2014 December/2015 January Tex-O-Key

The Tex-O-Key

TEXAS OKLAHOMA DISTRICT KEY CLUB

VOLUME 3 EDITION 4 tokeyclub.com

2014 December & 2015 January

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CONTENTS

❝TAKE A LOOK INSIDE.❞

❝FIND THE FUN IN SERVICE.❞

Governor’s Report

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From International

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K-Family

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CMN

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Service Projects

"Rudolph, the RedNosed Reindeer" turned 50 this year!

Alisa Vo, Mustang

❞ RIDDLES

Chionophobia is the fear of snow

Evelyn Thomas, West Brook

What do you call a gangsta snowman?

Answer on page 23!

Alisa Vo, Mustang

❞

Fall Training

FUN FACTS

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03 08

FUNSTUFF;

❞

Anh Ly, Manor New Tech Linh Nguyen, Garland

What is a snowman's favorite breakfast?

Answer on page 11!

EDITOR’S UPDATES & NEWS TOKeyClub.com Editor’s Blog T-O District Key Club Editors Text @TOEd to 512-982-9275

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An overall theme for each Tex-O-Key will be posted every 2 months on the TO website. Anyone may email me riddles & fun facts relating to the theme for +5 points if it is published in the Tex-O-Key!

Anyone may email me Key Club-related photos for +1 point per photo if it is published in the Tex-O-Key! Be sure to follow the criteria in the 2014-2015 Newsletters & Articles Guidelines. Cover photo by Cinco Ranch.

☆NOTE

EDITOR’S

Hey T-O Key Clubbers!

I hope your holiday breaks have been going fabulous! Be sure to stay warm and cozy during these chilly months.

This time of cheer is also impeccable for service. There are countless volunteer ser-

vices available during these days, so be sure to take advantage of such opportunities and spread the Holiday cheer.

With the end of the Holiday Season is the start of a new year. Remember to end this 2014 year with a BANG. Take time to reflect on the

numerous events, memories, and experiences within this past year.

Cheers to the new year and a new beginning!

Yours in Service,

Emily Zhao

GOVERNOR’S REPORT Happy New Year & Happy Holidays T-O District!

I hope you all are having an incredible holiday break! We are now at 13,000 members. Our goal is to be at 18,000 members before DCON, so encourage your friends and fellow club members to pay their dues.

Is your club excited for DCON? Registration will begin soon! We can not wait to take you all on a Service Adventure. If you have participated in the Eliminate Project or Children's Miracle Network, be sure to print out the District or Governor’s Project Completion forms, which are available on the district website at tokeyclub.com Have an amazing week, family!

Yours in Service,

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from your INTERNATIONAL

TRUSTEE

Greetings Texas-Oklahoma Key Clubbers, I hope you had a wonderful holiday and a happy new year! All of the funds for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF have been submitted thanks to your hard work. We would not be here today without the hard work and dedication of the Texas-Oklahoma District. Thank you for your commitment! Here is a message from our president, Maria, regarding Eliminate funds: "If we raise another US$80,000 from Key Club for @The Eliminate Project, members of the board and I will be kissing an Octopus in Detroit. Join me in the challenge and send in your funds! #elimin8 We will be saving or protecting more than 1.6 million lives."

Keep your eyes open for more information!

In January, the Key Club International Board will be meeting in Detroit, Michigan for our winter board meeting. We will be celebrating the 100th year anniversary of the very first Kiwanis Club, Detroit No. 1, with the Circle K International Board, Kiwanis International Board, and Kiwanis members from around the world. There is another opportunity to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Kiwanis with the entire Kiwanis Family! The 2015 Key Club International Convention will be held in Indianapolis, the headquarters of Kiwanis International, with the Circle K and Kiwanis International Conventions. There will be plenty of exciting events and activities for the whole Kiwanis Family. The triple international convention and 100th year anniversary of Kiwanis are truly once in a lifetime opportunities. I cannot wait to see you all there!

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you all at district convention. If you ever have any questions or need anything from me, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Thank you for your dedication to Key Club!

Yours in Service,

Barry Seng

from your INTERNATIONAL

PRESIDENT

Happy New Year!

It is crazy how quickly 2014 flew by! I think that as we get older, time passes faster and faster. That is why it’s important that we take advantage of the time we have left. Key Clubbers provide over 12 million hours of service each year, and it is obvious that we know how to spend our time well. We understand that time is precious and should be spent on not just ourselves, but others as well.

I ask that in 2015, we continue our passion for helping others. In addition to providing service to our communities, however, I plead that you hold fundraisers for the Eliminate Project. This project is giving us the chance to alter the course of history. We are providing life for those who would not have a chance to live. We are giving happiness to families who previously had death and sorrow in their futures. You, as a Key Clubber and a servant leader, have the chance to save families from the worst pain possible: the death of an innocent child.

Lead your clubs to raise money. Remind your classmates, school, family, and city that $1.80 saves a mother and her babies from losing a child. The child that you save could grow up and bring peace where there is war. That child could find the cure to cancer. He or she could also simply bring happiness to another person. That child could have children of his or her own and teach them to help others the way that someone did when they contributed to the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus. These positive impacts would have been possible only because you decided to make them possible. You decided to dedicate time, effort, and funds to save that child.

Think about the future, and realize the power you hold. Together, Key Club and the Kiwanis Fairly will ELIMINATE maternal and neonatal tetanus.

On behalf of Key Club International and our 270,000 members, I wish you a happy and successful 2015!

Yours in service,

VOLUNTEERING & HOLIDAYS &

By Hannah Le, Cypress Creek

It is a tad more than halfway through the first semester of school, and pretty soon oodles and boodles of holidays will occur. As a teenager, you are probably really excited for the festivities, but as a busy one that is committed to clubs like Key Club, you might also be thinking, "Oh geez. I only have like about two and a half inside hours and absolutely none for outside hours."

This sudden realization and panic is completely natural for a fellow Key Clubber to have, and it's all going to be okay because your officers, advisers, and sponsors for the club understand. They understand what it's like to be busy every weekend or to not be able to have a ride to certain events on certain dates, so it's okay, in fact, more than okay, to accept yourself for no matter what meager number of community service hours you have. You are you, and even more importantly, you are in Key Club, and that makes you stupendous, so love yourself. Seriously. Wallow in your self-love because you totally deserve it and because your local Key Club chapter loves you too.

Anyways, now that you feel better about your hours this semester, let's get over it. Like mentioned before, the holidays are coming up, meaning that YOUR biggest chances of volunteering and meeting your requirements are on their way. Getting hours is easy if you simply look at your calendar and block off a few days during your holiday break and if you sign up for community service events those days. During the weeks of Holiday break, you can easily find enough hours for the semester because food drives, meal cooking, and feasts are on every other street corner. Check out the locations your event coordinator gave you and be sure to sign up! All it takes is you to block off one or two days to meet your Key Club requirements. However, you must be sure to register for events early, so spots don't fill up too fast whenever you can go places. It is only polite to do so!

Happy Volunteering, and Happy Holidays!

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I Do Not Care The Beauty of Desperation

By Jessica Chiu, Plano West Senior My mind is white blankness.

