Hello Key Clubbers! Summer is almost ending, ah!! This month’s newsletter is not as good as I hoped it to be, because I was very busy these past few days, but I hope you all enjoy it regardless. I’d like to remind everyone to keep volunteering even though our vacation break is close to over. Every single one of you are special and unique in your own way, and you have to be the change you want to see in this world. Also, I highly encourage each person in Key Club to write an article for our monthly newsletter. It’s short, quick, and you get to be featured!! How lovely is that? Well, July was a very busy month, so I now present you the past events. Have fun reading suns! Serving with Spirit, Queena Hoang
Hello Sunny Keyuties <3 As the first half of summer slowly comes to an end, I hope that all of you have been having a break filled with new memories, new friends, and time to sleep in and relax. Congratulations to everyone who was able to get their 50 hours for the year before the hours deadline on July 31st! Even though the deadline has now passed, service never ends and I hope that many of you continue volunteering as the new school year begins! It never hurts to get a few hours in before school starts and plus, you'll be able to help make a change within your home, school, and community! :) The month of July was definitely filled with lots of amazing events and unforgettable memories. In the month of June, we were able to serve over 1100+ hours to our home, school, and community which is definitely a new record in how many hours we served within a month. Thank you all for serving your community and for making such a HUGE difference; I am so grateful and blessed to be able to serve a club that has so many dedicated and compassionate members. At July DCM | Beach Boomba, we also had a record number of Key Clubbers attend! Thank you to everyone who attended and I hope that all of you had fun in the SHINING sun! Our club was also awarded both FIRST shining club of the month as well as the club that raised the MOST funds! Can I get an oh yeah?! Congratulations to all of you for a job well done in the month of June/July and I hope to see you continue volunteering throughout the summer and upcoming school year! And lastly, a huge congratulations to our members of the month: Alexa Saavedra and Pagnavorn Hak as well as our officers of the month: Justine Wu and Queena Hoang! Thank you all for your service and dedication! As August comes around, keep your eye out for upcoming August events which include of volunteering at the office, the library, school registration, and many more new events such as volunteering/playing games with seniors! Also, we will be having our first ever ice-skating social during the month of August so BEE sure to be on the lookout for these events! For all incoming freshmen, I am so excited that many of you have already started volunteering within the summer and am so excited to meet all of you throughout the school year! Welcome to the SUNNY ohana and I hope that you are excited and ready to make an impact within your community! Although we have a month of summer left, service never ends! I hope you are excited for the upcoming volunteer events we have as well as our club's summer social! I hope the rest of your summer is filled with laughter, new memories, family and friend hangouts, and of course, volunteering! Have a SUNny rest of the summer! <3 Shinin' with Service,
Isabelle Lee
BLIND
START
Blind Start of America was created and founded in 2006 by Brian Tom, who is a visually impaired entrepreneur. He and his team created the first blind/blind-folded mud run as well as the first blind/blind-folded Dragonboat Cup known as the Blindstart Cup. From being the first blind dragonboat racing team at the annual Long Beach Dragonboat Festival to becoming a nationally ranked Dragonboat team, Blindstart has liberated blind individuals by allowing them to join a blind Dragonboat team to helping raise awareness of blindness in America by speaking at a variety of seminars. Blindstart's mission is "to provide scholarships for blind and visually impaired persons (VIPs) to develop job skills to enable them to ultimately lead lives of independence. These scholarships provide education, training, communication, transportation, adaptive equipment and technology." So how can we help? In the upcoming year, our club will be volunteering at a variety of BLINDSTART events ranging from their weekly Dragonboat practices to the annual Blindstart Luau as well as past events such as the 4th of July Tamale Booth to the Long Beach Dragonboat Festival. After being able to volunteer at both the Tamale Booth as well as the Dragonboat Festival, I sincerely hope that if you have the chance to go to any BLINDSTART event, you definitely take that chance because those at BLINDSTART are some of the kindest and inspiring people. Throughout this upcoming year, our club will be collaborating with BLINDSTART in regards to volunteering at their upcoming events as well as helping publicize events and fundraisers for them! Being able to connect with a local nonprofit organization is definitely something our club definitely wants to pursue within the following year as we are able to even make a larger impact within our community and also be able to connect with those around us on a deeper level. //Isabelle Lee
