A Short Tale from the March of Dimes
The Monthly Newsletter of the Stuyvesant H.S. Key Club
Volume 8 Issue 8
May, 7, 1999
Greetings fellow Key Clubbers! OK, I know you guys have all had enough of me screaming at you at all those meetings. Don't worry, I'll be gone in a week. But, before I bid farewell, I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the jobs all of you have done in this past year. From our fundraisers, to our walks and weekly events, both new and returning members have pitched in, helping the needy everywhere that they went. It's been great being a leader in Key Club, and I wish the cabinet of next year double the amount of success that we have had this year. Under the leadership of Wai-Ping and Alan, with the saviness (is that a word?) that Kenneth has, and Cindy's creativity, Key Club is bound to improve and thrive. I hope that all of you have found a great time in every corner that you turned, and I wish that all of you will come along for the ride next year. Have fun, whatever you do, and I hope to see you around!
Michelle : Þ New Cabinet Co-President Alan Chu Phone: (718)539-6343 E-mail: DoggyChu@aol.com Contact me for general info about projects and Key Club
Secretary Kenneth Fung Phone: (718)891-3982 E-mail: Blizard21@aol.com Contact me for submissions to the Locksmith. Also if you need a PROJECT REPORT FORM or other forms to fill out.
Co-President Wai-Ping Chim Phone: (718)969-9825 E-mail: OneWPC@aol.com Contact me for general info about projects and Key Club
Treasurer Cindy Lin Phone: (718)268-8890 E-mail: Chylz928@aol.com Contact me about dues and fundraising. Come to me for raffle books or to give in raffle money.
“Caring - Our Way of Life.”
Saving Lives at the March of Dimes by Heather Chin
by Wei Liao "PENCILS, GET YOUR PENCILS." This is what you would have heard if you had come to the March of Dimes two weeks ago on April 24. Yes, we were giving out pencils, and there were boxes and boxes of them. Of course we also had more important things to do like giving out cups of orange juice and Florida Cuisine pamphlets. You're probably thinking, so what? Well, you might not know it, but giving out pencils and pamphlets is very hard work. You have to be assertive yet still friendly. You don't want to seem mean and pushy to people. But then, if you want them to take what you're giving, you've got to stand in the middle of the road and refuse to back down. A special award of assertiveness should be given to our official sticker girl* for the day. She actually chased after a taxi waving a sheet of stickers because she was supposed to give an orange (the fruit) sticker to everyone who passed by (how much of this is actually true, you will have to ask me in person). Anyway, the orange juice was doing okay, but the pencils and the pamphlets were going slow. Many of us had to beg people to take them (well, a few of us). Towards the end, we still had a lot of pamphlets left, but we were running low on the pencils. That's when we realized that we probably shouldn't have let previous passing walkers take handfuls each. We also had an excess of orange juice. We attempted to give them away to random people on the street after the walk. They refused because they didn't trust us enough (but we're Key Clubbers!). We had a lot of fun at the March of Dimes but the highlight of the day was when a few of us chased a fellow key club member* twice around the block, threatening to give him a hair cut. Two of us were going to pin him down and the other was going to go snip-snip at his hair. Much to our disappointment, we didn't succeed. Well, I said that this was going to be short. For a more complete and hopefully more serious narration, read Heather's article. And thus ends my tale. Hope you have been somewhat entertained. *names not mentioned because permission was not granted by persons at the time this was written.
Today, Sunday, April 26, thousands of people from all over the country gather to participate in the nationwide event called the March of Dimes: WalkAmerica. This walk is held annually to raise money to help cure diseases in small children. Starting around seven o’ clock in the morning, volunteers from all walks of life begin arriving at allotted checkpoint stations along the walkers’ route. Stuyvesant High School Key Clubbers are stationed at Checkpoint 2 at the corner of Lexington Ave. & 53 St., along with many other school organizations. We set to work at a table pouring orange juice, opening boxes of pencils, and arranging cookbook booklets. Key Clubber Alice Cao gives orange-shaped tickers to the early walkers. We get things ready until the first walkers arrive. The first signs of the walkers begin at approximately 9:00 AM. Individual volunteers grab whatever they can get a hold of and wait for the walkers to arrive. Then, the fun part begins. We work alongside other volunteers, distributing various things to the walkers: Devil Dogs, donuts, cookbooks, pencils, and stickers. We call out our “wares” to the walkers, sometimes with a catchy of comical phrase. It is as if we are in one of those ancient markets where vendors call out their products amid the hustle and bustle of people shopping. Finally, there are no more more runners to service. It is only 10:30 AM, but most people have already passed the second checkpoint. It is time to clean-up. We all clear up the mess on the street and tables. We take down signs and pack up remaining items (most of the are cookbooks and health pamphlets, not the food). Whew! Everything is over. It is time to go home. Thus ends a fun-filled day spent saving babies’ lives at the March of Dimes: WalkAmerica.
— Key Club Motto
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Calendar of Events:
May 16: Come to the annual AIDS Walk to help raise money for AIDS research. You can help out by getting sponsors and walking or by helping the organizers setup. May 20-22: Come to the Lighthouse POSH Sale to help raise money for the blind. Volunteers can work as cashiers or as runners who transport items between rooms. Mondays and Tuesdays: Help out at the Police Athletic League by assisting kids with their homework and playing with them as well. This falls under the Governor’s Project. Wednesdays and Thursdays: Meet up with fellow Momentum team members after school on either day to go to the Momentum sites, where you’ll prepare desserts for AIDS patients. No culinary experience necessary. Saturdays: Lend a hand at Bowery Mission Soup Kitchen: serve lunch to the community’s homeless, help prepare meals, sort donations and usher patrons to their dining seats. This is, and probably will continue to be, one of most popular events.
Hey KCers! This is Bob Yin, your art committee head. Soon, we will order special Stuyvesant HS Key Club t-shirts so that we can be identified at our many events. These shirts will bring more unity to the club. They will be made available only to members so we need to come up with an original idea for the front and back of the shirt... We have already decided the front: it will be "Stuyvesant Key Club" in graffiti bubble letters. However, the back of the shirt is still undecided... These are two ideas we have so far for the back of the shirt: IDEA #1: "Caring, our way of life" "Dedication and service to school and community" "(Other corny mottoes)" Then at the bottom is the punchline: (Corny, aren't we) IDEA #2 (a list of KC events): -Police Athletic League -Momentum Soup Kitchen -Bowery Mission -Silver Lake Nursing Home IDEA # 3: This is up to the members. if u have any ideas for the back of this t-shirt, please reply to me at BOBOYIN@aol.com. P.S. If u liked idea #1, then please try to come up with corny mottoes we can use for the shirt.
Don’t forget too check out the Stuyvesant Key Club website at: htttp://www.stuy.edu/clubs/keyclub/index.shtml If you have any questions or comments, talk to King Larry Mak, or e-mail him at MakAtak@bigfoot.com
We have a new project called the Chinatown Clean-up in which volunteers attempt to make Chinatown cleaner by picking up trash and by talking to store owners about littering, as well. We are still determining the logistics of the project, but we know it will be held during the summer. Knowledge of Chinese is not necessary. Anyone who is interested should contact the Cabinet.
Just a reminder: We are still looking for committee chairs for the upcoming year. Anyone who is interested in taking a greater leadership role in Key Club should contact the Cabinet immediately.