Viking Newsletter | Lamar Key Club | Volume lV Issue V | November 2022

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T H E P R E S I D E N T

HEY EVERYBODY!

Hi Key Club Members! I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving break and got to eat a lot of good food. There are only 3 more weeks until winter break and I can’t wait. This December will be packed with a lot of events especially closer to the Christmas season. One event in particular will be the Mission Arlington Christmas store events starting on December 10th and running until December 23rd. At Mission Arlington, they put on a free Christmas store for parents to buy gifts for their children and also for children to shop around for their parents for free! Everything stocked on the shelves at their store has been donated and people like you and I go there to volunteer to run the “store” Last year, I went for 5 days to help wrap the presents parents and children picked out. It was so heartwarming to see the smile on each of their faces when I handed them their wrapped gift for a loved one they could bring it home to. Join us this year as we will be volunteering there again! I hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter and happy reading :)

C O N T E N T S

President's Letter

Table of Contents

December Calendar December & Upcoming Opportunities

Club Officers District Officers Holiday Themed events Luke Walsh

Change of Perceptive Luke Walsh

Skills Developed by the Key club Luke Walsh

District News and Important Links

KC International's Partners

OPPORTUNITIES

MISSION ARLINGTON CHRISTMAS STORE

When?:

Holiday Themed events Holiday Themed events

By Luke Walsh By Luke Walsh

One Holiday themed event we’re probably gonna be participating in is the Mission Arlington Christmas store event. This event will take place at Mission Arlington, from december 10th-23rd from 10am to 6pm. It will not be open on Sundays sadly. Mission Arlington is located at 400 w South St, 76010. It’s close to the University of Texas at Arlington if you need a reference point for help. What you will do when you get there is take a position throughout the store to show off your holiday cheer. While I'm not completely sure what positions they offer at the store, I can assume they will be attributed to helping shoppers at the store. The store offers donated items such as toys, kitchenware, and other household items. The store is staffed by a number of people from churches, schools, families, and individual people who have. The shelves and table they have are used to stock a large variety of gifts that are divided by age groups. I do know that some of the other volunteer positions will include wrapping presents, being a shopper assistant, helping adults find their gifts for their kids, stocking the shelves, keeping other toys organized throughout the store, childcare, and a lot more I do not know about. Thats one Holiday themed event that we are doing in december.

Photo: Salvation Bell ringing 2021

One Service project that changed my perspective was Mission Arlington. I would have to say there were a lot of service events that helped change my perspective on things but I would have to say the biggest one that changed me by far is mission arlington. I think the event that changed my perspective the most in mission Arlington was the first one I went to. Before this I have never heard of Mission Arlington, so obviously I did not know what they did, or what they were. When I got there I found out what it is, It is a place dedicated to helping those in need. During the Event we were basically helping paint the bookshelves and paint the walls.

We also helped arrange books for the little kids to read. It was fun and I got to meet a lot of great people during the event as well. The thing was it was not the event itself that changed my perspective, it was mission arlington that helped change my perspective. You might be asking what it changed my perspective on, well it changed my perspective on people, as well as the world itself. I used to think that the world is selfish and petty, and everyone is out for themselves. Thanks to mission arlington it helped me change my perspective on things. It showed me that not all people are in it for themselves and others want to genuinely help people that are in need. Mission Arlington has also helped people with things such as food, clothes, and items that could be bought at a cheaper price. Helping people out is such a good thing, and it also makes you feel good too, thanks to mission arlington it helped me change my perspective on people like that.