I know lots of people who just sign up to volunteer at bake sales because it’s easy all you have to do is sit down and offer cookies to people who pass by. Most of the time, that’s what people only do - walk right past you. Some of them will stop and donate money for baked goods because they’re hungry. Very few will ask about what the fundraiser is for. If you’re one of the people who just sits down at a bake sale and goes on their phone, hoping time will speed up so that you can get your hours, please give this article a read. :^) Bake sales will be boring if you just wait for time to pass until your shift ends. Make it fun! Interact with the people around you - although you are ultimately shoveling for their donations, it’s always good to get to know people! Tell them, “Good morning!”, ask them how their day is going, or explain to them why helping the fundraiser matters. Even if they end up not donating, reaching out to people and breaking a little chunk of the wall that is “stranger-danger” will make all the difference in your volunteer experience. Learn a little about the cause of the fundraiser so you know what you’re giving your time to. Know the effects that any donation will make to the cause, and this itself should make the event much more bearable. Stand up, hold a sign, and even dance around as cars pass by. All these things may get you more donations, but most importantly, it will also give you a more meaningful reason to volunteer for bake sales in the future, and, well, any event.
//Caitlyn Saw
On July 16th, Key Clubbers from all over Region 3 (which consists of D30S D30N D4W D4N D4S D41W and D41N) gathered at Huntington Beach in order to enjoy a typical summer day at the beach. The Key Clubbers gathered near noon and were registered and checked in. After the registration, the lieutenant governors started a variety of activities so that the Key Clubbers could bond with one another. These activities were enjoyable games where all could be involved regardless of whether one person was shy or another was very outgoing. Through the bonding and the activities, and while taking photos of the people involved, it was interesting to see that all people were participating in these activities. On many occasions, there would be that one person who did not really follow along with the rest of the crowd, and that person would do his or her own thing, but at this DCM, no such individual existed (at least where I was situated). After the activities came lunch, and it was what anyone would expect: people ate lunch. After everyone had their fill of food, the lieutenant governors started their respective meetings. Whitney received the award for the Shining Club of the Month, and Most Funds Raised. After the meeting had ended and all of the updates, previous events, and upcoming events were announced, most activities took place, and during this time, Whitney Key Clubbers and some other Key Clubbers from another district joined us. The small group took part in their own activities like My Friendly Neighbor and Baby I Love You, sharing laughs and memories and desperate attempts to get people to laugh. Once the small group had disbanded and split to go about their own activities, some went back to where everyone else mainly was, and some others including myself went to the ocean shore to kill time. The DCM included both service and bonding, so the last 30 minutes of the event was dedicated to picking up the trash around the beach, and after the beach cleanup, everyone packed their belongings and went home to continue their Saturdays. The DCM was most definitely filled with fun and laughter as the day went on, and other than the very hot weather and the not as hot sand, there were no real errors with the DCM. Everything went smoothly, and it most definitely was a fun and enjoyable day at the beach. //Jason Park
This past week, I attended on the Kiwanis meeting in La Palma. It was on a Thursday morning at 7am. We started out with introductions and as soon as I entered we were welcomed by the Kiwanis Members. The meeting continued with “Home on the Range” which is the song we sang and a review of old events and new events for Kiwanis. Then a key clubber from each school that came provided information about their past and upcoming events as well. The meeting concluded with breakfast. Since the it took place in the hospital, we went to this buffet in the hospital and the food was delicious. When we came back in one of the Key Clubbers had a presentation about their trip to Canada and it was something the Kiwanis members really enjoyed watching. Attending the meeting opened my eyes to how much the Kiwanis care about us and how it really is important to get to know them. If you ever get the chance, I really recommend attending one their meeting because seeing them work and all come together for their communities is inspiring. I know I’ll for sure be attending more. Until next month, this is Ankita Morari signing out. ☺
Just recently as Technior began to take in Key Club volunteers, I decided to go out to volunteer for a session. Once I arrived, I waited for the seniors and other volunteers to come as well. Quickly, people poured in through the doors at 4 PM. I sat with a lady whom was very nice and funny! Everyone else was so sweet and adorable as well. I loved helping because I was able to teach so many things in just a short hour. The lady who I was assisting had all of her questions answered and thanked me and others once the session was over. I definitely will go back to volunteer when I have time and I hope more people will try it out too. It is really important that people have more knowledge about technology now as it's becoming a huge part of our daily life. It may be harder for seniors because they did not grow up with this lifestyle and it feels great to help them accustom to it! //Kiana Hernandez
