The Keynote Volume 2 May 2016

The

Keynote

Volume 2 I Parsippany High School I May 2016

SERVICE

|ˈsərvis|

Noun 1.

the action of helping or doing work for someone

5

6

Editor’s Note

Pennies for Patients

7

8

RTC

Day Care Visit

8

9

SKIP Reading

9 Kiwanis Breakfast

Care One Visit

10 Updates

Greetings!

The new service year has finally kicked off, and there are many events coming up in the horizon. Yes, I know, it is almost the summer, the end of school is just beyond our fingertips, and all thoughts are turning towards vacation, and of course service.

“Key club is called key club because you hold the key to open new doors to a happier, better world, and I think holding that power is one of the best privileges someone can have” – Stephanie Shen, President Simply put, the love of service is what makes Key Club, well Key Club. For me, there is something rewarding about being a key clubber: seeing appreciation of those that we help, becoming acquaintances with such an amazing array of dedicated people, and finding some selfless part of me when serving others.

Our achievements as of late are nothing short of encouraging, in the last few weeks of April, we canned for Pennies for Patients, and, in May, we participated in Care One, Daycare, and SKIP visit as well as a Regional Training Conference.

Yet, despite the increasing flood of activities, you have all continued to contribute to the best of your abilities, and for that I am exceedingly proud. You guys all never cease to inspire me: whether it is your compassion when caring for the young or old, or your boundless energy during Pennies for Patients and RTC. Sincerely, Ellie Xu Editor

“

The best way to find yourself is to lose

yourself in the service of others –Mahatma Gandhi

”

Pennies for Patients In the last week of April, many general members canned for Pennies for Patients outside the cafeteria during their lunch periods.

Thanks to their efforts, the Parsippany High School Key Club raised nearly $389.61 to donate towards the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization dedicated to blood cancer research.

The goal for the remaining school days is to surpass last year’s donation, and we have more than surpassed that number!

Good job to all participating key clubbers!

Regional Training Conference Parsippany High School officers attended the regional training conference on Saturday May 14th in James Caldwell High school, in order to learn about being a better key clubber.

Key clubbers dispersed to their selected workshops to learn about their respective duties in the club, how to improve different aspects of their club, and how to better serve their community. Examples of workshops include: Organization Behind Events, Editor, Brand Guide, and Moving up in the KFamily.

The workshops were all lead by different lieutenant governors and the environment was very friendly despite the unfamiliarity between all the people in the room. The presentations themselves were very informative and ignited a sense of duty and drive inside each listening key clubber.

With the dismissal of the last workshop, it was time for a lunch of freshly delivered pizza, bags of chips, and an assortment of cookies. Filled to the brim with both food and passion for service, the key club officers left the RTC with confidence for the new service year.

Day Care Visit Key clubbers spent time with children ranging from waddling toddlers to talkative five year olds at the daycare, on Wednesday, May 18th.

During their visit the key clubbers played games with the toddlers, such as ball games, blowing bubbles, or the ever intense patty cake.

SKIP Reading On Friday May 13th, several key clubbers headed off to either Rockaway Meadow Elementary School or Lake Hiawatha Elementary School to read to the students in the SKIP program.

It was really a learning experience for both the children and the key clubbers. The key clubbers were tasked with creating a fun learning experience through expressive reading and guided discussions, to which the children responded well to. They were very eager to listen to the various stories that the key clubbers brought, and even interrupted the narration to add in their own thoughts or questions.

Care One Visit Every other week there was a scheduled visit to Care One on Saturday from 2-4 pm. These scheduled visits allow the key clubbers to give back to the senior citizens of the community by providing company and entertainment for them.

The first visit of this service year was on April 23rd, and the event planned was arts and crafts, specifically making bead jewelry. Volunteers would help the senior citizens cut out string, retrieve beads of specific colors or shapes and string the beads. It was touching to see the array of jewelry that the elderly made for their loved ones.

On Saturday May 7th, the planned activity was board games. The key clubbers split up and played different games with the senior citizens, such as Uno or Apples to Apples.

I had participated in both visits to Care One, and both times I came out of the session with a greater appreciation for the old, and a greater sense of duty. During the first session I created bracelets for two different people: a rainbow bracelet for a quiet lady who liked the color pink, and an orange bracelet for a former lawyer with a lacy orange nightgown. The look of appreciation on their faces as they fingered the collection of bracelets on their arms motivated me to attend the second session. For the second session I was responsible for the Apples to Apples game, and all three times we played, the elders won, not because we let them but because their answers were actually witty and hilarious. My favorite answer was when one lady matched the word “a motel” with “touchy-feely”. This second session made me truly appreciate the senior citizens with all their charm, humor, and stories.

Breakfast with Kiwanis

BY ALICE LIMANOVA Historian

The key club officers sacrificed sleep to attend the Kiwanis Club's breakfast at 7 A.M, on May 26th, to learn more about our parent organization!

Member of the Month The May Member of the Month was none other than Albert Chen. He was one cut above the rest in terms of attendance to events and dedication. He proved to all of us officers of his love for service through his unfailing participation in many of this month’s events.

Congratulations Albert!

I encourage all of you to continue surpassing yourselves this month in the name of service, and the next month’s victor could be you.

Coming in the next issue

President’s Message

BY STEPHANIE SHEN President

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the skip readings, care one visits, signed up to help with fundraisers, and anything else we did this past month. the community really appreciates your hard work and dedication!

Contact Information President Stephanie Shen

Vice President Miki Hansen

sshen18@pthsd.net

mohansen17@pthsd.net

Vice President Spencer Huang

Recording Secretary Nicholas Lim

sphuang17@pthsd.net

njlim19@pthsd.net

Corresponding Secretary Jennifer Huang

Treasurer Udhay Khullar

jhuang17@pthsd.net

ukhullar18@pthsd.net

Webmaster Samantha Lee

Historian Alice Limanova

ajlimanova18@pthsd.net

sllee18@pthsd.net Editor Ellen Xu

exu18@pthsd.net

Other Newsletters https://issuu.com/parsippanyhskc

New Jersey District Key Club http://www.njkeyclub.org/

Our Website http://parhighkeyclub.weebly.com/

Kiwanis of Greater Parsippany http://parsippanykiwanis.org/

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www.keyclub.org 3535 Trace Woodview Indianapolis, IN 46268 USA 371-875-8755 || US and Canada: 800-Kiwanis

“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope” Barack Obama