December 9th, 2015 | Volume I | Issue 9
Josh’s Journey Division 18 Belleville Bloomfield Clifton Glen Ridge Nutley St. Mary’s
Table of Contents Page 2
Table of Contents
Page 3
Introduction & Reminders
Pages 4-5
Featured Article
Page 6-7
Spike Out Hunger Recap
Page 8-9
Key Leader Recap
Page 10
Toys for Tots Article
Page 11
LTG Elections
Pages 12-13
DCON
Pages 14-15
March of Dimes/CMN Flyer
Pages 16-17
Key Clubs Vision/Service Partners
Pages 18-21
Social Media/Final Reminders
Page 22
Important Contacts
Introduction & Reminders Hello, Division 18! As I start off my 9th newsletter, I cannot help but reflect on how much our division has grown since I took office! Relationships have developed, work has been done, and laughs have been shared. As we prepare to enter into 2016 as well as the final few months of the district service year, let us continue to work just as hard, as well as remember Key Club’s core values, especially during the holiday season. Here are a few of reminders: -Secretaries must continue to submit CMRF’s! -Even if you have submitted dues, you can still update the Membership Update Center when you have a new member that wants to pay! -LTG Elections are on January 14th! -DCON is from April 1st-3rd! I hope you all enjoy the rest of this newsletter!
Featured Article This month’s Featured Article section will be on Bloomfield’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner! Activities Director Jonathon Varano discusses what went on during the event here! Enjoy!
As the holiday season strolls by, Thanksgiving has to be one of the most respectable and enjoyable holiday yet. When it comes to Key Club, this student-lead organization is sure to keep this holiday at its peak. That peak, of course, is making others feel thankful and full with delicious food. This Thanksgiving, Bloomfield Key Club kept the tradition of holding an annual Thanksgiving Dinner for senior citizens who are usually alone on the holidays. Well, with Bloomfield Key Club, the senior citizens of our community sure felt welcomed. It’s our job to make sure that the senior citizen community in Bloomfield and all around feel appreciated. The event started off with a large welcome upon the entering senior citizens. The best of our best of greeters assured that the senior citizens felt at home once they entered Bloomfield High School.
Featured Article (cont.) Once they entered through the vast entrance in our school’s cafeteria, members of our club guided the elderly towards the seats where they would dine. Accompanied with the elegant scenery in the cafeteria was glorious music being played by Bloomfield High School’s very own Orchestra. Of course, the elderly were joyful. The best part of the night soon came as delicious meals were heading towards the elderly. The food was happily catered by “Bella Casa.” As the elderly feasted upon their meal, energetic members of our club approached with a conversation to the elderly. Many senior citizens recalled their time at Bloomfield High School which was interesting. As the meal came to a close, the senior citizens finished the night with a delicious piece of cake with a cup of coffee. Overall, the elderly truly enjoyed the night. They left Bloomfield High School full and happy. It was truly a night to remember. Hopefully, I will be able to experience a night like that in the near future. Thanksgiving is definitely a holiday to be thankful for.
Thank you, Jonathon, for the great article for this event! If you have an event you want to write an article for, please email me! Thanks!
Spike Out Hunger Recap On Saturday, November 21st, Division 18 + 19 held the BiDivisional Spike Out Hunger Volleyball Tournament. Similar to last year’s Eliminathon, which raised money for the Eliminate Project, we were paired up to help fundraise for our district project, the NJ Federation of Food Banks. Every 2 divisions are holding their respective competitions, majority of which have already happened or will happen in the near future. The winners of each tournament will go on to compete at the district tournament, which will be held in mid-February, most likely at BridgewaterRaritan High School. For Divisions 18 and 19, the winners were the Lancers from Livingston High School, with the Bengals from Bloomfield High School taking on 2nd place.
Spike Out Hunger Recap (cont.) Between the hours of 4-8 PM, the competition was going on full swing, with volunteers helping set the gym up into Volleyball heaven. Outside was a food station, as well as the registration table. The cost of entrance was $5, and people were also given the option to buy a raffle ticket for an extra $1 for the possibility to get an NJ Key Club bag. Between the food, registration, and tickets, we raised well over $500, as well as over 230 lbs of food for the NJ Federation of Food Banks! The LTG of Division 19, Meghan, and I, would like to thank everybody that participated in this great event! Hopefully next year, if there is an event similar to this, there can be a higher divisional attendance!
Key Leader Recap Once again, Key Leader has not failed to disappoint. From December 4th-6th, Key Clubbers from all over the state attended a weekend long retreat to learn more about Service Leadership—the idea that the person leading is not being served, rather serves. The weekend, overall, was an amazing experience that I had the privilege of attending for the second year in a row. I also had the opportunity of serving as a Student Facilitator, where I led a small group of attendees, called a “neighborhood”. Throughout the weekend, we as a group had to come up with a group name, logo, mascot, and new member. At the district level, I also had the distinct privilege of serving as the Key Leader Subcommittee chair. I worked hand in hand with Mr. Werfel, the Kiwanian in charge of Key Leader, to help promote the event and to help out divisions increase membership count.
