Key Connect | Mansfield Lake Ridge Key Club | November 2020 | Volume 4 Issue 4 by Lake Ridge Key Club

M A N S F I E L D

L A K E

R I D G E

H I G H

S C H O O L

KEY CONNECT

DIVISION 39S | REGION 7 V O L U M E

| I S S U E

N O V E M B E R

2 0 2 0

TABLE OF

contents 4

Officer of the Month

5 6

Calendar

Volunteering Opportunities

Volunteering Opportunities Cont.

Featured Service Opportunity

This or That

10 11

Letter from the President

A Changed Perspective

A Changed Perspective Cont.

Article + Photo Submissions

15 16

The Kiwanis Family

Service Partners

Overcoming the Digital Divide

Letter from the Editor

HOTO

Cont. 20 21

UNICEF Flyer

Officer Contact Information

District Contact Information

Stay Connected

Congrats to

OFFICER OF THE MONTH

elizabeth mingle 4

December 2020 SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

31 5

Volunteering Opportunities ONE TIME EVENTS Mansfield’s Hometown Holidays: December 4th-5th Time: 3:00 PM-9:00 PM Location: Mansfield Activity Center Info: You will help with rides, crafts, midway-style games, Santa, set up and/or take down, and more. Swim Meeting: December 5th-6th Time: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM Location: MISD Natatorium Info: You will help with helping time the swimmers. Food Drive Volunteer: December 9th Click here to Sign-Up Time: 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Location: Word of Truth 8201 Webb Ferrell Rd. Arlington, TX 76002 Info: You will first separate the food into boxes for families and then distribute those boxes to families lined up in cars near the church’s entrance. Common Ground: Due December 11th Location: San Miguel’s Class A-337 Info: You will be donating various toys and clothing to help out children during the holiday season. Hours may vary on item

RECURRING EVENTS FreeRice: Anytime Hours: 1 hour for every 1,000 points. Info: You will be going here and doing various activities to feed families around the world. Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Anytime Hours: Will vary on TimeLog Info: You will be going here and transcribing or reviewing various materials for the Smithsonian Museum. Project Gutenberg: Anytime Hours: 1 hour for every book/article. Info: You will be going here and transcribing or proofreading various books for the online library. Allies in Youth Development: Every Sunday (except for the 1st Sunday of each month) Next volunteer date: December 6th Click here for the Google Form Time: 3:00-4:30 PM Location: 1315 Hwy 1187 Suite 115, Mansfield, TX 76063 Info: You will be packing boxes to send to orphans in Eastern Europe or organizing donations, such as clothing, toys, etc Sign up: Fill out the Google form above, sign in at the warehouse and have your hours log signed (look for Margie or Frederick). General Meetings: Biweekly, every other Wednesday Time: 3:30PM on Teams (Code: huk6zdy)

ALLIES IN YOUTH When: Every Sunday (excluding the 1st of the month) from 3-4:30 PM

Where: 1315 FM 1187, Suite 107, Mansfield, TX 76063

Allies in Youth Development is a non-profit organization that works to empower orphans by providing them with human connection, life skills, and a pathway to education. Volunteers can help pack boxes filled with essential care items and make cards that will be sent to orphans in

various countries. (For more information, check out their website here!)

LRHS KEY CLUB

this or that Club hours

Individual hours

Turkey

Ham

Online Events

In-Person Events

Holiday Food

Regular Food

Key Club Pledge

Ringing the Bell

Mashed Potatoes

Mac n Cheese

Food Drive

Toys for Tots

Pumpkin Spice

Apple Cider

president

LETTER FROM THE

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone’s had an amazing break full of binging TV shows, stuffing yourselves full of desserts, and Starbucks holiday cups! Although this season is full of coziness and laying back, I hope everyone’s finding a way to give back to the community during this giving season. Even as events have become limited this year due to the pandemic, I hope this doesn’t discourage you from helping the community out as other events are still available such as the Angel Tree, Food Drives, and ringing the Salvation Army Bell. Aside from volunteering and into my personal life, I've been attempting to collect all the seasonal Starbucks cups and checking off every single drink on the ShareTea menu. During this season, you know those new Hallmark movies have been rolling out, so I’m slowly checking them off my list with a warm cup of hot chocolate and a cozy fire! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this actual winter season with the cold weather and making some hot chocolate bombs!

Yours in service,

Ethan Vu

editor

LETTER FROM THE

What's up y'all! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and got to enjoy time off with family and lots of food! I also can't believe it's already December!! Even though volunteering during this holiday season will look a little different this year considering the pandemic, there are still quite

few

service

opportunities

available

(online

and

in-person)

encourage y'all to check those out! Also, I haveee to plug our website! Noah, our webmaster, has been making some really cool updates to it and it looks amazing! It has updates on volunteering opportunities, a photo gallery featuring Key Club members in action, and a blog that gives a little more insight into what we do behind the scenes. There's a link to it on page 19 if you'd like to check it out. As always, contact us if you have any questions! Happy holidays and stay safe!

Yours in service,

Lauren St. Clair

A Changed Perspective ________________________________________ A

F E A T U R E D

A R T I C L E

BY OLIVIA WURTZ I have been a member of the Key Club organization for the past two years, my first year being my sophomore year. Though I haven’t been a part of Key Club for the entirety of my high school career, I find myself feeling grateful for having joined such an amazing and inspiring institution. All of the experiences I have hadofficer socials, volunteer events, club meetings - have allowed me to grow more knowledgeable of our community and club members, as well as strengthen my gratitude for Key Club. On November 11th, the nation honored our brave veterans for their dedication to protecting our country. Lake Ridge High School’s Key Club decided to participate in this honorary event by hosting a drive-by breakfast for our school’s veterans. Although I was unable to attend the event, I was fortunately able to assist with planning and making the decorations. I helped with making stars to write each veteran's name and place on the poster, as well as painting the posters and forming the poppy flowers. Many of our club members came to the school, on a long weekend, to help prepare for this event. It proved the love and compassion our members have for our community and brave soldiers.

