2019 November/December Tex-O-Key

N O V E M B E R

&

D E C E M B E R

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tex o key V O L U M E

T E X A S

O K L A H O M A

D I S T R I C T

8

O F

I S S U E 4

K E Y

C L U B

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

Garland High School Key Club

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE STAFF Note From The Editor

03

Message from the International Trustee

05

Updates from the District Staff

06

Uplift Summit International Preparatory

INFORMATION

Fall Rally & Key Club Week Summation

A Word From Our Committees

10

Festive Service Ideas

19

Articles

Cinco Ranch High School

INFORMATION

Key Club Partners

32

Contact Information

35 Weatherford High School

visit the t-o key club website at

TOKEYCLUB.COM

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR WOW! It's crazy to think how much time has passed since the beginning of this chapter. We are already in the midst of the holiday season and I am so proud of how far we have come.

This newsletter, as you can see, has a winter & holiday theme! I'm super excited for this edition so I hope you guys enjoy it as well. What I've been working on are my forum presentations for LEDCON (get excited for informative, fun forums!), the grading of all club editor assignments, and the Jolly Book of Insight still. It's quite an undertaking and I've expressed a deadline earlier, but I would rather produce something that is high quality than rush publishing it. I will definitely let you all know when it comes out.

This note from the editor is shorter than usual but that is all I have to say for now! I hope you guys have an incredible holiday season and make others smile through your selfless acts of service. As always, I'm so proud of all that you guys achieve. I wish you all the best of luck on your exams, tournaments, and all the other factors in your life outside of Key Club. Stay safe and warm while volunteering, Key-uties!

Make sure to click the link below to grade this newsletter.

TEX-O-KEY DECEMBER FEEDBACK I promise I will take your feedback into consideration. For example, someone suggested more icons on the club articles so check out the articles for this edition! :) Yours in Service,

P.S. Please follow my remind bt texting @toedit to 81010 if you haven't already.

Vivian Thai

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LETTER TOÂ THE EDITOR Katelyn Tran from Garland HIgh School asks: What are your suggestions for those who are interested in running for district editor next year?

Answer: For those interested in running for District Editor the following year, I would suggest staying on task and entering all the awards that we offer at LEDCON. Winning or even participating in editor related awards will help your credibility. If your assignment grades are not where you want them to be, putting in that extra mile and improving those scores will definitely be noticed. In addition, learn about the role of the District Editor to make sure it is something that you would enjoy so that you are sure that the position is a good fit for you. I am open to questions and you can learn more about the official responsibilities of a District Editor in the T-O District Bylaws on tokeyclub.com.

RIDDLE OF THE MONTH What do snowmen eat for a snack?

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INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEE

UPDATE Hey Texas-Oklahoma Key Clubbers, First I wanted to wish you all a Happy Holidays! I hope this season brings lots of food, family, and college acceptances if you are a senior like me. For those of you who do not have to worry about college right now, I wish you luck on midterms, finals, and all the other wonders of the end of the semester. Now for my update…

On October 27th I was able to attend the Ohio District annual Fall Rally held at THE Ohio State University. The weekend was full of service, workshops, and an amazing Keynote Speaker named Julia. Julia was the founder of the Yellow Tulip Project, which aims to increase advocacy and awareness of teenagers struggling with mental health and self-harm.

This was perfect because the Ohio District’s Governor Project focuses on mental health, and Julia’s words were filled with inspiration, hope, and most of all a reminder that there is a way out. I had an absolute blast in Columbus and can’t wait to go back for the Ohio District’s District Leadership Conference in March.

On November 9th and 10th I got to attend the Kansas’ District Winter Board Meeting in Witchita. Here, we focused on committee directives, DCON and Fally Rally planning, social media and website content, had the best white elephant I’ve ever been apart of, and some amazing group dinners. My first time in Kansas was something that I would not trade for anything. Looking forward to my second time in March 2020!

For my last bit of traveling, the entire International Board met for the first time since LEADCon in Indianapolis for our November Board Meeting. Over the course of four days, we met with Kiwanis Staff to talk about further collaboration, participated in the funniest merchandise photoshoot, discussed further changes to the website and brand guide, took over the Key Club Instagram for a day, advertised Prematurity Awareness Day in tutus, talked about our next International Convention, and started formulating the Strategic Plan for the next 5 years. Seeing the rest of the International Board meant a lot to all, and I’m counting down the days until our January Board Meeting in San Fransisco, California.