I know it’s super difficult in choosing where you want to go eat but I’m here to recommend some places I’ve personally tried or heard it was really good! If you’re looking for somewhere to have a full meal, then Anaheim Packing District has great food vendors that includes Saw Leaf , which is one of my favorites, it’s Vietnamese so it has Phó which is noodle soup, egg rolls, coffee, and many more! I definitely recommend the egg rolls, it’s super good! Kroft is another vendor that’s famously known for their sandwiches and poutines, Canadian French fries with cheese curds and light brown gravy! Personally I haven’t tried but I know some of my friends have and they would rate it a 5 out of 5 stars. They are many more food places inside the Packing that aren’t just meals but great desserts and snacks to choose from. If you're trying to find places to snack on like drinks or ice cream more local then Roasting Waters, Boba Time, Afters, Brusters, and many more are the places for you! Roasting Waters recently opened up another branch in Long Beach Towne Center and it’s been a big hit! Unlike many other boba and tea places, your drinks are placed in bottles with cute designs you get to keep! For ice cream, similar to Roasting Waters, Afters recently opened up another branch as well! With their amazing flavors and donut ice cream sandwich people love heo people beat this heat. The flavor I've tried was “cookie monster” which is cookies and cream with blue dye to mimic the children’s Cookie Monster! I hope finding food places was a little less hard now.
//Kyla Basiana
As school is just around the corner, here are some tips as to how to stay motivated throughout the school year! Always remember that nothing worthwhile comes easy, so you have to work hard for the things that are. TIP#1: Take it one day at a time. If you feel overwhelmed, just take a deep breath and relax. You’ll do worse with a negative attitude and mindset. TIP#2: Surround yourself with positivity and rid your life of those with negative vibes. Your days will be a little brighter and you will be a little happier. You won’t get anything done with thoughts like “I can’t do it” or “I’ll just give up” TIP#3: Create a dreams/goals chart. You’ll give yourself something to work towards, and it’ll make your life a bit more organized. Whether it’s for acing your next test or getting into your dream school, you’ll have a path to follow and achieve. TIP#4: Reward yourself when you reach your goals. It doesn’t have to be a big step or a hug accomplishment, just reward yourself for the hard work that you put in. It motivates you to do more and achieve more. TIP#5: Believe in yourself. This goes along with having a positive mindset. You’re not going to get anywhere if you bring yourself down all the time. If you believe you can do something then you definitely can! TIP#6: Recognize your attributes and track your progress. You can then focus on things that you can improve on to further achieve your goals. TIP#7: Don’t compare yourself to others. No one has the same background or story, so everyone’s abilities are different. Do what you want and need in order to better yourself. Sure, giving yourself some competition is good, but not to the point where you’re side by side comparing yourself to someone else. TIP#8: Be kind to yourself and don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t reach your goal in the first try. It takes time and you learn from your mistakes to better yourself. “The best way to predict the future is to create it” //Denise Chan
During this past month, I was privileged with the opportunity to help out at a fundraiser for the Pediatric Trauma Program with fellow Key Clubbers! Let me start with the boring parts (got to save the best moments for last, right? HAHA)! So..here we go!â&#x20AC;¨ As usual with most bake sales, there were many times when volunteers had nothing to do, either because there were no customers or because the sun was blazing hot. (I speculate that the weather played part in the lack of customers. ;( ) Nonetheless, volunteers aimed to stay busy by dividing up duties and switching shifts throughout the 6 hours. Some volunteers greeted customers and directly handed out yummy baked goods that were donated by fellow Whitney BEES! Meanwhile, other volunteers obnoxiously waved posters at both passing vehicles and blameless shoppers (OOPS!). Caitlyn Saw and I had even created a semi-dance routine. However, it was all in vain. Every time we would start our routine, drivers would speed up with either confused faces or expressions of fear. *sigh* We probably looked like animals.â&#x20AC;¨ ANYWAY, as for the good news...I am proud to declare that we succeeded by raising $159.74! Considering that there were two bake sales occurring at the same time, $159.74 is not a bad sum at all! For those of you who do not know, all funds raised through our bake sales and food sales are directly donated to charitable organizations. To name a few: March of Dimes, the Pediatric Trauma Program, and CHOC. So the next time we hold a bake sale, I hope all of you buzzin' bees show support by volunteering, donating baked goods, or just by visiting us! Until then, adieu! //Eunice Shim
