May 2012 Newsletter

KEY CLUB 3636 WOODVIEW TRACE INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46268 USA 1-800-KIWANIS FAX 1-317-879-0204

Official Newsletter of Millburn High School Key Club/ NJ Division 14

The Millburn Key What is ICON?

BY SYLVIA LEVY (Editor)

ICON, the yearly conference of every Key Club district in the world including our own in New Jersey, stands for International Convention.

This year it will take place from July 1-8 in Orlando, Florida, at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista. Last year, ICON was in Phoenix, Arizona, where international club members came to attend workshops, elections and meetings concerning the next year of service. During those few days in Arizona, International President Annie Lewandowski, Vice President Catt Lovins and our Trustee, Nick DePorzio, were elected. These individuals represent the global Key Club Community and are a liaison between Kiwanis and individual Key Club districts such as our own.

At ICON, one also has the opportunity to listen to speeches by keynote speakers. This year, the featured speakers are Ethan Zohn (winner of “Survivor” in 2002) and Justin Willman (Food Network show host and comedian). Zohn, a fierce combatant of cancer, will speak to Key Clubbers about organizations like LIVESTRONG and Stand Up 2 Cancer. Later, Willman will lighten Millburn High School Key Club

the tone of the convention by performing magic tricks and entertaining guests.

Because the 2012 Key Club International Convention is in Orlando, those attending will be able to use four-day park passes to explore “the magic of service at Disney.”

Although members of individual clubs are not expected to attend ICON, it is still important that we remember that we are part of a global Key Club community dedicated to helping others.

Volume 3 Issue 2 May 2012

In this issue: What is ICON?......... 1 Officer’s Note .......... 2 Committee Heads ..... 2

Car Wash ...............3 North RTC’s .............. 4 K Column................. 5 Upcoming Events ... 5 5/29/12 Agenda ..... 6

Car WASh And

RTc

Recap Find this and future issues of the newsletter at issuu.com/millburnkeyclub

A

Word from Your Officers

As the year comes to a close, our club begins to prepare for the next service year. However, we still have events, meetings and more opportunities for service in coming weeks.

On June 6, our club is hosting a Student-Faculty Softball game where we will be raising money for Engineers without Borders. This organization raises money to employ engineers in developing nations. These individuals will build water and sewage systems, among other things, that will raise the standard of living for people who do not have access to such essential services. If you would like to play in the game, which will be on the MHS baseball field, please contact an officer or committee heads Medha Tandon and Andrew Fitzpatrick. If you do not want to play but would like to attend, it’s your lucky day because the event is free for all, although you are encouraged to donate money and buy food. For the past few years, we have been expanding this event and we hope that this year we have a record number of students attending. Hope to see you there!

Over the past few weeks, Key Clubbers have been selling cookie dough to raise money for various organizations that we support. To those who sold cookie dough: Great job! If you ordered cookie dough, it is expected to arrive in the next two weeks.

Members have also been raising money for ELIMINATE, Key Club International’s main project, by

selling candy and bracelets (each bracelet saves a life by covering the cost of three MNT vaccines). So far, these two fundraisers have been very successful, raising more than $700. If you would like to sell candy, you can contact Chaerin Ahn and if you would like to buy a bracelet, talk to Karen Fich.

These final few months may seem busy, but the truth is that the most demanding season of Key Club service is in the fall. As the next school year starts, members can go to Fall Rally at Six Flags, the Talent Show at our school and the Fall RTC’s. These are only some of the events that we can participate in. All of the officers hope that you enjoy the last month of school and that you get ready for an amazing season of service in autumn!

Congratulations, Committee Heads!

To check them out, check your email!

If you did not get such an email, send the club email (millburn.hs.keyclub@gmail.com) a message including your email address.

If you have any concerns, contact an officer on Facebook, by email or in person.  Millburn High School Key Club

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Workin’ at the Car Wash

BY MEGHNA PATNY (Committee Head) The car wash on Saturday, May 19, was a success!

In all we made about $450. Luckily, it was the perfect day to have fun under the sun. We ended up washing each other more than we washed the cars. Even though there were some periods of time where there were absolutely no cars that needed to be washed, there were a lot of times when at least three cars would come at the same time. Key Clubbers who came to this event learned that the best thing to do in those situations is not to panic, but try to get everybody involved. Most of our customers were more than satisfied with our hard work, and we received many donations. There were about 30 dedicated Key Clubbers who helped out on Saturday. I would like to thank all of our teacher-supervisors who volunteered to help us. This car wash would not have been able to occur without them.

Here, Key Clubbers work together to clean a car. Pictured (left to right): Meghna Patny, Anthony Joo, Grace Jing and Rebecca Cooper.

These clean cars must be dried! The above Key Clubbers are definitely earning their hours by cleaning these cars.

Pictured here is an intense water battle between Karen Fich and Bill Choi. Clearly, the Car Wash was not only about raising money, but it also provided an opportunity for fun!