As far as our Sistrict goes, the Governors and I are working to create a “30 Ways to Stay Sane” during the holiday season that includes tips on how to handle both school and social stresses that develop over the next couple of months. For any suggestions please feel free to contact me using the information below.

Contact Information Phone: (813) 297-7663 Email: alexishenry38@gmail.com Instagram: @alexiskhenry

Yours in Service and Friendship, Alexis Henry 2019-2020 Key Club International Trustee Ohio, Kansas, and Texas-Oklahoma Districts Public Relations Committee Chair

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UPDATES FROM TH Hey TO! I hope that everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and got a lot of food to eat. Just a little reminder that websites are due on Sunday December 1st. There are only a few more days left to turn in club websites so please get that in to me as soon as you can. If you have already sent in websites I will be sending out an email answering some questions and reminding you what I am looking for in your websites.

Websites will be graded monthly so please be updating them often. I am looking forward to checking out all of your wonderful websites so please send them in on time so that I will be able to see them all! Also

Lacey Thomas

there will be some LEDCON videos coming out soon so be on the

Tech Producer

lookout. Only five more months til LEDCON and I am looking forward to meeting you all. Happy holidays to everyone and finish out the semester strong!!

What is up TO?I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving Holidays! Currently the district board and I are working on LEDCON things! From small business to things you wouldn’t even imaging us discuss, we will be discussing them at Winter Board from January 3-15, 2020. Wow! That feels different to say! I am super excited to begin another year celebrating the highlights of how mighty the Texas Oklahoma district is! Don’t forget to start applying for contests and awards and be on a look out on our Instagram or our website! I’m super excited to celebrate another year of service with the best members in Key Club International!

Ashna Patel District Governor

Thank You, Ashna Patel

Hey everyone! To all the clubs who applied for the YOF Grant, thank you so much for making an extra effort to better your homes, schools, and communities! Even if your club does not receive the grant, I truly appreciate your club’s sincere dedication to service. These past weeks I have been working on club standing reports and helping clubs to submit early-bird and on time dues. Great job to everyone who made the early-bird deadline, and thank you to every club treasurer who has worked hard to make sure their

Kareena Patel District Secretary Katherine Chao District Treasurer

club’s dues are turned in on time! If your club has not yet submitted dues and

Vivian Thai District Editor allowing members to make the most of their Key Club experience and be able updated the Membership Update Center, make sure to do it as soon as possible! Paying dues and updating the MUC is extremely important in

to attend district events such as LEDCON! Please let me know if you guys need help with anything and I hope you all have a happy December!

Yours in service, Katherine Chao

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HE DISTRICT STAFF Hey T-O! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I am very thankful to see the feats this mighty district is accomplishing. This past month, we had a

ASHNA PATEL

total of 101 clubs submit monthly reports, which is a 35.5% monthly

GOVERNOR

reporting submission rate. This rate has only gone up since April, which is a celebration itself. Kudos to your hard work! If your club currently does not report, please reach out to me at secretary@tokeyclub.com to get started!

I will be hosting another secretary training on December 15th at 5:00 pm on Zoom. I would love for all club secretaries to join to learn about the importance of reporting, how to submit a monthly report, take good minutes, be a good club secretary and get tips and tricks on how to be a Top 25 club! I have finished updating all the resources under the secretary’s resources tab on the district website (www.tokeyclub.com.) Be sure to check out all the revised materials, and if you have any questions on reporting, there is a step-by-step tutorial I have created found under the secretary resources. If there are other resources you believe I can provide, please reach out to me and let me know! I would love to hear from you guys! With that being said, let’s continue to report because this is

Kareena Patel

the time when reporting starts to add a lot of value as we are nearing

District Secretary

LEDCON season. Don’t you want to be a Top 25 club? I hope you all have a great winter holiday break and enjoy the holidays! Happy holidays in advance!

Yours in friendship and service, Kareena Patel District Secretary

Howdy, Texas Oklahoma!

It’s me again, your Convention Liaison, Dillion Grisham! I hope everyone had an amazing thanksgiving filled with food and lots of family time. Let’s talk about a few things! These past few months have been amazing: planning, releasing our LEDCON theme, working with LTGs towards forum goals, etc. This is my calling and I promise LEDCON 2020 will be one for the books!This coming weekend, your Executive Staff will be meeting to finalize plans for LEDCON, so please be on the lookout for information on our instagram! I will be sending out my “Call To Convention” article in the coming month which will contain every bit and piece of information you will need to know. We have made some exciting changes that I know we ALL will

Dillion Grisham Convention Liaison

appreciate. With that being said, please be on the lookout for that as well. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Yours in Service and Friendship, Dillion Grisham Texas-Oklahoma District Convention Liaison

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SUMMATION OF

FALL RALLY

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SUMMATION OF

KEY CLUB WEEK

PICTURES TAKEN FROM @TOKEYCLUB ON INSTAGRAM

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COMMITTEE UPDATE!