B Y

O U R

T R E A S U R E R

Seeing and working alongside everyone made me realize how appreciative and charitable our school is, and increased my love for being a part of Key Club.

featured article

Not only did Veteran’s Day make me more knowledgeable of the strong hearts of our club's members, but my experience in working with Allies in Youth Development allowed me to gain a new perspective of the less fortunate lives around the world. I recall one of my first times volunteering at Allies in Youth as heartwarming and eye-opening. I performed my regular tasks, which were to organize bins with supplies and prepare boxes with the necessary items to deliver to orphans in Eastern Europe.

Then, our organizer asked us to put a large package of photos into picture frames. The photos were portraits of the orphans we were donating to. The photos displayed their joyful faces when they received our packages and their time spent with other volunteers visiting them. It was such a comforting thing to see their reactions to the organization's acts of service. I never realized the impact of our work and how it affected the orphans we helped. My experience with Allies in Youth Development has opened my eyes to the lives of those so very different than mine. It strengthened my gratitude and appreciation for Key Club and our ability to help those in need.

My experience with Key Club is one I am forever grateful for. I became more aware of the love and compassion of our members and more appreciative of our ability to provide service for those in need. My changed perspective has allowed me to feel more thankful for being a part of such a caring organization and encouraged me to continue providing for others.

ARTICLE + PHOTO SUBMISSIONS Key Club Articles: (Anytime) Hours: 1 hour for every article Info: You will write a 400 word minimum page about anything Key Club related. It must include a title and be in 11 pt, Times New Roman in Google Docs. Submission will be through email to lakeridgehskeyclub@gmail.com

Key Club Photos: (Anytime) Hours: 15 minutes for every approved photo Info: You will take photos at any service related event, either while in action or Â¨striking a pose!Â¨ for the camera. These will be used for our newsletter, photo submission, and website. Submission will be through Canvas.

K-Kids is a student-led program in which elementary school students are able to begin developing a strong character and passion for service.

Circle K International is a studentled service organization for college students.

Builders Club is a club for middle school students. Members are able to learn self-confidence and grow as leaders through teamwork and goalsetting.

Aktion Club is a service club for adults with disabilities. Members develop confidence and self-esteem through leadership roles and helping others.

Key Club is a service organization for high school students that provides members with opportunities to serve and develop character and leadership

Kiwanis International is a service organization comprised of adult volunteers who serve globally.

HUMANS OF TEXAS-OKLAHOMA

Nhi Nguyen

..Key Club, a great service organization that provides students many opportunities to not only form their characteristics but also to improve many othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives. By having the dedication and enthusiasm, I believe that every member makes important changes and contributions to their community. Until now, my experience with Key Club for 2 years has changed me a lot, especially in the few first years of high school. In 2018, I and my family decided to move to the U.S. I would never forget the time when I had a lot of excitement about how I would meet new foreign friends, or I could dream about how high school would be like after watching numerous amounts of teenage movies. Moving to America, I expected a lot of new changes with a new living environment here. In spite of being a talkative person as I was used to, I became much more like an introverted person. I talked less, I laughed less, and I realized how the difference in language and culture affected me mentally in the first year. However, these were not the barriers that could stop me from growing and fitting in. When Key Club announced their first club meeting was going to be held on the following Wednesday, I did some research about Key Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volunteering works and decided to join it.

As I went there, I was amazed by the number of people who came to the meeting. Students were crowded and I sat near the first row looking around the room. We all started with a teammate game, and I could immediately feel the friendliness of others. After volunteering at a few first events, I became much more outgoing and active. I realized the value of what volunteering brought me, mostly in improving my self-confidence and my mental well-being. Also, I got more experience in teammate working activities, such as packing clothes together to send them to European orphans, serving food at parties, and donating at places. One of my favorite events was at Mission Arlington. A group of Key Club members went to this place to help stock food for people who needed assistance. Together, we brought packages of food into the storage, then we cheered and passed each other boxes. I had so much fun that day after making new friends. Once I got to see the joy in others, I also realized how any small support can make their day and it motivated me to volunteer more. I started to be open-minded and have positive energy toward everything around me again, simply because it is a place where I can make new friendships with different people. By having those real-life experiences, I gained better social skills and it is my honor to be a part of the club. Finally, as a member, I appreciate the valuable opportunities with the essential skills that Key Club has brought to me.

Service Partners

Click on a logo to learn more about one of our service partners!

________________________________________ Overcoming the Digital Divide ________________________________________ A

F E A T U R E D

A R T I C L E

BY ETHAN CLARK In a world that is focused so much on the convenience and applicability of digital devices in every aspect of life, sometimes we forget the value of human interaction. Not just in-person human interaction, but also interaction through the technological lense. However, in this time period of Covid19, gathering together is not easy, and even organizing online meetings can be a challenge, due to lack of a designated schedule and technological complications. So, with all of this in mind, how can a high school Key Club successfully organize, and plan events in a reasonable and responsible manner?

B Y

O U R

V I C E

P R E S I D E N T

Lake Ridge Key Club has tried to answer this question throughout all of their events, and with their planning process. Through this, they have successfully demonstrated how to overcome this challenge in a worthy and respectable manner. At Lake Ridge, we follow some rules in order to make sure we accommodate events that reflect the time we are in, and show the safety that we want all of our members to be a part of. Firstly, we make sure to always have both a virtual and inperson option for many events, so that no member is left out.