Key Leader Recap (cont.) A total of 4 people from Division 18, including me, attended. I hope that next year, more people can attend this truly life changing event! Being able to connect on a personal level with other Key Club members is truly inspiring. I met most of my closest friends through Key Leader, whether it were last year or this year. I am serious when I say that you will get close with everyone! The lead facilitator, Scott Johnson, was great, as was everything about the weekend! Once again, I hope there is more promotion about Key Leader next year. You will not regret it, I promise! Feel free to contact the future LTG of Division 18 or future Governor with any questions you have on Key Leader!
Toys for Tots Article In 1947, Major Bill Hendricks of the United States Marine Corps Reserves founded Toys for Tots in Los Angeles, California, as 5,000 toys were collected during a campaign before Christmas of 1947. In 1948, the United States Marine Corps Reserves officially adopts Toys for Tots and the program begins to publicize as Walt Disney creates the now famous train logo for Toys for Tots. Today, the main mission for Toys for Tots is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year. These toys are distributed as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community. This toy is not just a material object, yet it is symbolic of a message to young children that there is hope, and the United States Marine Corps Reserves hopes this message of hope will transform into the children becoming more responsible, productive, patriotic citizens. To get involved with Toys for Tots, you can obviously donate a toy at one of the toy drop off locations in your area. Toys for Tots requests that the toys be new and unwrapped. Remember, it does not have to be something extravagant, most people I just happy to receive anything! Also, if you would prefer to just do service, there will be plenty of opportunities. You can host a Toys for Tots event at your office or other venue to actually collect the toys, or you could volunteer at your local warehouse. To see where your local Toys for Tots is, click on “Donate a Toy� on toysfortots.org, and from there select New Jersey, and then your county. Happy Holidays!!!
LTG Elections At this point of the year, the search for a successor is on. If there is anybody that you know of that is interested in running for the position of Lieutenant Governor, please have them contact me! The day of the actual elections is Thursday, January 14th at Nutley High School in Room 115 at 6:00 PM. There must be 2 delegates from every club present to vote for the next LTG—however, there may be others present to spectate or to ask caucus questions to the candidates. Once again, please have any potential candidates to contact me! Thank you!
DCON With LTG Elections coming closer and closer, that means that DCON is also just around the corner! At DCON, NJ Key Clubbers gather at Ocean Place Resort & Spa in Long Branch, NJ to vote for the District executive board, attend workshops, and win awards at the Recognition Session! There is an opportunity for underclassmen to run for a district office—if you believe you have the potential to run for either District Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, or Webmaster, you will have to fill out the elections packet, which will come out in mid-December, and you will have to attend the Midwinter Training Conference in the beginning of March. Without the proper training at Midwinter, you will not be eligible to run for the position you would like to.
DCON (cont.)
For regular attendees, DCON is an overall amazing experience. This year, it is from April 1st-3rd, and the cost is approximately $285, which goes towards the hotel, food, etc. DCON is another place where you get to meet 600 + Key Clubbers from around NJ who share the same passion for service as you do! My first DCON was in 2014, and it honestly changed my whole perspective of Key Club, and that was the seed planted for the Josh that I am today! I highly suggest you all to go—I know it’s a lot of money, but if your club starts fundraising now, you’ll be able to lower the price a bit for at least your officers to attend. I hope to see you all attend this year!
March of Dimes Flyer
Children’s Miracle Network Flyer
Key Club’s Vision Partners
Key Club’s Service Partners
Social Media NJ Key Club has various forms of Social Media! From Facebook to Instagram, find out what is going on all around the district! Facebook: New Jersey District of Key Club International Instagram: @njkeyclub Twitter: @njkeyclub YouTube: NJKeyClub Division 18 also has their own Facebook group: Division 18 of the New Jersey District of Key Club International
Social Media (cont.)
Social Media (cont.)
Final Reminders
-LTG Elections are January 14th—get me in contact with those interested in running for LTG! -DCON is from April 1st-3rd! -Secretaries must continue to submit CMRF’s! I hope you all enjoyed the newsletter! Thanks!
Important Contacts Governor Josie Suddeth— Governor.suddeth@gmail.com
Secretary Farwa Shakeel— Secretary.shakeel@gmail.com
Josie
David Treasurer Bobbie Boettinger— Treasurer.boettinger@gmail.com
Editor David Guirgis— Editor.guirgis@gmail.com
Farwa
Webmaster Shannon Peng—
Shannon
Webmaster.peng@gmail.com
LTG Josh Mariscal— Ltg18.mariscal@gmail.com
Bobbie
Josh