Contests and Awards Committee CHAIR:

LTG

KAITLYN

ROEHR

D17

participate in our LEDCON contests. This included a simplified contest document where all elements are explained and a FAQ. We have also started working with the GPR Committee to advertise on our social medias about specific contests as time goes on.

These posts will give clubs a small idea of what the contest is about to hopefully spark interest in applying. There are going to be some more code revisions suggested at WINBO to make contest processes less stressful, and we are changing a lot of contest applications to be electronic. These electronic applications will be less of a hassle and will allow clubs to upload their materials much quicker. Our committee is going to release the Theme Contest The Contest and Awards Committee

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guidelines as soon as we can, and starting

has been working on a lot these last couple

next year we will start working on more

months to prepare for the start of contest

LEDCON logistics. We want to make all

season. We sent out a resource email to the

contest processes during this conference

entire District Board to help them give

from check-in, to live contests, to awards, to

their clubs any information they would needÂ

check-out as effortless as possible.

District Project Committee CHAIR:

LTG

MACY

BOREN

D40E

we will get that out to the District as soon as possible. We have also been combining all of our ideas for graphics to gain publicity for Key Readers. We are very excited for these last few meetings for 2019, and we are prepared to add new material for the new year!!

We have held multiple meetings about organizing patch and award information for this year’s LEDCON. We are still working on that information but

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COMMITTEE UPDATE!

Events Public Relations Committee CHAIR:

LTG

SHARLENE

GARCIA

D39S

Conference. Up until the end of October, we have worked meticulously on promoting the Fall Rally with several graphics, posters, stories, posts, and two videos to showcase how amazing this event is! Though it has been extremely tedious and overwhelming to create it all, it all paid off because of the huge turnout. It was crazy but amazing to see everybody and having a blast at the Fall Rally, and I can’t wait to see how it will turn out next year! As of now, the committee is working on promoting this year’s L-E-DCON just the same. The theme has recently released, which if you haven’t heard, it’s Hollywood! I’ve gotten questions on what next year’s promotional material will look like and I promise you this committee got that Hello!! My name is Sharlene Garcia

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2020 vision. There will be a set posting

and I am the Event Public Relations, or EPR,

schedule that will further entail what the

Committee Chairwoman! My job oversees the

event is about, how to register, awesome

promotional material for the major public

activities to participate in, and all the crazy

events, such as Fall Rally, and the upcoming

wonderful things that happen at the

Leadership and Education District

conference! I can’t wait to see you there!

General Public Relations Committee CHAIR:

LTG

CARA

WILTON

D24S

the district in our fullest capabilities. One of our main goals is to encourage our members to consistently follow district guidelines and participate in the opportunities given by the District, and we have been performing these duties through the posts and reminders posted on the district social media accounts. One of the main projects we’ve been working on is promoting the Governor’s Project of Culture for Caring and the challenges of the project on the District Instagram. C4C challenges are posted once a month, followed by a post highlighting participants. In addition, the committee has consistently posted monthly reminders to submit club reports and newsletters. The committee hopes to keep members informed of all major deadlines and has kept with this goal throughout the month, as well as will continue to Over the past couple months, the General Public Relations Committee has been working to improve the Texas-Oklahoma District social media! We have been doing this through periodical Instagram stories as well as posts. As a committee we hope to raise awareness on important deadlines for our members and serve

do the same in the future. The General Public Relations committee has also been working closely with the district staff in order to keep members updated on important information, and has also been attempting to communicate more with the actual members of the district to better perform as a committee.

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COMMITTEE UPDATE!

Governor's Project Committee CHAIR:

LTG

ELIE

LAM

D18S

caring on Instagram. Clubs can complete these fun challenges and send back pictures of their members doing so. It is a great way for clubs to earn points toward the Governor’s Project Award. In September, the challenge was to write a nice note to another student at school.