It’s that time of summer again! Weeks have passed since that first day of vacation, and the nights of studying have not haunted us since. However, that also reminds us that we only have a few more weeks left of summer. As we count down our days of summer, here are some ideas of what you could do/do more to the make the most of the rest of break: 1. Spend time with friends/family – Sure, you get to see them during the school year, but both spending the day out hiking or the spending day in watching movies are great options when it comes to spending time with people you care about. 2. Read – Can’t let all those useful skills you’ve learned throughout the years go to waste, right? It’s hard to find time to read a book for leisure during the school months, so take advantage of your free time and pick up a new book! 3. Volunteer – Last, but definitely not least, comes volunteering! Whether it be at the upcoming office or library volunteering taking place in August, the upcoming food banks, and so much more, summer is a great time to give time to others. There’s nothing quite like putting some of your own time aside to put a smile on someone else’s face, and Key Club gives the chance to do just that. :-) //Meghan Lee
Tech Some may say they have Monday blues, but for me, Mondays have been quite enjoyable, especially this summer. The reason for this would be because of the event Technior. Recently, Technior, an organization, collaborated with Whitney Key Club so that Key Club volunteers along with Technior volunteers could go and help out the seniors at the Cerritos Senior Center. Technior is an organization designed for students to assist the seniors with any questions they have about the technology they bring to class. It is such a pleasure to be able to teach the seniors because they are so fun to work with and are always so eager to learn. On top of that, they are so sweet and unbelievably kind. Throughout all my times there, I have been able to strike lively conversations with the seniors that I teach. They are always able to put a smile on my face with their jokes and entertaining stories. The seniors also teach me so much about life in general and give me great advice while I help them with their iPhones or iPads or other devices. Technior isn’t just about teaching the seniors, but it is also interacting with the seniors and just having a good time. We start the class as early as 3:45 and we welcome any seniors that stop by. We enjoy helping out all the seniors and you don’t even need to be super high-tech to teach the seniors. More often than not, we learn alongside the seniors while we try to solve any issues that they might have with their devices. I encourage all those that love technology and interacting with people to come and try Technior. It is an event that you will truly take pleasure in and you won’t regret it. I can guarantee that. //Justine Wu
NIOR
As the hours deadline is coming to a close this Key Club term, many volunteers are looking for more opportunities to complete their annual 50 hours. This past Fourth of July weekend, Whitney High School Key Clubbers got the opportunity to volunteer with an organization called Blindstart USA at the City of Cerritos’ Let Freedom Ring Celebration. Blindstart USA is an organization that WHS Key Club will be working with very closely this year! At the celebration, Blindstart had a food booth that sold tamales. Volunteers had different jobs such as helping to bring out the tamales, working the register, bringing the tamales out to the customers, and greeters. I had the job of being a greeter, which meant that I had to greet customers who were in line to buy tamales as well as assist customers who just bought their tamales. The money raised from this food booth would be used to go towards scholarships for the visually-impaired. Many of the people who bought tamales were very happy that they were helping out a good and meaningful cause. There were two shifts that lasted the entire day, and volunteers were kept busy the entire time. It was extremely busy at the booth the entire day, but Key Clubbers were very grateful for the opportunity because now Key Club and Blindstart will be working together in the future! When trying to find new volunteer opportunities, it’s very important to communicate professionally and formally when you’re contacting representatives from other organizations to try to find new opportunities. Here are some tips and tricks on how you can professionally contact these representatives! 1 2
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Find out their contact information: This step is self-explanatory since you can’t really contact them without their contact info! Contact them during reasonable hours!: It looks really unprofessional when you decide to email/call the representative really early in the morning or in the middle of the night! However, you don’t want to wait for the perfect time to email the person if it’s an urgent matter. Keep in mind that you want them to respond back in a timely manner so they need to see the email in the first place! Use the subject line effectively: The subject line is the first thing the representative sees when they see your email, so make sure you identify why you’re emailing them concisely in the subject line Address them correctly: Make sure you use Mr./Ms./Mrs. with the last name when addressing the representative. It’s not formal to address the representative by their first name unless you know them personally or if they say that it’s okay to call them by another name. Introduce Yourself: Make sure they know who you are so they don’t think you’re scamming them!
