Keeping Philly Warm: Conestoga collects coats
2017: Year in Review
See page 2.
See page 7.
THE Conestoga High School, Berwyn PA
Volume 68 No. 3
December 19, 2017
Spoke.news
CHARITY WATCH
Where are your donations going this holiday season?
Elizabeth Billman/The SPOKE
Giving season: Sophomores Maddie Shine and Alex Gurski drop off donations in the main lobby for the 'Stoga Big Give. The yearly collection of holiday drives and fundraisers during the holiday season first began in the 1990s.
By Claire Guo & Audrey Kim
Co-Student Life Editor & Opinion Editor
This is sophomore Claire Overton’s second year donating to the Peer Mediation’s Stocking Drive. Additionally, Overton is organizing a Cookie Drive in community service club Key Club this winter to give cookies to those in elderly homes and to Plato’s Food Closet. Giving to charity "lifts your heart because you know it’s going to someone who needs it,” Overton said. “You’re helping someone out and it brings a smile to both you and who you’re helping.” In 2017, the total charitable donations in the US peaked at $390 billion, delivered by 63 million American volunteers in one and a half
million nonprofit organizations, according to philanthropy publication Giving USA’s annual report. As holiday season rolls in, so does the message of giving back. According to the Network for Good, an organization which distributes donations to charities through the internet, nearly one-third of nonprofit donations occur in December. Twelve percent of annual donations are given in the last three days of the year. The spending trend is no different in the Tredyffrin/Easttown District. Organized by Peer Mediation since the 1990s, the ’Stoga Big Give in December brings together the fundrais-
ers and drives of different student organizations around the school, including Student Council’s Toys for Tots drive and Peer Mediation’s Salvation Army drive. And of the over 100 clubs at Conestoga, more than 40 are related to community service or tied to larger charities. With the rise in donations, instances of fund mismanagement have also been brought to light. In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General sued four self-proclaimed cancer charities, which have raised $187 million since the 1980s. However, FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection found that only 3% of donations went to help actual
Class assemblies tackle teen issues
Maddie Lamonica/The SPOKE
Creative approach: Comedian and motivational speaker Matt Bellace engages students and teachers in an interactive activity. Bellace hoped to educate students on substance abuse through the use of comedy.
Maddie Lamonica Business Manager
Within the past month, three speakers have visited Conestoga to discuss the serious subjects of substance abuse and mental health with the students. “Anxiety and depression are on the rise and need to be addressed on all fronts,” said Misty Whelan, assistant principal and coordinator of the assemblies. “When somebody can personally speak, hopefully we can touch the lives of students to say 'you are not alone in dealing with this.’” On Nov. 29, comedian and motivational speaker Dr. Matt Bellace spoke to the freshmen
and sophomore classes about substance abuse prevention and the benefits of natural highs. Bellace has been traveling the United States and Canada as a professional speaker and stand-up comedian for over 20 years. He is the author of “A Better High,” a book in which he explores the four major natural highs: laughing, running, helping and loving. In addition, he co-wrote the National Geographic Series “This or That” and appeared regularly on truTV’s “World’s Dumbest.” “Young people are used to being lectured to and having adults use scare tactics. As a parent, I totally get why this happens. I just know from experience that the same message will reach a wider
audience with humor,” Bellace said. “It makes the message less intimidating too. Look at all the funny news shows that present heavy information through jokes. It helps it go down a lot easier.” The hour-long assembly consisted of Bellace sharing his family’s struggles with substance abuse and the physiological benefits of natural highs as opposed to chemical ones. He also engaged the audience through a number of activities in which students and teachers participated. The assembly “was different than most others I have seen. I think his funny approach definitely made it more enjoyable and everyone actually listened,” freshman Patrick Hoey said.
On Dec. 7, Drew Bergan and Katya Palsi presented to the junior and senior classes on the importance of healthy relationships, as they pertain to mental health. Unlike Bellace’s humorous approach, Bergen and Palsi share their personal struggles with depression and anxiety to spread their message. “I think there are two different ways to present this information, both are unique but both are pretty effective,” Whelan said. Bergen and Palsi have traveled the country speaking as part of the Minding your Mind program (MYM), whose mission is to provide mental health education to youth. According to their website, through MYM’s educational programs, speakers deliver a message of inspiration and hope based on their shared journeys in coping with mental heath issues. They hope to reduce the stigma and destructive behaviors often associated with mental health issues and illnesses. “It was really cool to see people share such intimate stories with us,” junior Erin Braxton said. “I think people are often afraid to talk about mental health issues but they shouldn’t be.” Whelan hopes that these presentations helped to foster a safer school environment and that they encouraged students to speak up about these serious topics. Students "are not alone in dealing with personal issues and they really need to talk about it,” Whelan said. “I hope that these presentations make that easier for them.”
cancer patients. The single family that ran all four charities spent most of the donations on multi-million dollar salaries and private vacations. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website advised its readers to be “cautious of charity scams” and do research to “ensure that your donation will go to a reputable will go to a reputable organization that will use the money as promised.” As charity-giving reaches an alltime high, The Spoke decided to look into holiday drives and charities nearby and on a national level. continued on page 3
DiLella earns doctorate degree Brooke Deasy News Editor
Assistant Principal Anthony DiLella recently received an EdD, or doctor’s degree in education, specializing in educational leadership. Inspired by a building interest in research, he started to pursue the degree in June of 2014 at Neumann University, and was recognized for his achievement on Nov. 16. “I use a lot of data in my job (at Conestoga) and education is very data driven so I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to work in a degree program that really focused on data and research,” DiLella said. In order to receive his doctorate, Dilella had to earn 72 credits. He secured those credits by attending classes in areas such as educational leadership and research design. He was also required to present a study of his choosing, called a dissertation defense. Working towards the degree furthered DiLella’s knowledge as an educator. “(The process) gave me a lot of insight into leadership behaviors and how they affect different things. It also gave me a different lens to approach situations I have (at Conestoga) with students and teachers,” DiLella said. The information Dilella learned as part of Neumann’s program has already lended itself to his duties as asistant principal. “Completing this degree sharpened my attention to detail and also provided different problem-solving tools, which come
Neil Goldenthal/The SPOKE
A new chapter: Assistant Principal Anthony DiLella sits in the scheduling office. On Nov. 16, DiLella received an EdD specializing in educational research from Neumann University. in handy when creating unique schedules for 2,200 students,” DiLella said. DiLella is proud of the time and energy he devoted to the program, and of accomplishing a challenging goal. “Like anything, the process seemed daunting at the beginning. For me, it’s another example of how if you set a goal for yourself and you work hard for that goal, you can accomplish it regardless of anything else,” DiLella said. “I always ask kids at high school graduation how they feel about (completing high school), and they say, ‘I finished and I accomplished it and I did it.’ I think it’s that same type of feeling.”