, Key Club members had the opportunity to continuously help fundraise for our club. Extensively, we planned, baked, and sold baked goods such as cookies, cupcakes, christmas coal, and brownies. To start, our fundraising officer, Vy Huynh, came up with the idea to have a christmas themed bake sale over the break. In order to make things go smoother she came up with a list ahead of time to figure out the materials and tools we needed and brought them up in an officer meeting. Quickly, problems were solved and materials were gathered. Andrew, Skyline’s Vice President of Service, generously provided the club with a place to bake and cooking instruments to use while I offered a table and posters we would be able to use later on. During the general club meeting on friday we mentioned it to the members and in their family groups (club members they were responsible for) asked if anyone had time and were willing to go. The responses were of the usual spectrum of yes, no and maybe so, however the people that were willing to go was informed of the place and time of the event. The event lasted from 11 am to 4 pm. Before the event took place it had been decided beforehand that we, as a collective group were to haul in ideas and decide which ones to execute and include in our bake sale. Eventually, we came up with the designs and list of ingredients needed to create our sugar filled snacks. Along the way, we also came up with the idea to decorate jars 8
and ask for donations while we held the bake sale in case people wanted to support but not invest in a treat. After deciding what we were to do, we went ahead to the safeway down the hill and bought the ingredients needed. Then, it was finally time to slave over the pans, bowls, and ovens. Tirelessly and relentlessly we worked together to bake and filled in helping each other with what others were not particularly good at. One by one we placed the treats in the oven and one by one we took them out, let them cool down, and decorated them heavily with frosting and crushed candy canes. Being able to fulfil this task with a handful of amazing people was really fun. It was a great group to work with and all though it was small, it did not affect how much fun we had. Along with the baking and working we joked and sang along having rap battles and dancing lessons constantly throughout the time together. The atmosphere while working was lovely. We worked together seamlessly and it was easy to tell that everyone was having fun.
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A special thank you to our fastidious and diligent key club members and officers who are dedicated to the club and contributed to this newsletter. You made this a fantastic year.
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