The challenge for October had two levels. At the student level, it was to give another student a piece of candy and the school level was to show appreciation to principals by inviting them to a key club meeting and recognizing them. We have had a good response to the challenges so far and we have loved getting to see pictures of people completing them! We did not post a challenge in November because of Key Club week. Now, our committee is planning challenges for future months. We are also looking for more ways to publicize and Over the past several months, the Governor’s Project Committee has been continuing to spread a Culture 4 Caring across Texas-Oklahoma. In September, we introduced our monthly Instagram Challenges. Each month, we post a simple challenge that promotes

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promote this Governor’s Project. Our goal is to have key clubs across T-O know what Culture 4 Caring is and how they can become a part of it. We want key clubbers to adopt this project as a way of life and to show care toward others even after this project is completed.

Kiwanis and International Relations Committee CHAIR:

LTG

HANNAH

VAUGHT

D40W

that you must do with different parts of the k-family. We are also working on incorporating an international touch to the lieutenant governor newsletters. In addition, we have taken inspiration from what Key Club International is doing in regards to relations with Kiwanis members and are actively pursuing ways to do the same within our district.

In regards to our very own LTGs, we are currently making a document with Kiwanis LTG and Key Club LTG information in order to facilitate communication between both groups. This increase of Kiwanis and International Relations

communication will hopefully lead to Key

has been working hard to bridge the gap

Clubbers attending Kiwanis events and

between the k-family. We are working on

vice versa, forming the roots of a stronger

creating bi-monthly Instagram challenges

bond within the K-Family.

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COMMITTEE UPDATE!

Membership Committee CHAIR:

LTG

RAJ

PATEL

D3N

pivotal to our continued success as a District.

We, as a committee, decided that it would be extremely beneficial if we provided clubs with ideas and activities that would help the members stay invigorated and engaged throughout the year. There will be more details coming in the resources we will be sending out, but know that t here are tournament ideas, huge fundraisers, and more fun ideas to keep members excited about Key Club.

By promoting these activities on a club level, we believe that, through word of mouth, we can ensure that prospective members are excited for their tenure in Key Club. By maintaining members and keeping them excited/invigorated about Key Club, we ensure our long term prosperity as a District. Until next Howdy TO! Your membership committee has been hard at work the past few weeks and we are glad to be moving into the 2nd part of our 3 part plan, which is member retainment!

Member retainment is one of the most important parts of the Key Club year, and it's

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time, be on the lookout for many updates and resources from the membership committee!

Regulations, Elections, and Credentials Committee CHAIR:

LTG

KAZI

RABBE

D25W

and I am so proud of all of our committee members! We have also been working in order to create guidelines for the brand new online campaigning process that will be introduced this year as a result of it being approved at the House of Delegates earlier this year. This includes a step-by-step process outlining how we will be monitoring candidates and a Frequently Asked Questions section in order to ensure that the candidates are well aware of everything that will be expected of them!

Currently and especially during the month of December leading up to the Winter Board meeting, we will be finalizing everything in order to present all of our proposals in front of the District Board and Staff. For the future, we are so excited for you all to get to see all of So far these past couple of months, the REC committee has been hard at work in order to compile amendments that will be proposed at our Winter Board meeting. Everybody has done a great job in regards to providing input

this hard work come to fruition next year at DCON, or rather, I guess it would be LEDCON. And again, I would like to thank my amazing committee for being so great with everything!

So if one of you is reading this, I love you!

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COMMITTEE UPDATE!

Welcoming Committee CHAIR:

LTG

PRANAV

GUPTA

D28

has composed a collection of activities and has calculated the budget for these respective activities. We plan to finalize this budget and then present it to our staff to determine whether or not these activities are appropriate for the upcoming LEDCON. These past few months we have worked hard to prepare the right activities that help in celebrating our wonderful year of service. We plan to continue these efforts by receiving permission on these activities and then purchasing and planning the layout for our Welcoming Activity. We are currently striving to reach an environment that will help everyone feel welcome and prepared to meet their peers in service such that we can have an amazing experience at the Welcoming Avticity and LEDCON as a whole. We hope you will join us at the end of this Key Club year to Greetings fellow Key Clubbers,

celebrate the accomplishments of our TexasOklahoma Key Club community. Thank you.

As said in the past update, our main goal as the welcoming committee is to create an environment in which all of our Key Club members can feel welcome to enjoy and celebrate their year of service. As of now, our

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Sincerely, The Welcoming Committee

FESTIVE SERVICE IDEAS!

Bake holiday goods and

Host a clothing drive with

donate them to a

emphasis on winter

homeless shelter or nursing

necessities, such as warm

home.

coats, gloves, and socks.

