Clubs Giving Back

Club Highlights

Student clubs on campus during the holiday season focus on making a difference and giving back to the community.

WORDS by ANNIKA FIRLIK

Fellowship of Faith Club is run by juniors Molly Morouse and Grace Hoffacker. The club meets twice a month, and their faculty advisor is math teacher Jennifer Pardue.

“Fellowship of Faith is focused on providing a welcoming community for people to learn more about the Bible and the power of Faith,” said Molly. “We aim to share God’s love with our peers through games, food, and or a speech or lecture. Fellowship of Faith welcomed “multiple guest speakers who spoke about their testimony and journey with our partner organization, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA),” Molly said. “Hearing the guest speaker’s testimony is very meaningful.”

Members of the Asian Student Union gather for a club photo. Photo by Caden Weaver. Fellowship of Faith Club members gather for a lunch time meeting. Photo by Molly Morouse.

The Asian Student Union Club is led by juniors Alexandra Siegel and Abby Kim. They meet once a month, and their faculty advisor is art teacher Doug Uyesaka.

“The Asian Student Union Club was founded this year to educate people and celebrate Asian culture through cooking, games, and trivia,” said Alexandra.

So far this year, they “have met a couple of times and have made spring rolls, played a traditional Korean game, and done lots of trivia. [they] also enjoy snacks,” said Alexandra.

“We started Asian Student Union to expand students’ knowledge on different Asian cultures and to share the vast array of traditions each Asian society explores,” said Alexandra Siegel, co-president of the Asian Student Union. “Fellowship of Faith is focused on providing a welcoming community for people to learn more about the Bible and the power of Faith. We aim to share God’s love in a way that our peers can hear, understand, and apply,” said Molly Morouse, leader of Fellowship of Faith.

“The purpose of the Meditation Club is to give students an outlet during the school day, and to lower the collective stress level of students at the school,” said club leader senior Maura Jaye.

During the club meetings, the students engage in guided meditations. The Meditation Club meets twice a month and is advised by Bojana Hill. “I find it really meaningful when people express their gratitude for me after my meditation, it warms my heart to know I made a difference in people's mental state, seeing them release stress and anxiety,” Maura said.

She started the club after leading a guided meditation for a class presentation, and she got so much great feedback from people saying it helped them and wanted her to continue.

Meditation Club members during a lunch time meditation led by Maura Jaye. Photo by Maura Jaye.

Sock Club members organize clothing for their Alameda Park visit. Photo by Claire Kellet.

The Sock Club is led by senior Catie Fristoe and junior Molly Morouse. Through her involvement with the club and its activities Catie said that she “[has] had a lot of connections with strangers that I never could have met. We would talk about living in a homeless shelter and other services that could be helpful for that. I learned so much about homelessness.”

The club started in 2015 with students handing out socks to people experiencing homelessness.

“The sock became a talking piece at the park so we could learn more,” said Catie.

The Sock Club has become a great place to help the local community and learn more about the struggles of homelessness. The club has an annual Warm Things Drive, and bake sales.

“I had a lot of connections with strangers that I never could have met. We would talk about living in a homeless shelter and other services that could be helpful for that. I learned so much about homelessness,” said Catie Fristoe, co-president of Sock Club. “I find it really meaningful when people express their gratitude for me after meditation. It warms my heart to know I made a difference in people’s mental state,” said Maura Jaye, leader of the Meditation Club.