It’s empty. Not in a way that I can’t process the intricacies of physics or the rhetorical strategies of Abigail Adams (although, sadly, pre-calculus is a different story), but in a way that I am thinking of nothing. My life is filled with complete apathy for things that I used to care about. Maybe its exhaustion, maybe its lethargy, but I am convinced that my indifference is a bad thing. I used to care about practically anything - what people thought of me, whether my friends were happy, whether I was happy. Now, I just sit in complete and utter vacivity. We perpetuate the idea that ‘not caring’ is desired. Now, I’m not afraid of heartbreak, of rejection, of dying even. To be unafraid, isn’t that a good thing?

I don’t think so. I think there are things that we should care about, and I think caring is an important facet of life. One of my friends used to ask me “Will it matter in five years? Ten years?” as a justification for dismissing altercations. I’ve heard anecdotal variations of “Some people have cancer! Some people are dying! Do you think your problem matters?”

My answer is yes. I don’t think the problems we face on a daily basis are irrelevant; I do think they matter.

Maybe they matter a little, or maybe they matter a lot. But they matter, so we must care. Not caring is what we’ve been taught to do our entire lives. We try to make it look like we don’t try in school. We praise the people at school that ‘don’t care’ and ‘just wanna have fun.’ We want to receive reward without the work associated. We condemn things like desperation and being a ‘try-hard.’ We tell ourselves that we don’t care because it’s not important, but in

reality, I think we don’t care because we’re afraid of being hurt. But if we believe everything doesn’t matter, we live a life devoid of meaning.

That’s a legacy I’m not willing to leave behind.

Sometimes, I think people believe volunteering is a bad thing for the annoying do-gooders. ‘Why should we care about people that we don’t even know?’ ‘Why does it matter if people are poor when we are rich?’ ‘I don’t care about them!’

I guess the reason I actually care about volunteering is because it makes me feel like I can actually change someone’s life. And then I realize that there are people out there that still feel alone and unimportant, and apathy and negligence towards them leads to a community with even more unrest and dissolution. But trying to show them that they are of the same significance is something that grows and actually creates community. And I think helping people can teach us lessons of gratitude and humility because we realize that we’re somehow all the same.

We’re all trying to make it and be someone that matters.

Caring about people you don’t know makes you realize that this world is larger than life, that there are so many things for us to do.

In the end, trying hard and being desperate to make a change isn’t something that should have negative connotation. They show perseverance, ability to commit to passion, and maturity to handle extenuating circumstances. Caring is something that’s often overlooked, and it’s importance is downplayed. But I think that there’s nothing more practical than being a try-hard, and really, there’s

nothing more beautiful than desperation.

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A RECAP

FALL TRAINI

ING

10 Cheryl Li , 11 Sharon Zhou, 12 Jessie Daniel Photo Credit: Cypress Fair

13 Grace Heineman, 14 Alisa Prachan, 15 Deepa Muthusamy

Wonderful World 10

OF SERVICE

By Cheryl Li

, James Taylor

Last month, at Division 3’s Fall Training Conference, I learned that Key Club truly is a wonderful world of service. Regan, Rachel, Amy, Ivanna, and Caitlin did a phenomenal job of creating and presenting useful forums. Plus, the day included numerous games of Matchmaker, an amazing service project, and a touching message by keynote speaker Jennifer Tuggle.

When my school arrived, I was overwhelmed by anxious anticipation. After a long summer, I was ready to revitalize my Key Club spirit and see everyone from DCON. I could tangibly experience the friendly and joyous atmosphere from the moment we stepped through the doors. I saw a collection of familiar Disney characters- Russell from Up, Snow White, Jack Sparrow, Mickey, Esmeralda; Key Clubbers had really embraced the spirit of the occasion. The first forums, led by the LTGs, began soon enough; they detailed the duties of different officer positions: President and Vice Presidents, Secretaries, Editors, and Treasurers. I attended the President and Vice President forums and managed to squeeze into a packed room.

The forum presented was not only hilarious, but also extremely informational. It gave advice on how to find service projects and how to properly manage time so that you don’t find yourself having a mental breakdown at 2AM. Time management is a HUGE problem for everyone, and prioritizing can be applied to areas in school other than Key Club. Additionally, I got to meet officers from other schools and learn how they run their clubs. Just from listening to this first forum and conversing with those around me, I learned a lot about Key Club.

Before lunch, there was a service project in the cafeteria. We were to make birthing mats out of plarn, or plastic bags. These would serve as a sanitary and safe place to give birth for mothers in third world countries. It was an amazing service project and, although seemingly simple, would make an amazing impact.

After lunch, Division 3 got to listen to Jennifer Tuggle, past Division 3S LTG and current Circle K International Texas-Oklahoma District Treasurer, talk about her experiences with Key Club. It was absolutely inspirational and profound.

The entire Fall Training Conference was magical and provided everyone with lots of information. I think I can speak for all my members when I say I realized that we are truly lucky to be part of such a phenomenal organization and loving family.

MAGIC AT THE FTC

By Sharon Zhou, Cypress Woods Walking through the doors of Cornerstone Academy on a bright and sunny Saturday morning, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at this year’s FTC. All that I knew was my friend Rachel Iselin, one of the Lieutenant Governors in charge of planning the event, had promised me an “awesomely fantastic Disney-inspired day!” As I entered the building, I was immediately greeted with the sight of a plethora of Minnie Mouses, princesses, and the occasional Stitch. A bit overwhelmed, I signed-in at the table and put my name tag on my shirt, all the while scanning the crowd for anyone I knew so I could figure out what I was supposed to do. I quickly found and joined my fellow Wildcats and followed them into the auditorium, where we learned where we were supposed to go for forums.

After the morning forums and a lunch of pizza and soda, we found ourselves in the auditorium once again for a presentation on the Eliminate project. As everyone slowly gathered in the auditorium, the Lieutenant Governors kept everyone entertained with Disney songs playing in the background. When “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan came on, the whole auditorium suddenly burst into an impromptu sing-a-long. And then suddenly, the magic happened. Someone shouted,

Answer: Frosted Flakes!

“Do a Frozen sing-a-long!” Immediately, they searched Youtube for a “Let It Go” sing-a-long and started playing it. Every single Key Clubber in the room stood up and started belting out the lyrics with Idina Menzel as they suddenly transformed into the Key Club Choir. As a unit, every person threw their hands up along with Elsa as she declared that the “cold never bothered me anyway!”

All of a sudden, in the midst of singing and taking a video of the phenomenon, I felt extremely proud and honored to be a part of Key Club. The sense of family and togetherness that was an integral part of the organization was magnified in those three minutes of singing. Somehow, in the midst of being horribly out of tune, everyone in that auditorium had connected with one another on a deeper level, and we were all united by our love for volunteering, our willingness to wake up early on a Saturday morning to meet other Key Clubbers, and our enthusiasm for all things Disney. As the song ended, everyone cheered and high fived each other on a job well done, and the magical moment was broken; however, as I saved the video onto my phone, I knew that I would never be forgetting such a powerful bond any time soon.

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THE FTC EX

By Jessie Daniel, West Brook On a Saturday morning, the West Brook Key Club officers all carpooled in four cars to PNG High School for our Fall Training Conference. Most of the officers didn't know what to expect, due to the fact that we'd never been before. Only the officers who were in positions last year had gone to one. When we showed up, we were welcomed by the royal purple that covered the school. We journeyed thorough the halls and marched up the stairs to the PNG Key Club room.

Immediately, West Brook's wonderful secretary spotted a box of doughnuts, and asking everyone in her power if they were available for West Brook to eat. "Of course!" they said, and a smile erupted on her face. She ran to receive her breakfast delights, and then made her way to find a seat and prepare for the meeting. Everyone sat down, and were surprised to see that our District Governor decided to make a visit! Kaitlyn Wilson welcomed everyone to the conference, and then Priya Amin, our Lt. Governor, proceeded with introducing the meeting. She showed us videos about the Children's Miracle Network and the Eliminate Project. After a few more slides in her presentation, she split us up into forums, presidents and vice presidents, secretaries, editors and treasurers, and historians.

After the forum, which went by pretty fast, the secretaries that were there discussed what their clubs do and don't know, to help everyone else. PNG brought up envelope decoration, during which West Brook showed their latest envelope that Samuel said, "...belong[ed] in an art gallery."

After all their discussions, officers from all the clubs went downstairs to help PNG with a project. We helped put spirit colored table cloths on tables for their freshman orientation. Clubbers had to walk long sheets of purple paper to tables all over their cafeteria, tape then down, and straighten them out to look neat. The most difficult part of the project was that we only had three rolls of Scotch tape, making it nearly impossible to share it all with the countless tables that were there. We designated people to rip the tape up into workable pieces, one of them being Kaitlyn Wilson, and finished the project with extra time to take a group picture!

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XPERIENCE

By Grace Heineman, Central Our FTC was held on September 27th, 2014. The theme was Mardi Gras “Let the good times roll, with service.” Our Lieutenant Governor Natalie Heineman did a great job in making our FTC memorable. Natalie called the conference to order and then spoke about her divisional project, which has to do with suicide prevention. She gave the clubs markers and paper and told them to write cards and pass them out in their schools so that the receiver of the card may know that they are loved and cherished.

After a good variety of speakers who covered topics such as March of Dimes, Children’s Miracle Network, and UNICEF, we were split up into our officer positions. I went to the president/vice president forum led by Governor Wilson. At this forum, we learned about many ways that we could drum up membership. The information was very useful, because our club wants to get as much of the school as possible interested in Key Club. She also gave us the idea of a member of the month, a concept our board members have been tossing around a while. We decided to adopt this award in the coming months to encourage our members and create a little friendly competition amongst them. One of the presidents in the forum asked how you could get an officer to start doing their job, a problem most of us have in our clubs. Governor Wilson recommended that we encourage the officer, help them, and maybe make them sign a contract. If they continue not to fulfill their duties, then we must terminate them. I learned the process about how to get a fellow officer impeached, a tip most handy to our club.

Our FTC was full of learning and knowledge and we commend LTG Natalie Heineman and all who helped her make the conference such a great success.

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FTC

STC

By Alisa Prachan, LTG Division 1N

As a Lieutenant Governor, we are responsible to host a Fall Training Conference for our divisions and also for both officers and members to learn more knowledge about leadership, service, and Key Club itself. Nevertheless, we often tend to do our Fall Training Conferences with our fellow Lieutenant Governors from the region. However this Key Club year, Region 7 decided to be little bit different and decided to pull off a Spring Training Conference.

Not even a month into our term, my fellow Lieutenant Governors and I were pretty much stressed as we wanted this training conference to be perfect. Actually, the best way to describe STC is “overwhelming.” Our late night preparations for the day was all worth it as the conference was a major success!

Our STC’s theme was ‘let’s get wild about service!” And who would ever thought that it somehow ended up to be kind of like our DCON theme for this upcoming year in the aspect of the attire and journey of service. From seeing your typical Key Club shirt to seeing a human giraffe, you could see the diversity amongst Key Clubbers.

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The best thing about STC was seeing the impact it made on the Key Clubbers.

They soaked in all of information we were giving them: ideas on how to run their new positions, fundraising ideas and overall the history of Key Club. We opened their eyes to help them realized the impact they were making as individuals and as an organization. At the moment, they saw the bigger picture of Key Club International and the impact that we are making, not just in our communities, but across the world.

MIRACLES MADE On the morning of September 20th, I donned a yellow dress, fixed my white collar, and tied on a big red bow. That day I was not Deepa Muthusamy, high school junior. I was Snow White, Disney princess. Now, I'm not the type to play dress up or wait for my true Prince Charming. In fact, I loathe flowing dresses, silk ribbons, and all things girly. Nothing could change my mind about that. Well, maybe one thing could- Key Club. Only a could cause as noble as Key Club and an occasion as exciting as Fall Training Conference convince me to step out of my comfort zone in such a way (and make me glad I did!).

I stepped into the school (delicately, so as not to trip on my length gown) where Fall Training Conference was held this year and was met with the sight of characters from Fro-

zen, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Finding Nemo, Up, and more. Disney, the theme of this

year's convention, had seemed to have exploded in one building, its familiar faces coming to life before my eyes.

After signing in, we went to the auditorium to hear from the LTGs and our governor then went off to our forums. I attended the editors' forum which I found to be really comprehensive and useful. Key Club, I have come to realize, is so complex. It felt reassuring to know that I knew the nooks and crannies of its intricate system and was performing the necessary

duties as an editor. I also attended LTG Rachel Iselin's form about Major Emphasis Programs. To me, these are what Key Club is all about. They Major Emphasis Programs are international, serious causes Key Club supports and are all about saving lives and improving medical care. I felt this forum was so necessary, for many Key Clubbers aren't aware of these projects that are immensely important and central to Key Club service. Overall, the forums were great, and I had a fantastic time learning with my fellow members.

Back in the auditorium, we heard from a guest speaker who really brought meat to the meaning of Key Club by sharing her past experiences with the organization and describing the importance of building a legacy, played a trivia game about Eliminate, raised over $500 in one minute in a rapid fire donation competition, did raffles, saw the LTGs get pied in the face (and one of them kiss a frog!), and were given division awards. All in all, the day was super entertaining and fun. FTC was also important to me because, though I had known Key Club was an international organization, for the first time, I grasped really how large Key Club was and felt connected to those other divisions in our area. Fall Training Conference was a blast, and I'm looking forward to it next year!

By Deepa Muthusamy , James Taylor

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19 Harmony School of Advancement, 20 Nithure Rema Photo Credit: Burleson

21 Robinson & Carter, 22 Kendall Kyle, 23 Grace Teoh

K-FAMILY A UNIT

K-FAMILY 101

❝TAKE A LOOK AT OUR FAMILY TREE.❞

CIRCLE-K FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

AKTION CLUB

KEY CLUB FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

BUILDERS CLUB

FOR ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

FOR ADULTS

KIWANIS

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FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

K-KIDS

RELATIONS The relationship between a Key Club and its sponsoring Kiwanis is one that is built with commitment and dependence. The sponsoring Kiwanis provides guidance and support for its Key Club to flourish and improve. By paving the way for the Key Club, it allows members to develop and gain new experiences. The Kiwanis-family relation is vital for the prosperity of the Key Club. By having an ongoing, enthusiastic mentorship, it will be the foundation of a triumphant Key Club. The Kiwanis Club is like the soil nurturing for a seed, the Key Club. It will provide nutrient for continuous knowledge and be the base for maintaining growth and development. As the soil, the Kiwanis Club is the support system of the Key Club. The constant bond that is improved and formed through close interactions between both clubs. Key Clubs are able to succeed and obtain better comprehension through the influence and advice of the sponsoring Kiwanis. The Kiwanis Club is always there to direct the Key Club back on its track and lead it to success. With an establish connection between these clubs, more members will join Key Club and a greater amount of students will be given an opportunity to experience these life changing events. As a result, the bond between Kiwanis Club and Key Club is essential for the success and establishment of these organizations. It is a bond that is formed through striving towards a common goal and interconnected relations.

INTERACTIONS Both the Kiwanis Club and Key Club interact to create a lasting bond by having a distinct relation. The Kiwanis Club is able to provide information, council, and make various recommendation for the Key Club. To build a secure and strong connection, the Kiwanis Club may host co-sponsoring projects, social events, etc. These organizations are able to support and assist each other by fulfilling the responsibilities that are required and maintaining contact. Awards and recognition are given as an incentive and a way to reward the accomplishments of a Key Club. It is vital that both the Kiwanis Club and Key Club maintain updated with information about events, changes, etc. Without constant communication, there will not be a structured system. Kiwanians should also visit the Key Club at every meeting and vice versa. Achieving this is another method for a Key Club to grow and develop alongside their sponsoring Kiwanis.

By Harmony School of Advancement

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My First Kiwanis Meeting

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Before this year, my club didn’t really communicate with our sponsoring Kiwanis Club very often. We weren’t very close to them and our members probably didn’t even know what a Kiwanis Club was at all, much less attend their meetings. That all changed this summer though!

As the treasurer of my club, I had to turn in fundraiser money to Kiwanis because I couldn’t deposit the money myself. Now that it was summer, it was impossible for me to just hand the money to my Kiwanis advisor at one of our meetings at school, so I had to go to a Kiwanis meeting to turn it in.

Not wanting to attend the meeting myself, I had brought my club’s secretary with me. It would be both of our first times attending a Kiwanis meeting and I was quite nervous for particularly no reason at all. Kiwanis was just like Key Club, right?

When we got there the Kiwanians were very surprised, but still warmly greeted us. I hadn’t even met most of them before, but I felt like I connected with them instantly. Each of them seemed very close to one another, and I could feel strong waves of friendship within all of them. I was jealous that our club wasn’t as close as they were, and I was inspired to strengthen our club’s bond like theirs.

The Kiwanians warmly welcomed us in their meeting. They passed around their Hat of Thanks and each member said what they were thankful for. Not knowing what to say, I just said I was thankful that we had such a supportive Kiwanis Club sponsoring our club.

Which I was truly thankful for, but that thanks grew much larger because of the meeting.

They praised us for coming and sending monthly reports to them because we never had sent one in before. I felt so flattered that they were saying all these nice things when they barely even knew us.

As the meeting went on, I hung onto every word that was said. It was so interesting to watch a group of people that weren’t just officers, actually giving out opinions for this and that. Their discussions were a lot better than the ones we held in our silent meetings.

The Kiwanians even asked us about our opinions and we gladly contributed them to the meeting.

The Kiwanis Club makes me feel so much more passionate about improving our club. I hope you too will attend your sponsoring Kiwanis Club’s meetings and get inspired to strengthen your club!

By Nithure Rema, Burleson

A MOTHER & HER CHILD

By Jonathon Robinson & Laura Carter, Sulphur The relationship between both clubs isn’t just business. Kiwanis is the mother of the K-Family and Key Club is her first child. Kiwanis has helped Key Club walk, talk, and expand into the global organization that it is. Key Club has its own children: the many students and sponsors with a passion for what they do. And even parents need help from their child sometimes, which is exactly what Key Club does when Kiwanis is need of help. They both support each other because they’re family. We have brother and sisters in the K-Family and we all try to accomplish one thing; show others that we care. We as Key Clubbers often forget about Kiwanis and how our relationship needs to grow. We need to nurture a relationship in which we are familiar with each other and feel like a family, not just co-workers. If Kiwanis and Key Club support each other in their projects we can truly make a difference in the world.

The working relationship between the two of us is not a competition; it is simply two groups of people who are working for a common goal.

Our goal as Key Club members is to develop Student leadership. When we graduate high school

we will enter the big world and new can take our student leadership into everything we do; such as joining Kiwanis.

Key Club has so much to offer us. Kiwanis is our mentors in our leadership walk. They often reward us when they see we have been doing well. Thanks to our local Kiwanis clubs, we are very successful. Kiwanis can be so much more than a group of people if you and your club reach out to them. Without some form of interaction, you can’t have support. Kiwanis has always been there for Key Club, they’re family! Both Kiwanis and Key Club interact by attending each other’s meetings, helping host fundraisers, helping with donations of clothes to the people who need them, cleaning up parks, and many other things. The way they support each other also falls into the many interactions they share. Simply being there is support for each other. However, it goes even deeper than that. I would strongly encourage your home club to reach out to your sponsoring Kiwanis club and start to develop a strong connection with them because in the end it will pay off.

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By Kendall Kyle, Jersey Village Recently, our club has been trying to charter a Builders Club at one of the middle schools that feeds into us. We’re super excited now to have paperwork in hand, ready to get it started for real, but it has been a very long and frustrating process. It began about two years ago when our (now past) president and I started discussing how much fun it would be and how great it would be for both our club and the middle school to have a Builders Club. So we began, never realizing how much work it would actually take just to get it started.

We presented the idea to the rest of our club and our Kiwanis advisor and they loved it! It was amazing and really encouraging that they shared in our excitement. We decided immediately we would do whatever it took to do this.

After exchanging several emails and meeting with the principal of the middle school we thought we were all set to get the club started.

We had met with all the right people, found a teacher sponsor, everything. That’s unfortunately when things started to take a turn for the worse.

The principal, who while not responding extremely fast, had not been uncommunicative or uninterested, abruptly stopped responding to any emails. The amazing teacher who had agreed to sponsor this new Builders Club discov-

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ered that she was moving. After almost a year of planning suddenly it seemed like all was lost, but Key Club has taught me one very important thing, to never give up on something you’re passionate about. So, despite everything falling apart, we kept trying.

We looked into other middle schools in the area and tried desperately to keep ourselves and our clubs encouraged despite our setbacks.

It was time consuming and very discouraging at points but we never gave up. Earlier this year it came to light that the principal at that original middle school was moving to a new school and that the school would have a new principal. I quite literally jumped for joy at the second chance this afforded us.

We quickly set up a meeting with the new principal. She had just come from another high school and already knew the amazing qualities a Key Club brought out in students. She had absolutely no reservations in inviting us in to do whatever we needed to do to get this Builders Club started. Key Club has taught me that if you persevere you can do anything. Even when a situation seems hopeless, when everything you’ve planned has fallen apart, if you really believe and keep trying, you can truly accomplish anything.

BUILDING A NEW PATH

By Grace Teoh, Cypress Woods A couple of months ago, I applied for an officer position as a Builders Club Representative.

Before that, I didn’t know anything about Builders Club. I didn’t know what I would be doing, the responsibilities I would be holding, or the amount of time I would be spending due to this position. I originally wanted to be a Builders Club Representative because it was an officer position (and in high school, officer positions are sought after), but I also wanted to be more active in Key Club. I nervously waited for the day of the interviews and the day that I would find out whether or not I got the position. I didn’t realize how much I truly wanted the position until those long days of waiting.

When I found out I was one of the six people who got the position, I was elated and happy with the people I would be working with.

After attending several Builders Club meetings at Goodson Middle School, I quickly learned the duties of a Builders Club Representative. In addition to the responsibilities that I will hold next year, I learned many other qualities that will be needed in order to succeed in the future. I learned that I need to step up and be responsible in order to be a good leader. I need to manage my time more efficiently in order to run things smoothly, and I need to work with everyone in order to cooperate efficiently. Creativity is key when trying to keep members entertained. Being a Builders Club Representative has already taught me many traits that will help me, not just next year, but in the far future.

I hope that next year’s Builders Club will be just as successful as this year, if not even more.

I want to provide service projects

that the members will enjoy and activities that they will love. Growth and expansion of the club is another thing I want to strive to achieve; I want more members to join and be more active in their community. I would like Builders Club to be an organization that members will tell their friends about and encourage them to join. I hope that the members in Builders Club will want to join Key Club once they reach their high school years and continue in the K-Family.

Builders Club is going to be one of my top priorities next year. It will be a new path in my life that I look forward to devoting time to. I want to strive for success and make sure that the members do genuinely enjoy being a part of the club. I am looking forward to next year and where this position will lead me. I have learned so much from this year’s Builders Club Representatives, who have done an amazing job of leading me and my fellow new officers. I realize that I have big shoes to fill, but I am confident in my abilities to succeed in this position. Being a Builders Club Representative will teach me many things and lead a new path in my life, one that I am glad I chose to take.

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A CONTRIBUTION

CHILDREN’S MIR

26 Cassie McCoy, 27 Amandeep Kaur, 28 Steven Baringer Photo Credit: Jeff Ross

29 Kelsey Endari, 30 Sophia Woody, 31 Alondra Garcia

RACLE NETWORK

Festivities

for

CMN

By Cassie McCoy, Cascia Hall Preparatory

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What ever happened to kids going door to door in the neighborhood all dressed up shouting, “Trick or Treat”? I’ll tell you what; on October 26, 2014 they came to the First Annual Cascia Hall Fall Festival presented by Key Club. The Festival was a fundraiser that benefitted the Children's Miracle Network. Our Key Club officers wanted to find a way to incorporate the Governor’s Project into our club. We enlisted the help of other Cascia student organizations and groups such as STUCO, Theatre Club and Academic Bowl Team, to name a few. We held an incredible event for the children and families of the schools within our Tulsa Diocese. It was amazing to see the community come together to support the Children's Miracle Network! Hosting this event was so much fun as we met all of the children who arrived, all dressed up with parents in tow, ready to experience the fun of our first Halloween Trunk-or-Treat! Key Club members decorated their cars and dressed in friendly costumes and handed out tons of candy! If a child happened to forget their candy collection bag, we made sure to provide one so they would not miss out. Once they filled their bags they played in the Jupiter Jumps and joined in old-fashioned games galore. The little ones had an opportunity to play games such as Push the Pumpkin (a huge hit!) along with Pumpkin Bowling, a Halloween Candy Cake Walk and Football Toss along with many other games. We made sure to provide a food truck with delicious hamburgers from Brownies, a popular local restaurant known for their burgers and homemade root beer. As the sky began to darken and the games were winding down, there were two scheduled Halloween themed movies: “The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” for the youngest in the crowd and “Hocus Pocus” for the older kids.

After an evening of fun, costumes, games, and movies we were able to raise $515.00 for the Children’s Miracle Network and had a blast doing it! Everyone in attendance happily donated to the cause and were equally as happy to know that Cascia Hall Key Club was doing a great thing.

As our guests left for the evening many asked us to continue this new tradition which can only grow from this point forward.

PIE IT FOR THE CHILDREN "Let us be the ones who say we do not accept that a child dies every three seconds simply because he does not have the drugs you and I have. Let us be the ones to say we are not satisfied that your place of birth determines your right to life. Let us be outraged, let us be loud, let us be bold" - Brad Pitt.

Throughout our life, we take going to the doctor and getting medical treatment for granted and forget that there are many children in the world that do not have this leisure or who have diseases that are simply incurable. The Children's Miracle Network is one organization that takes these issues in account, and helps raise funds for several partner hospitals, medical research, and raises community awareness on children's health issues.

Jenks Key Club set up a "Pie in the Face" fundraiser to help raise proceeds that went to Saint Francis Children's Hospital, which is a partnering hospital of the Children's Miracle Network. During the event, ten teachers from the high school were chosen, and the student body was given the opportunity to pay to see one of their teachers get pied. The array of teacher varied from site administration to club and sport sponsors. The same was conducted using five freshmen teachers, although it was a separate fundraiser for the freshman. After the course of the week, two teachers with the most money where chosen to be pied. The winners to get pied included assistant principle Mr. Fox, and AP math teacher, Mr. Engle. The winner for the freshman academy was Ms. Morris, the freshman

Key Club sponsor. “When I found out that we were doing a fundraiser to help the Children's Miracle Network, I was ecstatic. I loved the idea of pieing a teacher in the face, because it allowed all the students to get involved with helping this great cause, too. I'm so happy knowing that we helped kids get the treatment they need to go out and live their life another day." - Kanjan Manohar.

In the following week, the teachers got an opportunity to pay to see their peers, pie Mr. Fox or Mr. Engle. After a whole week of bidding, Mrs. Langley bid to see Mrs. Sutton (who was the first runner up to get pied in the face) pie Mr. Engle. Mrs. Edwards was chosen to pie Mr. Fox in the face, after fellow English teacher bid upon her.

"Who knew Mrs. Sutton had such a great arm?

No one (especially the teacher she pied) saw it coming." - Allison Vincent.

The teachers got pied at the annual homecoming pep assembly, and freshman teachers were pied at the freshman assembly. In the end, an $892 was raised, to which Key Club added $108 from their funds, to make the ultimate donation be a total of $1000.

"In all reality, it was awesome seeing all of your hard work come to fruit and seeing your favorite teacher get pied in the face. We were able to help out children in need while having a good time." - Moin Nadeem.

By Amandeep Kaur, Jenks 27

Making Children Smile

By Steven Baringer, Sulphur As most of us know, our Governor Project for this year benefits the Children’s Miracle Network. We have had someone from our home club benefit from this project, so we can relate to it on a more personal level. When this member had surgery at the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Miracle Network was there to help. We have collected various items that we turned into Arts and Crafts Kits. They comprised of materials such as crayons, glitter, glue, giggly eyes, and pretty much anything else you can think of. On the CMN website, click on ‘donate’ and you can find a list of craft items there. We asked each member to bring three to six new supplies. They are required to be newly purchased because used items cannot be utilized in the hospital. If members did not want to purchase materials, they donated five dollars instead. After we collected these items, we placed them in bags and created Arts and Crafts Kits. These kits will be used by the OKC Hospital Staff to help brighten a child’s day. Most of these children are very ill and cannot leave their rooms to attend a fun activity in a different location than the hospital. In such an occasion, the kit would come in handy. Just a small act of kindness to someone who needs it can brighten their day with a smile. That is what service is all about- to let people know we care.

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INNOVATIVE IDEAS FOR CMN This year’s Governor’s Project is focused on Children’s Miracle Network. When we got back from DCON in April, we started to brainstorm about what we could do. We used the summer to gather information about this Major Emphasis Project. We looked up a hospital that worked in conjunction with CMN. We found one and gave the hospital a quick phone call. After being redirected multiple times and many emails later, we had collaboration of numerous things to do to kick start the year with CMN projects.

In order to successfully implement these projects and insure that the members partake wholeheartedly, we wanted them to know what it’s all about. We will get the members excited by showing Power Points during meetings. In addition, people have the option to tour the pediatric/ neonatal unit of the hospital that we are working with to see directly how they benefit from us. By seeing some of the children who are affected, the members are sure to get motivated to put a smile on their faces. This year, we plan to do multiple different things to benefit Children’s Miracle Network. Besides having fundraiser and donating money, we decided to make things for the hospital that could adorn the rooms and comfort the children.

First off, we plan to make blankets for those in the hospital. This simple task goes a long way for

the sick children. We take two colors of fabric and put them together. Then we use scissors to cut the edges and knot them to create a fun look. In addition, a future project is to decorate pillow cases, socks, and door hangers. For the pillow case idea, we decided to get marker and white colored pillow cases. The members would stay after one meeting and decorate them, so the kids at the hospital could have them on their beds. Now, for the sock project, we want to use puff paint to paint on the sole of the socks. In most hospitals, the floors are slippery. The puff paint will provide a grip for the sock and prevent kids from falling. Plus, who doesn’t like a pair of cozy, decorative socks in a cold hospital room? With socks and a blanket, the child is well on his way to having a better day.

In addition, our club plans to purchase foam door hangers in bulk, so we can decorate them for the different hospital rooms. They can say different things and have different themes, one such being Disney Characters.

Small things such as these can provide the children with a more comfortable environment on their road to recovery. They are able to enjoy the best feelings of warmth and happiness with such small adornments that are a pleasure to make.

Overall, the goal is to give to show our love and support to them, and these projects do just that.

By Kelsey Endari, West Brook 29

LOCK-INS& & BUSY BAGS

By Sophia Woody, Cypress Fair As one of the Vice Presidents of Cy-Fair High School Key Club, I am responsible for planning and executing projects for our club that support the Governor’s Project, which, this year, is dedicated to the Children’s Miracle Network. I am very excited that the first project that our club has decided to do is CMN-related.

Every year, our Key Club holds an overnight lock-in at It’z, a family fun center with arcade games and bowling. This event is highly attended by our members, so I figured it would be a perfect time to collaborate with the Children’s Miracle Network and put something together for the kids at Texas Children’s Hospital.

Our members will be creating “busy bags” for the patients at Texas Children’s Hospital. These bags are meant to give the children something fun and interesting to do while they spend time at the hospital. All of our members at the lock-in will participate in creating these bags. The bags will consist of putting together several different coloring book pages, word puzzles, crayons, small toys, stickers, and playing cards. Once we have created the bags, we will then deliver them to Texas Children’s Hospital in time for the holiday season.

This is a project that is important to me, so I want our members to be as enthusiastic about it as I am. Members will be informed of the lock-in and the project at our upcoming meetings, and I hope to educate our members about the importance of supporting the Children’s Miracle Network and the work that they do. Combining this service project with a night of food, fun, and games is sure to get members excited about attending and participating in the project.

It is essential for not only our club officers, but every single club member to feel connected to the Governor’s Project and to feel like they are contributing in a meaningful way. By allowing members to participate in a hands -on activity and produce items to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, members are engaged in a way that a simple fundraiser may not allow. Of course our club hopes to raise money to support the Children’s Miracle Network through other events throughout the year, but especially around the holiday season, it is exciting to be able to physically produce something tangible that the children will appreciate.

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The Lively Little Letter Lovers It is said that the most precious sound on this earth is the laughter of a child. They are the embodiment of joy and innocence as well as the future and legacy of their parents. When a child is ill or recovering in the hospital it seems like all the laughter stops. Their pain and suffering create a vacuum in the children's ward where the sound of their tinkling laughter could brighten the day of those who hear it and provide strength to those who need it. Our project for the Children's Miracle Network is to write the children letters for this holiday season in order to bring a spark of joy to brighten their day.

We have taken an abstract approach and tried to stay away from the sentiment "I feel sorry for you, I apathetically hope you get better" that is a key feature in many letters these children receive. In contrast, we want to make them laugh. They are fighters that face the pain of needles, medication, and the suffocating pressure of never-ending testing and prodding every day. Children who may be too young to understand the complexity of their ailment carry the strongest will to live a person will ever see.

How can you tell a child that lives every day in pain nonchalantly that it will all get better with a simple "Merry Christmas, Get well soon"? How would that embody the ideal all Key Clubbers should follow? To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life is one of the ideals that we as members of Key Club should propagate in our community. By staying away from the apathetic nature of other strangers, we are placing importance on the children's feelings and preventing our simple letters from demoralizing a child fighting for its life.

Although our jokes and rhymes might require some explaining for the younger children we hope they will feel our sincerity and receive the subtle wish within each letter that it will give them the strength to keep going strong. Each letter is original and sometimes typed. We will continue to create letters for the remainder of the year and hope to send them with a balloon so it arrives as light as a feather to ease the burden of their hearts.

By Alondra Garcia, Goose Creek Memorial 31

SERVIC

34 Megan Yu , 35 Maureen Hanes, 36 Lexie Ford Photo Credit: Cascia Hall Preparatory School

37 Evelyn Thomas, 38 Alan Yi, , 39 Justifer Davis

CE PROJECTS A MIRACLE

Purpled Out

By Megan Yu , James Taylor On November 17, 2014, the James Taylor Key Club colored our school purple.

Observed every November 17 since 2011, World Prematurity Day seeks to raise international awareness of preterm birth and its prevention. According to the March of Dimes, one baby every 30 seconds dies from premature birth. With 15 million babies born too soon every year, premature birth is the leading cause of death for newborns and a major concern for families worldwide. As part of its mission to improve and promote the health of babies everywhere, the March of Dimes takes a leading role in raising awareness, educating families and workers, and funding research to solve the problem of premature birth.

In support of the March of Dimes, one of Key Club’s Major Emphasis Projects, our club created a photo challenge and encouraged members to turn the school purple. Club president Cheryl ordered a Purple Ends Prematurity Kit, which among the stickers and t-shirts and other eye-popping purple paraphernalia included five March of Dimes posters that Cheryl scurried to hang around the school the morning of November 17. Taking advantage of the ubiquity of smartphones and selfies, we challenged members to wear purple and sent them on a hunt for the posters: if they took a picture with one and sent it 34

to the club email, labeled with name and grade, we gave them half an hour of service for their support and participation. Pictures could be snapped solo or with a buddy or group.

Throughout the day purple shirts, sweaters, scarves and more bobbed through the stream of hallway traffic during passing periods. After lunch, I struggled against the relentless tide to take a photo with my friends Catherine and Joyce without getting squished against the wall and was happy to see others do the same. We had asked the cheerleaders to make a poster for the day, so a giant purple banner emblazoned with “World Prematurity Day” hung in the main commons for all of Taylor High School to see. Cheryl handed out March of Dimes stickers whenever she saw purpleclad members. Even better, the Taylor chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) wore purple with us in support, helping to promote the fight against premature birth.

Unfortunately, by the end of the day all of the posters save the ones on the Key Club bulletin board and in our sponsor’s classroom vanished, probably taken down by school staff. Though we mourned the loss, we had gotten a great response from our members and a bunch of great pictures, so we called the day a success and set out to do it all over again next year.

A Key Club Holiday

By Maureen Hanes, Mansfield Summit In this season of giving and giving thanks, Key Club fits in perfectly. There is nothing better than giving back and giving thanks, and with Key Club and the holiday’s season, I feel so ready to help out in my community.

During thanksgiving we can give food baskets or serve meals at shelters. During Christmas we can do toy drives or adopt a family or child. We can prepare meals and sere them. We can perform at nursing homes or homeless shelters.

Key Club allows us to do all of these things. Key Club gives opportunities to serve all throughout the holiday season. Not only can people serve in the meetings by going to socials where our club makes Christmas cards or donates toys, but they can also do work outside of the normal meetings by going to volunteer events.

The holiday season is always a blast at our club.

Everyone gets together to make cards for the elderly in nursing homes and collects toys to give to children in need. We are planning to have big school wide social this year to welcome everyone for a fun time of holiday cheer. Usually we even do a secret Santa exchange where we all get together and buy secret gifts for each other that we later exchange at the party.

The holiday season is a great time to volunteer with others in or out of Key Club. Get together with some friends or family and volunteer. Give thanks and cheer this holiday season by helping out in your communities, schools, homes, churches, and other clubs. Spread the joy and the Key Club love and have a wonderful time this year in your volunteer efforts.

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Christmas Beyond Materialism

By Lexie Ford, Garland A small boy wakes up at dawn on a cold Thursday morning. The air reeks of garbage. He shrugs on his threadbare coat, and makes his way out the makeshift door, shivering and clinging to his father’s hand as they and his brothers go off to work. They arrive just as the garbage trucks are emptying the day’s refuse into the landfill. The family scatters to different trash piles, combing through the rubbish to find anything that can be eaten or sold. Choking on the rancid air, the boy counts down the hours until a small lunch of found scraps. That evening, his father uses the meager sum of money they earned from their sales to buy a modest dinner that will serve the family for the rest of the week.

At the end of the day, the little boy kneels down and whispers a small prayer, “Thank you for letting us live to see this Christmas.”

For many families, Christmas is not the lavish celebration that it is here in the United States. In Managua, Nicaragua, for example, thousands of families live in La Chureca, a giant mountain of trash. The young and the old spend their days combing through trash with no hope of

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anything but survival. Their poverty takes no pause for Christmas. For them, a day-off is not a union-guaranteed right, but a sure way for their children to starve. This condition can be seen across the world and in our own nation, although the worst off in the United States are kings compared the destitute of many developing countries. So as we get our new phones, clothes, and entertainment this year and remember the gluttonous feast that was Thanksgiving, we must do two things. First, we must realize how incredibly lucky we are to have been born to families with the ability to provide for our basic needs. It is so easy to take what we have for granted when we’re writing our Christmas list and focusing on all that we don’t have. Second, we must take action to fight against this poverty this season. Whether it’s a long term commitment of sponsoring a struggling child on the other side of the world or simply donating cans to the local food bank, any unselfish act will make an impact, especially during the holidays. Key Club is dedicated to achieving these goals, and with us, your holiday will become much more meaningful.

HEB Feast of Sharing

By Evelyn Thomas, West Brook During my three complete years in service at West Brook Key Club, my favorite project is the HEB Feast of Sharing. I began my service to this project in the eighth grade and continued through inter-clubs and inter-school projects.

In the HEB Feast of sharing, I’ve held a variety of jobs – from bussing tables to waiting them – and my favorite is waiting tables. Upon walking into the beautiful and festively decorated Feast of Sharing, patrons are welcomed by smiling volunteers. The sheer expanse of the festively decorated building causes everyone to stop and stare for just a moment, taking it all in. People are seated in one of four quadrants and they await food and drinks. Volunteers handling a food enter a brief food service class prior to the opening of the doors, so they are prepared to exercise efficiency.

Once suited up in an apron, hat or hairnet, and a pair of gloves, food service volunteers are divided into three classifications and within those classifications are smaller groups of twos and threes.

The first class handles went down an assembly line and prepared six plates of food at a time to be dispatched. The second class handles drinks of various types. The final class handed out apple pies for people to eat. Over the years, I have served in all of these capacities, but what truly sets this project apart from the others are the lessons it teaches volunteers and the Christmas spirit.

Customer service and decorum is a huge skill to manage.

When the program is more private, and solely for the hungry and the homeless, volunteers are able to provide quicker service, but when it became a community affair where thousands are being served, the task becomes exceedingly more difficult. Some people who aren’t necessarily the needy grew impatient when the plates of food, which took significantly longer to prepare than any other item, weren’t immediately presented. Some guests could be placated with the generic response that a plate would be brought shortly

while others shouted at the volunteers, giving drink and pie dispatchers grief about something out of their control. It took poise, but volunteers learned to address the situation calmly and politely, even stepping in when younger volunteers needed assistance with the occasional unruly person. Most guests are a little impatient, but tolerable, and very few get irate, but these skills are necessary to obtain. Time and spatial management also was used. People wanted the food and drinks as quickly as possible. It was more efficient to start farthest away from the food preparation center because most people would start from the food preparation and run out before everyone near the back was served. Spatially, each tray could hold 6 plates and with a spare person, an extra two could be carried. If two groups switched out continuously in a quadrant, more people could be served. Drink trays could have multiple types of drinks to prevent having to have a cart walk across the room to bring a cup of one specific drink. Efficiency was key.

Lastly, the Christmas spirit seemed to shroud the entire event. Kids could play in a Christmas-themed play area. The entire place was decked out in seasonal splendor. In the background, various choirs and dance troupes arrived to provide entertainment.

The people who really needed the food seemed to glow, since many of them had never been served food in a sit-in fashion in their lives. The appreciativeness of almost everyone and the realization that I’m making a difference in the lives of people all over the community makes this my favorite service project of all.

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K EY -F EST

☆

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Daichi Sawamura, captain of the Karasuno High School volleyball team, states that “if people work as a team, people can bring explosive changes to the world.” By this statement, Sawamura is exemplifying that teamwork can make an impact to the world. As for myself, I have witnessed our remarkable members perform the best of their abilities at K-Fest.

K-Fest, or Korean Festival, is annual event held at the Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston. The purpose of this event is to share the Korean culture with the Greater Houston area which is astonishing as this reveals the culture diffusion between the Asian and American societies. As mentioned before, this event is a festival which requires everything to run smoothly as possible for the attendees, and thus demands for many passionate volunteers.

At the dawn of the day, volunteers across from the Greater Houston area gathered around to set up the entire event. Every volunteer was given either a yellow or a burned orange t-shirt. About fifty volunteers were present during the morning hours and the sight was fascinating to see. The only sight people saw were a mob of volunteers traversing with pre-prepped food, kitchen equipment, and several other kitchen related items. The main focus at this time was to assist the food vendors by unloading all of their equipment and delivering those items to their stations. This lasted for over three hours and everyone was so caught up supporting these vendors that no one knew the time. I personally was so absorbed into volunteering, that I almost forgot to take pictures of this amazing scene.

Volunteering did not stop after three hours, K-Fest ran for an entire day; therefore, KASH, the organization that organizes K-Fest, needed everyone’s help throughout the entire day. During the day, volunteers were mostly stationed at the drinks and the ticket exchange station. For the drinks, volunteers would distribute the drinks to the attendees and ensure that all drinks were nice and cold. At the ticket exchange station, volunteers would distribute tickets as the attendees would use this to buy food and drinks. Other volunteers guarded the entrance to the backstage and played with the children at the children’s corner. At the end of the day, volunteers gathered around and cooperated to break down and clean up the festival. Just like the morning setup, the evening breakdown was also a remarkable scene to watch and participate.

On that day, we did not change the world; however, our efforts impacted many lives because without us, perhaps the vendors and KASH could have taken twice or even thrice as long without our teamwork. Our teamwork consisted an Inner Club with the Cypress Ridge High School Key Club and several other clubs across the Greater Houston area. As Sawanura proclaims his maxim, he acknowledged that change is possible and impacting the daily lives of society is achievable through unity. Perhaps Key Club should have their own festival called Key-Fest because we are the key to the success of many festivals.

By Alan Yi, Cypress Falls

GIVING IS RECEIVING The Port Neches Groves Key Club has recently participated in a fifteen minute service project in which we helped out Operation Christmas Child. Before I tell you how the service project went, let me tell give you a short description of the wonderful organization that is responsible for Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child was created by the Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian organization. The Samaritan’s Purse was founded by Franklin Graham and Robert Pierce in 1970, and is still a very effective and strong charity organization to this day. Samaritan’s Purse created Operation Christmas Child so that they could create a way to spread the joy of Christmas to the kids that are less fortunate around the world.

The process of Operation Christmas Child is very simple and easy. An assorted bunch of toys are inserted into an old shoe box, sent to a processing center, and then the boxes of toys are shipped out to a designated underdeveloped country. Port Neches Groves Key Club helps out this organization on a yearly basis. We ask all of our Key Club members to bring cheap, but nice, little

toys to include into the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Not only do we put fun toys into the shoe boxes, but we also put personal hygiene items into the shoe boxes such as combs, toothbrushes, and other personal care product that the children may need.

Before our Tuesday meeting began, the Port Neches Groves Key Club Officers sorted out all of the toys, and when the meeting started, we had a special guest speaker arrive to come talk to the club. We had organized all of the toys by the different age groups and genders, then we put all of them into the shoeboxes. This may not seem like a lot if you have always received Christmas gifts, but to the people who do not have anything, it can mean the world to them. Many children around the world do not experience the same kind of Christmas morning that most American kids experience. Some kids are even ungrateful when they receive expensive items, but a five dollar Disney princess bracelet from Walmart can mean the world to a little girl in Uganda. Service projects like these remind me that it is in the giving in which we receive.

By Justifer Davis, Port Neches Groves 39

Letter

TO T

E Q: Would it matter if newsletters are made for the upcoming month or for a recap of the previous month? - John Tran, Harmony School of Advancement A: It doesn't matter to me, do it however ya want!

Q: I want to make my agendas more festive and more interesting by adding clip art graphics. However, there are not many key club graphics that work for my intentions. I was wondering if I was allowed to use clip art graphics on word and use a key club emblem to tie it all together? - Abby Hendricks, Nacogdoches A: That is an excellent question. The Brand Guide states that we should not combine different Key club graphic elements with other Key Club graphic elements, but it doesn't state anything about outside graphic elements. I say go for it!

Q: I was not sure on exactly what to put on the newsletter because this was my first newsletter. Is there a specific format that you would want us to follow? Do I needed to have a specific topic or focus that I need to write each month? Do I needed to write the newsletters in a specific font or have a specific font size? Do we need to talk about District Convention in our Key Club Newsletter? Does the information on the Newsletter have to have a certain amount of words? - Suehyun Lee, Juan Seguin A: Club newsletters are designed so that editors may utilize creativity as they wish. There is no specific format or number of pages a newsletter should be- however the editor deems fit. It is a good idea to have a general theme for each newsletter, say a winter theme for December or a food theme for February, any the editor wants! There is no max or min amount of words or a set font size. However, there is a set of general rules that Key Club publications should follow (i.e. colors, fonts, logos, etc.). Such rules are delineated in the Key Club International Brand Guide. In addition, there is a set of guidelines that I have created. This largely consists of the format used to submit material to the editor as well as what to include and other information.

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rs

THE

EDITOR Q: I had a question about scoring and how scores are sent out. I was wondering if you could explain how all of the scoring works? - Amandeep Kaur, Jenks A: You have an excellent question which I am sure many are confused and/or wondering about. This is the grading policy that I go by:  Newsletters: Club newsletters are scored on a scale of 1 to 50. Each newsletter starts out at a 50 and points are deducted accordingly (i.e. -5 no Major Emphasis Project, -1 stretched photos, etc.). Starting a few months ago, my feedback consists of more detailed breakdown of where and how points were lost as well as overall comments, suggestions, and accolades.  Articles: Club articles are scored on a scale of 1 to 5. The grading process is similar to that of newsletters; each article starts out at a 5 and then points are deducted accordingly (i.e. -1 no photo, -1 incorrect formatting, etc.). In my feedback, I also return a list of each article and where and why points were deducted (if any).

Q: Are printed copies of the Tex-O-Key available? Or is it just digital? - Cascia Hall Prep A: The District does not issue printed copies. However, you may always print the TexO-Key yourself if you wish!

Q: I was told that I have been sending the wrong newsletters for the wrong months, I am sort of confused. – Grace Kim, Rapoport A: I understand, the due dates can be a little confusing but this is how it works: The newsletters and articles are due on the 5th of the following month of the month that they are made for. For example, January articles and newsletters are due the following 5th of the month, so February 5th. November articles & newsletters are due December 5th.

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DCON 2015 APRIL 9-12 Join the TO District on a weekend excursion of Service Adventure.

$120 Early Registration by March 13 $150 Normal Registration

VISIT tokeyclub.com FOR MORE INFORMATION.

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