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Millburn High School Key Club

BY ASHLEY WU (Recording Secretary) It might puzzle you at first; even make you shake your head in astonishment. The very fact of getting up before noon on a Saturday morning makes most of us cringe; the fact that someone would get up early in the morning and drive 30 minutes to some far away high school to attend a conference might just seem truly out of this world. But let’s pause for a moment here and answer some questions. Just what is an RTC? Well, it means “Regional Training Conference”. You also might ask: what’s the reason for going to an RTC? Well, maybe it’s the atmosphere, maybe it’s to meet the district board face to face, or maybe it’s just to find out what all the hype is about.

On May 19, Montville High School hosted an RTC. Breakfast and lunch were provided by the Montville Key Clubbers! Our district board was present, including our charismatic district governor, Nicole Ventrone. The conference consisted of four half-

Millburn High School Key Club

hour sessions that provided information and ideas about how to get more students involved in Key Club.

General members and officers learned about their own roles. Fun icebreakers eased any awkwardness and helped us to interact with other Key Club members. We also learned about this year’s advocacy project which deals with self-acceptance, anti-bullying, and anti-suicide. Furthermore, the sessions gave us valuable ideas to increase awareness, and to make events more fun.

More importantly, coming out of the RTC we not only felt more informed but more inspired about service. It’s impossible to attend and not come home feeling pumped and ready to give 110% to Key Club!

What’s more, Fall RTC’s will be just as awesome! Get ready for next year’s Fall RTC, which kicks off our incredible year of service.

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The K Column is a periodic piece written by Karen Fich, highlighting important information about our club, Kiwanis and the projects we work on. Karen will soon be a Junior and is a dedicated member of our club.

Are you leaving for college in a few months? Are you going to miss Key Club along with all of your memories? Well, that’s why there’s Circle K. It’s the equivalent of Key Club for college. You get to carry on doing community service as an undergraduate. If you want to know more, please visit http://www.circlek.org/home.aspx .

The Circle K and Key Club organizations are both part of Kiwanis International. Students in these groups are focused on providing service for their community, so building bridges between the two would be an incredible opportunity. The “Key to College” is a Circle K International (CKI) program developed especially for high school students who are interested in pursuing higher education and gaining insight about college and university life, service, and leadership. This partnership integrates both the benefits of community service and learning.

Sponsoring a Key to College Program benefits both the high school participants and Circle K clubs in several ways: 1. High school students have the opportunity to learn about college life first-hand from college students. In addition to learning how to select and apply for their ideal colleges, high school students will learn all about living on campus, selecting courses, applying for financial aid, joining student organizations, choosing a major, and adapting to campus social life and schoolwork.

2. The Key to College Program gives members of CKI the opportunity to interact with high school students, often members of Key Club International. While the program is not limited to Key Clubbers by any means, CKI groups may wish to target Key Club members so that they may begin to develop a relationship that will enhance both organizations’ service potential in the future.

3. CKI members may further develop their leadership and presentation skills by providing this community service.

Although our specific club does not yet have direct ties to a Circle K club, you can still join a CK club in college if you would like to continue serving your community. If the college of your choice does not have a Circle K, don’t be afraid to start one!

Want to know more about our club’s activities and events? Join our Facebook group and our website!

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Upcoming Events *Candy and Wristband Sales for ELIMINATE *Student-Faculty Softball Game – June 6 *ICON – July 1-8 in Orlando, FL

2012-2013 Board: President Marlee Birnberg Vice President Chaerin Ahn Recording Secretary Ashley Wu Corresponding Secretary Lyndsay Wittenberg Treasurer Harsimran Minhas Editor Sylvia Levy Webmaster Lindsey Jones Advisor Neil Cooperman

Millburn High School Key Club

Millburn High School New Jersey District Division 14 http://millburnkeyclub.webs.com/

KEY CLUB AGENDA

5/29/12 Upcoming Events

Stay After the Meeting to Make Posters for the Softball Game!

May Newsletter – Hope you enjoy it! If you would like to write for this newsletter in the future, please contact Sylvia Levy.

Committee Heads – Please stay after the general meeting.

ELIMINATE  Candy – Talk to Chaerin Ahn if you have money to give her.  Wristbands – Speak to Karen Fich if you would like to buy one!

Student-Faculty Softball Game – The date is June 6. Sign up to play in the game!

Weekly Events Winston Tutoring – Thursday (5/31) and Monday (6/4) 3 - 4 pm at the Winston School (100 East Lane, Short Hills).

Read and Lead – Saturday (6/2) 3-4 pm at the Millburn Public Library (Children’s Section).

Good Neighbors Program – Sunday (6/3) 2-4 pm at Daughters of Israel Nursing Home (1155 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange). http://millburnkeyclub.webs.com/

www.keyclub.org 3636 WOODVIEW TRACE INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46268 USA 1-800-KIWANIS FAX 1-317-879-0204