Make Christmas cards for

Socks are one of the

anyone and everyone! This

least donated items

includes those in shelters,

despite being extremely

sick children in hospitals,

helpful against the cold

troops that are overseas,

during the winter season.

or the local nursing home.

Purchase a gift for a

Plan a holiday themed

Salvation Army Angel

recital or theater

from the Salvation Army

performance for your local

Angel Tree or any other

nursing home.

giving tree near you.

Have a Christmas cookie

Make blankets by cutting

bake sale and donate all

squares of fleece then

of the proceeds to charity.

knotting the edges, and

Selling hot chocolate is a

donate them!

good idea too!

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WALK T ALZHE

AVERY WANG CINCO RA

On September 28th, The Walk to End Alzheimers was hosted by the Alzheimers Association at LaCenterra.

From the early hour of 5:00 a.m, before the had even peeked over the horizon to the bustling mid-morning, volunteers from a variety of organizations and schools gave their time to make the event happen.

Though I had never been to The Walk to End Alzheimers before this year, I had always seen photos of the eventbubbles floating lazily around smiling people and dogs washed in a glow of sunlight. I’ll admit that waking up literally before the crack of dawn is not my favorite way to start the day, but sometimes it has to be done. My experience at Walk to End Alzheimers started with setting up tents for multiple booths. I am unfortunately not very physically strong, so there was a bit of a struggle in my attempts to get the mechanisms to lock in place.

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TO END

IMER'S NCH HIGH SCHOOL D3W

It was interesting working with people

something special. They say people have

from other schools for this event, as that’s

strength in numbers, and while this is not

not usually an opportunity I get with other

a concept that is hard to believe, seeing

events. Throughout setup, it often felt like

it with your own two eyes has a different

there were too many people and not

impact. The sea of purple shirts, ribbons,

enough jobs, but once the event really

even tutus that filled LaCenterra, the

started kicking off, it became clear that

shouts of encouragement, and the range

many hands on deck were needed. From

of people that gathered together to

sign holders to face painters, there was

support one common cause, was

something for everyone. I was assigned to

indicative of the support the community

be a greeter, handing out “passports” and

had for each other and the strength to

directing people to the proper check-in

keep fighting.

booth.

While volunteering, one thing that stood out to me was the number of walkers that were wearing “I’m walking for ____” signs, some of which were people I knew personally. It really put into perspective that Alzheimers is something that can have an effect on anyone.

Sometimes it’s hard to look outside of the bubble of our personal lives, but seeing so many people coming together, all fighting for one thing- the first survivor, was really

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Creating an Environment AMY

HA

MANSFIELD

TIMBERVIEW

Making members and others feel

HIGH

SCHOOL

D39S

us to help members recognize us

welcome has always been a priority

whenever. We also included our contact

within our club. Feeling welcomed is

information in a PowerPoint to provide a

crucial to any organization as it allows

way for members to communicate us

members to express themselves while

through multiple socials. Along with our

creating bonds with others. Our officers

PowerPoint, we handed out papers

strive to create an environment where

regarding information telling readers

members can easily communicate with

about what we do within our organization

others, including us, while volunteering or

as well as a list of essential events for

even just during a casual conversation. I

potential members to volunteer at. We

believe that we’ve been pretty successful

also included snacks and refreshments in

in this as shown by last year, where we

our meeting to attract members as well

could freely speak to our members with

as encourage members to stay and

ease. However, I still believe that there is

socialize with one another. One thing that

more we can do to ensure this.

our club does to remind members of events is through our utilization of

So far this year during my term,

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Remind, an application which sends

we’ve taken many measures to make sure

reminders through text message/app. Not

that our members feel this way. During

only does this help members become

our first meeting, we started with first

aware of volunteer opportunities, but it

impressions and spoke of our names,

also gives another way of contacting our

grades, positions as well as a fact about

officers. Throughout the year, we also

plan to do many icebreakers and games

balloon social where members came to

to strengthen the bond between members

have fun with water balloons and hang

as well as make them feel welcome. For

out with friends. This allowed many

instance, last year, we did activities, such

members to meet their peers from

as the human knot and a get-to-know-

different schools while having an

you activity with M&Ms.

enjoyable time. As said, we plan to do many events like this where members can

In the future for this year, we plan

just enjoy themselves. With these events, I

to implement events, such as movie nights

believe that a comfortable environment

and game socials, in order to allow our

around our club will be established,

members to just have fun within our club.

helping our members be more engaged

During the summer, we hosted a water

with our organization even more than before.

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Getting BRIAN

Unfortunately, the Cypress Ridge Key Club does not have a particularly smooth history concerning finances. In the past couple of years that I’ve been in this organization, the main culprit that held our club back from serving our community to its maximum potential was our finances. In the past year, our club has had to pass on going to DCON due to not enough financial backing to provide transportation for our members and to lower the costs for attendance. Ultimately, this was down to our failures of proper fundraising earlier in the year to ensure sufficient funds to finance the trip. However, as I embark on my senior year, which is also my fourth year in Key Club, I will make it my mission that finances will not come in the way of our club achieving greatness.

Already five weeks into the school year, our awesome board has scheduled many fundraisers and socials for the upcoming year. Not only will these events help raise funds so that we can attend DCON, but we also plan on giving a portion of the revenue from a few of these fundraisers to charity. In the past two months, we have already held a bake sale after school, had a Bahama Bucks fundraiser alongside the Cypress Woods

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LEE

CYPRESS

RIDGE

H

That Bag IGH

SCHOOL

D3N

and Cypress Falls Key Clubs, and had a fundraiser/car wash event at Freddy’s. We also are going to host a Halloween social in which members can participate in costume contests, watch spooky movies, and build team spirit with one another, all the while raising money through the entry fee. After that, we are going to hold a Super Smash Bros tournament open to the entire student body in which students pay to enter or spectate and the winners receive grand prizes such as candy baskets and a season pass to all Cypress Ridge sporting events. In between all of these major socials, our treasurer is scheduling many little fundraisers at local restaurants to maximize profits.

We hope that with these fundraising efforts, we will not only be able to lower the costs for DCON attendance, which will in turn increase our member attendance rate, but hopefully we will be able to provide buses for our members to and from events. If we procure sufficient funding, bussing members to events will undoubtedly increase our attendance rates and allow our club to make a more defined impact on our community.

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Packing Excellence ALYVIA

ESQUIBEL

RANDALL

HIGH

Twice a month, on the first and

SCHOOL

D7/33N

“I have to take people’s donations.

third Mondays and Tuesdays, the Randall

It’s a little hard not to feel embarrassed,”

Key Club gathers in a storage garage off

he told me softly, the bag rustling against

of I-27 to pack food into plastic bags for

his thigh serving as an unpleasant

less fortunate kids who don’t get to go

reminder that his home life wasn’t what

home to a pantry full of snacks to raid like

he wanted or needed it to be. He did,

so many others do. Boxes are torn and

however, immediately add that the love

flattened, Pop-Tarts are broken, and cats

and charity of the people behind his food

are petted as the echo of camaraderie

has helped him to feel less ashamed of it.

bounces off grey walls. It’s a great way to

He insisted that “the fact that people

meet new people doing their best to

don’t just simply live with the knowledge

serve the community, but it’s also the

that they can do something for people

place to find a deeper sense of purpose:

like me, but actively help us,” has made

that of joining together in a spirit of

him more comfortable accepting the

generosity to uplift our fellow students.

bags. He is comforted by the knowledge that there is someone out there, being

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.

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proactive for him.

Key Club is distinctive in the fact

reason our Key Club is full of wonderful,

that it is full of people who genuinely

kind, charitable, generous people who

desire to help their community. It is set

give up some of their most precious

apart from organizations such as National

currency, time, to bring their light and joy

Honor Society, which includes service

to the Amarillo/Canyon community. We

hours in the requirements but results in

are unique in our characters and our

people only serving because it’s

priorities and this has only served to

necessary. Key Club doesn’t require the

better not only the lives of those we serve,

service that comes from its members in

but also our own. We are certainly doing

the same way; they are not simply a

an excellent job of “building our home,

quota to fill but rather a voluntary

school, and community,” and I hope that

improvement of the community. For this

this only improves in the future.

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Humans of Texas-Oklahoma (HOTO) MARJORIE

LIM

MANSFIELD

LAKE

RIDGE

HIGH

SCHOOL

D39S

My legs swayed back and forth as I sat in front of the Mansfield Historical Museum, doing my best to fight off frequent shivers. It was a bitingly cold October day, and I’d just managed to convince my dad to drop me off immediately after work, following a stilted conversation in the car about unfulfilled responsibilities. Now that I’d arrived, I wasn’t sure that I still wanted to participate, but since I had just extended my best efforts towards getting there, I ignored my doubts and gathered enough courage to walk through the door.