These are just a few tips for now..but use them to your advantage! //Kristina Theam
When the word Kiwanis is thrown into a conversation, it conjures up images of advisors standing in
KIWANIS MEETINGS the corners of DCMs, logos on t-shirts, and a question- what exactly is Kiwanis? Of course Key Clubbers know it as the adult counterpart to Key Club, but for many, that’s where the knowledge stops. For most of my time in Key Club, that’s how I felt too. I didn’t feel any desire to get to know the men and women that were sponsoring our clubs and divisions, and making many of the things I considered integral to the organization happen. Getting to know a group of adults that had very little in common with me was daunting, and not on the top of my priority list. However this month, I got a chance to attend a Kiwanis DCM (Division Council Meeting) with two other WHSKC members, Isabelle Lee and Eunice Shim. Here Kiwanis members from all over Orange County met up to eat food (the Sizzler’s Buffet was great) and give updates on the organization. There were trivia games, tons of jokes, roasts (Kiwanians can get savage), moving speeches, and debates all packed into a period of two hours, far more action than I ever anticipated in one night. People seemed genuinely happy to see high schoolers attending the meeting and seeing what Kiwanis was all about, and they welcomed us warmly. What I learned from the experience? Kiwanis, which I always thought of as a polar opposite of Key Club, is really quite similar. Both are filled with people that love to serve the community, and enjoy being around others who love it as well. Despite the age and demographic gap between the two communities, a Kiwanian and Key Clubber both get the look of pride and joy when they talk about a new service project, or a good deed they did for those around them. So take the leap. Attend a Kiwanis Meeting with your friends (start by contacting our Kiwanis Chair, Denise Chan). At the next event you attend, don’t be afraid to walk up to a Kiwanian and start a conversationthey don’t bite. Chances are, you’ll find that they aren’t all that different from you. //Sara Ryave
In short: leadership, character building, caring, and inclusiveness. Get ready... In Key Club, every single member has an opportunity has a chance to demonstrate and practice his/ her leadership abilities whether it's teaching others the ropes, chairing an event, or running/applying for a school/division/district/international (WOW!!!) position. Members are the top of the Key Club hierarchy which means that they have the ability to take initiative and active leadership roles. Through Key Club, I think if someone truly gets into it, he/she will inevitably come out as a different, and hopefully, better person because this club can mold your personal values and morals. I think personally, it has made me more aware of issues and I've learned some professional and social skills. It not only taught me to care, but also HOW to care. Key Club taught me that charity doesn't just end at donating items/money and that we could take a step further by showing through words and interaction that we care about those around us. Unlike some other service organizations, Key Club includes all members and there is absolutely no requirement to join. Unlike other clubs, people can join as members at literally any time throughout their high school years. I think inclusiveness is the part I love most about it because anyone can, and everyone should join Key Club. Although it may not seem like your scene to "put some booty in it" or chant some other seemingly-silly cheer, I promise that it will grow on you and you will learn to love the amazing ohana that is Key Club. To be honest, this took me a lot of time and effort to write, but I'm not satisfied with how I described Key Club because no words can ever do it enough justice. There are tons of things I would have never known, places I would have never been, people I would have never met, and experiences I would have never experienced if it hadn't been for Key Club. It is definitely much more than just a club to accumulate service hours and on the other hand, it is much more than just a club to fraternize and engage in social activities. In fact, I think it's the perfect combination of both and much more. I love Key Club.