Photo:KeyClubatMissionArlington

Skills Developed by the Key Skills Developed by the Key club club

By Luke Walsh By Luke Walsh

The Key club has helped me develop a lot of skills recently. I have been with the Key Club for around 2 years now, and gone through a lot of experiences with the club as a result. We can start with the events I went to with the key club. I have learned a lot of on hand skills with the key club. For an example I have been to River Legacy park several times now and have learned numerous things from there as a result. One time last year we went there to help them put mulch on their trials. Now before this I never worked with mulch or done this type of yard work before. I got to learn what mulch is and what it’s used for, while also getting some good work in there by using pitchforks and wheelbarrows. Over all it was a great experience for me and I learned a lot. Another River Legacy Event I attended was the Privet Patrol event. This is an event where we went out into the park and picked up Privet, an invasive plant to the area. Now I have picked up weeds before but this was a bit different in my experience. Instead of pulling on it, you first had to dig around the plant to find the roots then you had to yank it. Sometimes though when it was really stuck to the ground you would have to cut it with a big pair of scissors, then you could pull it, and dig it up. It was hard work but I learned some things along the way, like what privet is and even some college advice funny enough. The key club has also helped with developing better social skills. Now I don't consider myself an introvert, at least not anymore, but I still could develop better skills socially. Thanks to the Key club I have met new people and experienced new things as well. It has helped me by putting me into awkward situations, like being with people I barely know, but actually getting to know them at the end of the event. I also made a lot of friends through the key club too which also helped with social skills, by me knowing more people. It also has helped with other things as well like editing for example. Due to me being the editor I have had to develop some skills to help with my job. Like photo editing, style and formatting all were developed when I was editing, and the most important one being time management. That's the skills I developed during my time in the key club.

Photo: Privet Patrol

Skills Developed by the Key club | 10

WANT TO DO MORE?

H E R E A R E K E Y C L U B I N T E R N A T I O N

P A R T N E R S A N D C O L L A B O R A T I V E P

Landscape Structures (LSI) has joined Kiwanis International as a vision partner to bring play to communities across the globe. LSI is proud to provide high quality commercial playground equipment and planning consultation services that reflect the high degree of integrity that Kiwanis clubs expect

Nickelodeon currently presents two major campaigns year round that encourage action in kids globally. Worldwide Day of Play reinforces Nickelodeon’s mission to make the world a more playful place by leading Play events across the country. Nickelodeon’s Get Dirty campaign seeks to educate kids, families, and teachers about what they can do to help protect the planet in a way that is mindful and fun

Thirst Project is a nonprofit organization that works with the support of young people to END the global water crisis by building freshwater wells in developing communities that need safe, clean drinking water. By providing a community with safe drinking water, disease rates can drop by up to 88% virtually overnight! Child mortality rates can drop up to 90%- overnight! Clean water also plays an incredibly critical role in effectively treating and managing HIV/AIDS in rural communities.

TeleSquads provide Key Club members with affordable opportunities to complete community service hours while gaining hands ons international experience implementing projects that improve health and education outcomes for in-need communities. Each TeleSquad is a customized 1 9 week online course for groups of 8 or more Key Club members to build knowledge through skill based volunteering, build cultural competency through virtual immersion, and deliver real impact through our local team by participating in live community and professional exchanges.

A L ' S S E R V I C E

P A R T N E R S

The Army strives to strengthen local communities through service and to build character and leadership among youth such as Key Club members. Through the Kiwanis Speakers Army personnel can connect with Kiwanis family clubs at club

meetings, raising awareness of what today’s Army can provide and offer access to local Army support and resources. The Army also gives exceptional opportunities in higher education that can help young people throughout their lives.

COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS

Since 2014, Up with People and Kiwanis Interna members have teamed up to serve our communities, inspire youth and expand our impact in the world. that’s what Kiwanis International and Up with People share Up with People programs open a door to service and intercultural understanding whether it’s through a local show, leadership, and cultural workshops or providing service and travel experiences for young adults. Both organizations strive to ‘ serve the children of the world’ and ‘ empower youth to take action’ through our partnership

Register for one month of fitness, reach your health goals, and change lives. Join individually or create a team. Your involvement creates community, and it helps Project Happiness educate youth and people of all ages by providing proven tools for greater happiness and well being.

K Corps is Kiwanis International’s youth exchange program for Key Clubbers and Kiwanis family teens. It’s a great opportunity for youth connected with Kiwanis and for families and Kiwanis clubs as well.Through the program, clubs, families and youth develop strong global relationships and intercultural communication skills by attending meetings, experiencing fellowship, raising funds for various causes and participating in service projects.

Thank you for reading our November Newsletter! Happy Holidays!

Lamar Key Club is part of Region 7 Division 39N of the Texas Oklahoma Key Club District