I joined Key Club in 2016 on a whim,

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where I felt increasingly isolated by the

egged on by my fellow freshmen friends

pressures of achieving academic success

who insisted that it was a perfect club to

and a growing dislike of the inherent

put on college applications. Not really

competitiveness of my classmates. I

one to consider the future, distant as it

yearned for an opportunity to feel the

seemed, I still signed up, hoping for a

cohesiveness that I’d told about, the fun-

chance to be more involved at school,

filled high school experience that came

alongside extracurriculars.

one of the Main Street buildings. With an apologetic grin directed towards the lady

The first club-sponsored event that

with a clipboard, I shuffled reluctantly

I ended up going to was the Ghost Tours

towards my storytelling partner, a

at the Mansfield Historical Museum, an

cheerful girl who introduced herself as

opportunity for the museum to make

Megan. Although she seemed fairly nice,

revenue based on the surprisingly large

my nervousness heightened when I

trove of ghost stories within the Mansfield

realized that she was a senior, and not

area. Those who’d volunteered were

just any senior: our Club President. As the

relegated to being either tour guides or

Megan. Although she seemed fairly nice,

storytellers on the actual tour itself. For

my nervousness heightened when I

storytellers, there were scripts to be

realized that she was a senior, and not

practiced and expressiveness to be

just any senior: our Club President. As the

captured, but I planned on being a tour

reluctant victim of the standard freshmen

guide so that I could get away with light

belittling, I braced myself for the next two

conversation with the sightseers and

hours, which I imagined would be

escape the undivided attention that

awkward at best.

storytellers would receive. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in retrospect), the universe had other plans for me.

It was silly of me to have worried, because the moment we started working together, I was immediately at ease.

Lost in my own musings, I tuned out

Throughout the lengthy periods of

the person who was doling out roles, until

inactivity between tours, our

she tapped me on the shoulder and asked

conversations held some of the most

what I wanted to do. I came to the

genuine depth I’d live through that school

painful realization that the only position

year. We bonded over our similarities in

left for me was a storytelling role behind

dysfunctional sibling dynamics, blatantly .

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indecisive decision-making, and struggles

not only spurred growth in myself but also

to keep a somewhat positive vibe going in

brought others a much needed escape

the midst of our own problems. During our

from the world meant so much to me.

first break, we noticed a taco food truck within walking distance, and when she realized it would be my first time trying

appreciate the inherent unity that Key

street tacos, we ran as fast as we could

Club inspires. Through an encounter with

to get our food so we could finish just in

someone I never thought I could relate to,

time for the second tour to walk by. We

I realized that there was potential for

laughed at the cuteness of little kid

camaraderie with any individual, and

costumes (with a particularly adorable

allowed myself to be more open to what

Darth Vader belonging to my former

the world had to offer. As a current

seventh-grade English teacher) and

senior, I look back on memories of service

exchanged encouraging glances when

with fondness, and a little regret that it’ll

our storytelling lines fell victim to slip-ups

draw to an end soon.

As awesome as spending time with

While I’m definitely not the most

her was, the actual highlight of the

active or most dedicated member within

experience was witnessing people enjoy

my school, I truly value what Key Club

themselves on the tours, whether it was

builds cultivates all of us: selfless service,

the genuine delight from kids who were

and a love for those we serve. What a

initially just dragged along or the adults

beautiful thing to witness, and to be a

who widened their eyes in disbelief at

part of!

ghost stories. Being part of an event that

30

From that event on, I grew to

Trunk or Treat MICHELLE

PHAM

KENNEDALE

HIGH

SCHOOL

D39S

On October 26th, Kennedale’s annual Trunk or Treat took place in the parking lot of the city’s town center park.

This has been an annual tradition in Kennedale for the past few years, hosted by the Kennedale’s Youth Advisory Council. In the event, organizations each have their own trunk in which they hand out candy. Key Club hosted our own trunk in President Allie Murphy’s car.

This event in important to Key Club because every year we host a trunk that gives candy to the younger ones, when the community is all together and united.

esmall pumpkin and were given an apron

Other organizations such as student

and a variety of paint colors to do

council, theatre, spanish club, and the

whatever design they pleased.

Kennedale Fire Department had their own

Kennedale’s Youth Advisory Council also

trunks giving out candy to children from

gave away free cotton candy that was

all over the community who dress up. This

made right in front of Trunk or Treaters.

event did not only have trunks, but it also

This city-wide event is so important to the

had fun activities and more to offer such

community and Key Club was so happy

as pumpkin painting that was offered to

and pleased to be there, volunteering and

anyone who was there. Everyone got a

handing out candy to the younger ones!

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PARTNERS

Thirst Project hopes to educate the next generation by arming students with information about how they can be a part of social change, make a difference and encourage others to join in the effort.

Landscape Structures (LSI) has joined Kiwanis International as a vision partner to bring play to communities across the globe. LSI is proud to provide high-quality commercial playground equipment and planning consultation services that reflect the high degree of integrity that Kiwanis clubs expect.

Nickelodeon currently presents two major campaigns each year that encourage action in kids globally. Worldwide Day of Play reinforces Nickelodeon’s mission to make the world a more playful place by leading active, playful events across the country. Nickelodeon’s Get Dirty campaign seeks to educate kids, families and teachers about what they can do to help protect the planet in fun, mindful ways.

The U.S. Army empowers tomorrow’s leaders by offering advanced schooling for today’s top careers. Not only that, programs like the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and March2Success.com allow students to go to college debt free and excel in the classroom with helpful academic resources.

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PARTNERS

Up with People strives to develop a sense of social responsibility in their Thirst Project hopes to educate the next generation by arming participants through hands on community service. Service projects are students with information about how they can be a part of integrated into each city visited during the semester. By volunteering to social change, make a difference and encourage others to meet the specific needs of each community, participants develop insight join in the effort. into how different cultures address social and political challenges.

Squads Abroad is a program of Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS), the world's leading expert in international volunteering. Since 1995, CCS has empowered more than 35,000 volunteers to improve child health and educational outcomes around the world.

currently presents two major campaigns each year that Kiwanis Gives Online is powered Nickelodeon

by Access Development, a teamencourage action in kids globally.

Worldwide Day of Play reinforces friendly crowdfunding platform just for Key Club.

It specializes in helping Nickelodeon’s mission to make the world a more playful place by your club achieve its fundraising goals through a convenient turnkey, active, playful events across the country. Nickelodeon’s Get online fundraising service. Kiwanis leading Gives Online not only creates and Dirty campaign to educate kids, families and teachers about manages your entire campaign(s), but also provides seeks a reward to anyone what they can do to help protect the planet in fun, mindful ways. making a donation.

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PREFERRED CHARITIES & COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS Members work together by sponsoring fundraising events and conducting service projects at their local children's hospitals.

Contact your local CMN hospital and invite a representative to a club meeting to share ideas and create a partnership.

Since the 1940s, Key Clubs have worked with March of Dimes to make a positive impact in the lives of babies everywhere.

Today, Kiwanis members continue that culture of service by supporting the March of Dimes all year long by hosting service projects, raising funds and educating communities about the crisis of preterm birth.

UNICEF is the only organization of the United Nations dedicated exclusively to children. Working with other United Nations bodies, governments and non-governmental organizations, UNICEF helps to provide for children’s needs in more than 150 developing countries through community-based services in primary health care, basic education and safe water and sanitation.

K Corps is Kiwanis International’s youth exchange program for Key Clubbers. It’s a great opportunity to experience a unique culture, provide service, make lifelong friends, and see spectacular sights half a world away! Participants are hosted by Japanese families, and scholarship opportunities are available.

Project Happiness inspires and empowers club members to create greater happiness within themselves and their communities addressing the bullying issue at its core. The Key Club Guide to Project Happiness shares exercises, discussions, games and tools based on Neuroscience, Positive Psychology and Mindfulness to re-wire the brain for happiness. Why does happiness matter? Happier people enjoy life.

34

CONTACTS DISTRICT

DISTRICT

GOVERNOR

SECRETARY

Ashna

Patel

Kareena

Patel

governor@tokeyclub.com

secretary@tokeyclub.com

DISTRICT

DISTRICT

TREASURER

EDITOR

Katherine

Chao

Vivian

Thai

treasurer@tokeyclub.com

editor@tokeyclub.com

CONVENTION

TECH

LIAISON

PRODUCER

Dillion

Grisham

Lacey

cl@tokeyclub.com

T-O DISTRICT

INTERNATIONAL

tokeyclub.com

keyclub.org

Texas-Oklahoma Key Club District

Thomas

techassistant@tokeyclub.com

Key Club International

@tokeyclub

@keyclubint

@tokeyclub

@keyclub

@tokeyclub

@keyclubint

ADMINISTRATORS Administrator Kenyon Black - Administrator@tokeyclub.com Assistant Administrator (Finances) Ryan Edmoundson - AAFinance@tokeyclub.com Assistant Administrator (District Events) Kelly Poland - AAEvents@tokeyclub.com

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