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Volume 4 | Issue 16| October 2019 Randall High School Key Club | Region 1 | Division 7/33
Thank you to Laiklynn Brookshire for all photos printed in this newsletter!
Table of Contents ToC ............................................................................ 2 Editor’s Note ........................................................... 3
Riddle of the Month .............................................. 4 Upcoming Events ................................................... 5 Packing Excellence .............................................. 6,7 Humble Service .................................................... 8,9 Counting our Blessings ........................................ 10 Quote ...................................................................... 11 Calendar, Mark These Dates .......................... 12,13 Officer Information ............................................. 14 Thank you , Sponsors! ......................................... 15
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Editor’s Note Hello Key Club! What a great start to our school year! Congratulations to Jenna McCarty for getting 19 hours in September to become our member of the month! Keep it classy, Raiders! Your Editor,
Emily Klein
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04 The letter M!
Up coming E vents UNICEF Boxes—all month long! Every $5 is 1 hour. 5th—St. Joseph’s School Carnival, 126pm at 4122 S Bonham St. 7th,8th—Snak Pak 4 Kids, 4-5:30 9th—Ronald McDonald House, 5-6:30 19th—Hillside Elementary Fall Carnival, 1:30-4 19th—Arden Road Fall Festival, 5-7:30 Gene Howe Folders every Monday Washington Family Service Center every 1st and 3rd Thursday Don’t forget meetings every Monday during Flex!
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Packing Excellence By Alyvia Esquibel
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Twice a month, on the first and third Mondays and Tuesdays, the Randall Key Club gathers in a storage garage off of I-27 to pack food into plastic bags for less fortunate kids who don’t get to go home to a pantry full of snacks to raid like so many others do. Boxes are torn and flattened, Pop-Tarts are broken, and cats are petted as the echo of camaraderie bounces off grey walls. It’s a great way to meet new people doing their best to serve the community, but it’s also the place to find a deeper sense of purpose: that of joining together in a spirit of generosity to uplift our fellow students. A friend of mine who receives these food packages from Snack Pak 4 Kids has mentioned before that the weekly pickup of food is often accompanied by a vague sense of humiliation. “I have to take people’s donations. It’s a little hard not to feel embarrassed,” he told me softly, the bag rustling against his thigh serving as an unpleasant reminder that his home life wasn’t what he wanted or needed it to be. He did, however, immediately add that the love and charity of the people behind his food has helped him to feel less ashamed of it. He insisted that “the fact that people don’t just simply live with the knowledge that they can do something for people like me, but actively help us,” has made him more comfortable accepting the bags. He is comforted by the knowledge that there is someone out there, being proactive for him. Key Club is distinctive in the fact that it is full of people who genuinely desire to help their community. It is set apart from organizations such as National Honor Society, which includes service hours in the requirements but results in people only serving because it’s necessary. Key Club doesn’t require the service that comes from its members in the same way; they are not simply a quota to fill but rather a voluntary improvement of the community. For this reason our Key Club is full of wonderful, kind, charitable, generous people who give up some of their most precious currency, time, to bring their light and joy to the Amarillo/Canyon community. We are unique in our characters and our priorities and this has only served to better not only the lives of those we serve, but also our own. We are certainly doing an excellent job of “building our home, school, and community,” and I hope that this only improves in the future.
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HUMBLE S
B y Alyvia Esq
The Family Service Center on Washington Street is not grand. It is not an advertisement of elaborate service and goods that are provided to the community; it is not a front for a company or church that is simply there to say that “yes indeed, they are a charity and they help people.� In reality, it is nondescript, easy to miss, and yes, a bit dilapidated. Marked by a blue sign, the Service Center is located in the Washington Plaza. The inside is simple too, nothing magnificent, but effective and efficient. It is run through the Washington Avenue Christian church- it is not even its own company- relies on volunteers like us to serve hundreds of families and ultimately thousands of people in the Amarillo community. There are two principal areas of operation on the days that goods are distributed: clothes and food. There is a decentsized collection of hand-me-down clothes in the FSC, offered for sale much in the same way a thrift shop sells clothes, but for one key difference: in order to shop here, one must have a verification card to verify that they are allowed to purchase from the shop. The kitchen works a bit differently. Food is packed in family bags and includes everything from milk to peanut butter to deodorant to cake. Bags are organized,
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SERVICE
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packed and distributed to the recipient according to the size of their family. An odd quirk applies to this kitchen: in absence of milk in the bag, the kitchen instead provides an excess of other goods, including full sized cakes and extra food from other bins. The process is smooth and orderly, serving up to 16,000 people a year. The Randall Key Club is a frequent volunteer group for the Family Service Center, and it has been said time and time again by various staff members that we are one of their favorite groups to work with. We have been said to invite “a spirit of kindness and giving that just lights up the whole place!� Our values are reflected in our work: we are consistent and careful about the operation, making sure that each order is fulfilled to perfection and doing our best to aid in the relief of the needy people that the FSC services. We bring along the joy of serving that is absolutely vital to the operation and success of any charity. We are fulfilling the Objects mentioned in the Key Club pledge in serving our community and working together. We are improving the experiences of the other volunteers involved, and we are bringing the goodness that our Club embodies back to our society.
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“We are unique in our characters and our priorities and this has only served to better not only the lives of those we serve, but also our own. We are certainly doing an excellent job of “building our home, school, and community,” and I hope that this only improves in the future.” - Alyvia Esquibel in “Packing Excellence”
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UPCOMING EVENTS RANDALL KEY CLUB
UNICEF Boxes—all month long! 5—St. Joseph’s School Carnival, 126pm 7,8—Snak Pak 4 Kids, 4-5:30 9—Ronald McDonald House, 5-6:30 19—Hillside Elementary Fall Carnival, 1:30-4 19—Arden Road Fall Festival, 5-7:30 Gene Howe Folders every Monday Washington Family Service Center every 1st and 3rd Thursday Don’t forget meetings every Monday during Flex! 13
OFFICER INFORMATION
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President
District Governor
Payton Brookshire (806) 670-0085
Ashna Patel governor@tokeyclub.com
Vice President
District Secretary
Elgin Godinez (580) 713-3460
Kareenna Patel secretary@tokeyclub.com
Parliamentarian
District Treasurer
Molly Sheffield (806) 679-3748
Katherine Chao treasurer@tokeyclub.com
Historian
District Editor
Abigail Davis (806) 640-2059
Vivan Thai editor@tokeyclub.com
Editor
Convention Liaison
Emily Klein (806) 290-7474
Dillion Grisham cl@tokeyclub.com
Recording Secretary
Lieutenant Governor
Addyson Reimer (806) 341-7597
Enrique Mata (806) 670-4953
Membership Secretary
Regional Advisor
Layla Clark (806) 567-8794
Olin Norrid (806) 679-7565
PARTNERSHIPS! Thank you for supporting our club!
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This month’s featured photo: