Volume 7 | Issue 3 | 2018 September & October | Texas Oklahoma
TEX-O-KEY TEX-O-KEY
"WHATEVER IT TAKES" Sharing our passion for helping others throughout the community.
//JERSEY VILLAGE
PASSION DEDICATION LOYALTY
Working T-Ogether to make the world a better place.
Table of Contents 2) Editor's Note 3) District Updates- DCON Theme Reveal 5) Fall Rally 7) International Trustee's Message 9) Featured Articles 17) Partners and Sponsors 19) District Staff Contact Information 20) Social Media
Riddle What goes up when the rain goes down? Email me the answer with the email subject line:
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School Division Month Riddle of the Month Ex: Awesome D55 June Riddle of the Month
Connect Email: editor@tokeyclub.com or kyratburke@gmail.com Remind: @toeditor to 81010 Facebook: T-O District Key Club Editors
Editor's Note Hello, T-O! I hope everyone is having a great school year so far! This is not a drill: The DCON theme for 2019 is now released! Please be sure to look over the updates pages so that you can be fully informed on everything that goes on in our district. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact me. Let's continue to work T-Ogether to make the world a better place! Yours in service, Kyra Burke
Letter to the Editor: July/August Edition From: Madelinh Vo, Cinco Ranch High School- Do you have a preferred date/deadline for photo submissions? I prefer for photos to be submitted before the 1st of the following month so that I can include them in the Tex-OKey.
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DISTRICT UPDATES
2019
DCON THEME REVEAL
GROOVE INTO SERVICE
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Calling all Key Clubbers… Come out and celebrate 70 years of Groovy Service at DCON 2019! District Convention will be held on April 25th-28th at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas, TX. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of DCON, our theme this year will be “Groove into Service”, with all things 70’s themed. Get ready for a weekend full of funky forums, good times, and lots of boogie’in! More information regarding sign-up, specifics, and convention reveals will be posted later in the DCON promotional video, so be on the lookout for that. Hope to see y’all there! Yours in Service, Nadia Rodriguez
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DISTRICT UPDATES
Fall Rally
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DISTRICT UPDATES
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International Trustee's Message
MESSAGE FROM YOUR
INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEE
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 Texas-Oklahoma, The International Board has been hard at work! Some International projects that have been in the works are that we are currently working on: a disaster relief awareness project, several social media campaigns, an International Club Finder Google Maps, several webinars, and a Kiwanis Family Chartering Guide. On September 28th, I had the incredible honor of attending your Fall Rally. I truly felt like I was at a special event since this was the first ever time that it was held in Oklahoma! I can't wait to meet you all at District Convention in April. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or snarky comments, please feel free to contact me at leslietruong.kci@gmail.com! With an Undying Passion, Leslie Truong
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HUMANS OF TEXAS OKLAHOMA Nasim Muhammad, Mansfield Summit High School I joined Key Club at the beginning of my junior year, mainly because my mother recommended me to join. Before my mother recommended Key Club to me, I wasn't as social and as willing to do extra curricular activities. But once I did join, I ended up becoming this adequate, helpful and content young man that I probably would not have been if it wasn’t for Key Club. Before Key Club, my focus was mostly on academics. Of course, it still is, but I wasn't fond of joining any clubs other than the swim team during high school. Throughout the beginning of my high school years, I was conflicted to join a very few select clubs, but once I was introduced to Key Club, it really opened my eyes, giving me new experiences as well as a new friend group.
//Mansfield Summit
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//Cypress Ranch
Since I only did swim for the first two years of high school, that and school were really the only things that I was interested in. But since Key Club, my interests have expanded from the swim team to organizations that are made to help the people in need. Key Club introduced me to the incredible world of volunteering. The more volunteering I do with Key Club, the more my mind expands on giving and partaking in helping others. It has changed me to be a young man with having pride in being a giver. Key Club opens my eyes to less fortunate people all around the Mansfield area. It has given me a new point of view and a new set of eyes by making me look at not why I’m doing it, but who I’m doing it for. As a Key Club member, my goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. This really means a lot to me since I have come to appreciate togetherness and the things I may have that others don’t. I’ve changed a lot after joining Key Club by being more willing to give my time and effort as well as my great fullness in helping others I may never meet. That's why I am thankful for being apart of such a great organization. Now that I am in Key Club it has introduced me to a new side of myself. I truly love being around my friends, going to socials and volunteering, and I definitely don’t regret joining this magnificent organization of loving students.
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BALANCING SCHOOL, CLUBS, AND COLLEGE Trang Hau, Allen High School The beginning of year can be very stressful and no matter if you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, there are inevitable struggles that all of us face. For one the freedom of high school also comes at the cost of sacrificing time and effort to either participate in fun activities or deal with homework. However, it's the balance of interests and academics through planning that will lead to not only personal satisfaction , but also success in many other aspects. As a senior, I’d admit to the procrastination and the cramming common in high schools around the nations, but there are methods of easing stress and anxiety. As an officer of Key Club, I am motivated by my peers to keep striving to improve on myself and our division to better serve our community. Even when I am bone tired from the load of AP classes and extracurriculars, a smile always finds a way onto my face after meeting the wonderful key club members. Additionally, I found that by planning my days and weeks out with a planner, I am more likely to achieve my goals. On our club website, there is also a calendar that is posted and updated weekly that highlights our activities and meetings for the next few months. When members visit our site they can find links to our sign up and more informationSummit about service opportunities. On the other hand, I have the help //Mansfield of different classmates and teachers in my life that have guided me in the right direction. I appreciate how Key Club has introduced me to a variety of people that have all made an impact on my life.
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From our amazing president to the Kiwanis members that have helped during our service events, they have all shaped my goals and have supported me through my endeavors. Earlier this month, we set up one of our first service events for the new academic year. During orientation day at the high school, we would not only provide guidance to the upcoming class, but we invited them to join our club. At first I was almost hesitant to volunteer, a new year, a new class, and a crowd of new faces. Yet, s I slowly eased into the flow of things, I began to change my mind. I realized that many of these kids were similar to me in the aspect that they were scared and faced with challenges they’ve never experienced before. As an upperclassman, I knew I had a purpose to aid these students and I did just that. From brochures to academic classes, I answered their every question and sent them off with more confidence towards a better year. Sometimes things are harsh, sometimes life has you down, but when you look at the world around you and regain the motivation to start again, you will be able to do great things.
//Jersey Village
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SUMMER 2K18 Hareem Shoaib, Jenks High School This past summer was something that still is being played like a movie in my head. Every waking and sleeping moment was a precious symbol of my happiness. I went to Pakistan after a total of eight years, and it was such a blessing and beautiful moment to meet all my family again. Being away from my cousins and aunts and uncles really made me more grateful for them, because I had someone to go across the oceans for. Of course, food and music and games was all fun, but what also contributed to my well-spent time was my volunteering. I volunteered for SPADO - Sustainable Peace and Development Organization which was simply so eye-opening and lovely. Basically, what SPADO does is reach out to the general Pakistani population about their basic rights in the country. Since the previous Pakistani politicians have done everything to keep people in the dark, some even as aged as 80 years of age are clueless as to what they can demand from their country. The part of SPADO I worked with dealt with women’s rights, and it was definitely something I was excited to be a part of. Every day, we would go to a new location in Pakistan and spread awareness of public and government rights to the people. Since most women are becoming educated in Pakistan, there were a lot less women than I expected to meet in those informative group sessions. In fact the women did come were very open to the ideas and shunned any prejudice I had previously held for them out of my brain.Â
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Of course, there were still men and women who had no idea they had such small rights as “the right to vote without any outside influence”. Because the general Pakistan elections were coming up on July 25th, 2018, my volunteer work was a great influence on the people, because they realized they had to let the country hear their voice and speak up for themselves. I don’t want to seem self-centered, but I definitely owe the great results of the Pakistan elections to be because of SPADO’s and my personal work to urge the community to stand up and vote. Pakistan finally elected a Prime Minister who not only knew about politics but also had the capabilities to speak up to bullying nations. That volunteer opportunity not only gave me 200 hours but also an insight into Americans also not knowing about about their general rights. Volunteering with Key Club really led to my passion for volunteering even when I was on a vacation. SPADO was such an amazing organization that the other volunteers there became a sort of second family to me. I hope to volunteer for SPADO whenever I go to Pakistan next.
//Jenks
//Cypress Falls
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VOLUNTEERING AT THE FOOD BANK Alish Arshad, Edmond North High School I’ve always strived to be as empathetic, helpful, kind, and loving as I could possibly be. Some of the most memorable moments in my life have revolved around helping people. I love making someone smile; it’s like a beautiful rainbow appearing after countless hours of bland, dark clouds passing by. Just knowing //Edmond North that I have helped someone feel some joy warms my heart. I am enraptured by the beauty of happiness and the way it seems to make people shine. I wish that everyone could find some sort of gratitude in their lives. Unfortunately, there’s an abundance of negativity in this world. I know that it’s easy to feel anger and hate. It’s easy to complain. I believe it’s because we always see the more pessimistic sides of our lives. We don’t try to be grateful; we take shelter, food, and clothes for granted. We don’t think about how we have more than others could ever have.
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Approximately 842 million people suffer from hunger. About nine million die each year from it. They don’t have access to nutritious food like most of us do; they don’t have the money for it. This is definitely something to be upset about, but what if there was a way that could help ease their hunger and get them back on their feet? In Oklahoma, there’s an organization called the Regional Food Bank that does just that. Enough food is given to poor families who need it, so they don’t have to worry about grocery finances until they can afford it. Since I want these families to have that little bit of light in their lives, I decided to help. On August 7, I volunteered with my fellow district 40 west members at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. Our team consisted of Edmond North’s officers (Amal Jamshed, Lauren Ross, and Elden Bruner) along with officers from Jones and Guthrie. There were also Kiwanians and CKI present. We sorted the bread and pantry items into giant palettes that were going to be shipped out to many needy families. It was a lot of work, but it’s awesome to see so many people working together for a just cause! We ended up providing 4,961 meals. In just two and a half hours, we were able to give many other Oklahomans a reason to smile. I’m glad that I decided to volunteer there. Through Key Club, I had the opportunity to make an impact on my community, and that’s one of the reasons why I love it so much.
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SUPPORTED CHARITIES
Co-Sponsors:
SERVICE PARTNER
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G . r i e v t e li a w fe.
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CONTACT US
DISTRICT STAFF CONTACT INFORMATION GOVERNOR: Addi Duerksen governor@tokeyclub.com SECRETARY: Bunsri Patel secretary@tokeyclub.com TREASURER: Addie Flores treasurer@tokeyclub.com EDITOR: Kyra Burke editor@tokeyclub.com TECHNOLOGY PRODUCER: Aina Sebastian techassistant@tokeyclub.com CONVENTION LIAISON: Nadia Rodriguez CL@tokeyclub.com
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ASK US ANYTHING
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-Thank you for reading-