The Key Times
New York District Key Club/Division 9 Midwood High School Key Club Volume 2, Issue 7
About Key Club Key Club Pledge
Key Club Mission Statement
I pledge, on my honor, to uphold the Objects of Key Club International; to build my home, school and community; to serve my nation and God; and combat all forces which tend to undermine these institutions.
Key Club is an international student-led organization which provides its members with opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership.
What is Key Club? Key Club International, a service leadership program of Kiwanis International, is the oldest and largest service organization for high school students, and gives its members opportunities to provide service, build character and develop leadership skills. Started in California in the 1925, Key Club today thrives on more than 5,000 high school campuses with a total membership of 270,000 in 38 countries, including North America, the Caribbean nations, Central and South America, and most recently, Asia and Australia. Key Club attributes its success to the fact that it is a student-led organization that teaches leadership through serving others. In other words, as members of the Kiwanis International family, Key Club members build themselves as they build their schools and communities. Among the opportunities provided to members are: ● Leadership development ● Vocational guidance ● College scholarships ● Service-learning ● Personal enrichment ● Value-added member benefit programs ● Liability insurance coverage Originally, Key Club adopted as its motto, “We Build,” the same motto as its parent organization, Kiwanis International. In 1976, the program changed its motto to, “Caring—Our Way of Life,” to more clearly convey members’ reasons for helping others. Dues paid by every member fund Key Club, and its officers are high school leaders elected by the members at district and International conventions.
Core Values Leadership » Leadership is grounded in humility and service to others. A true leader listens, recognizes, and empowers. Character Building » Character is built by everyday acts of kindness, integrity and teamwork to grow stronger relationships and communities. Caring » Compassion for others is a cornerstone of the Key Club experience, inspiring action and service to one’s community. Inclusiveness » We welcome people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to join in serving and making a positive difference in our world.
Objectives of Key Club International Key Club aims to cooperate with school principals and teachers to provide high school students with invaluable experience in living and working together and to prepare them for useful citizenship. Our members develop initiative and leadership skills by serving their schools and communities. In doing so, we hope to promote and accept the following ideals: ● To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life. ● To encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships. ● To promote the adoption and application of higher standards in scholarship, sportsmanship and social contacts. ● To develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive and serviceable citizenship. ● To provide a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render unselfish service and to build better communities. ● To cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which makes possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism and goodwill.
Key Club Structure INTERNATIONAL: Key Club International encompasses all clubs within the group’s 33 organized districts and in foreign countries that are not included in any specific district. Key Club International is led by the International Board, which is composed of the International president, International vice president, and 11 International trustees, all students and active Key Club members. DISTRICT: A district is normally defined by a state, a group of states, or nation and tends to match a similar Kiwanis district. Each district is chaired by a governor, elected by delegates at the district annual convention, and the District Board consisting of executive officers and lieutenant governors, either elected by delegates or appointed by the governor. DIVISION: Each district is divided into territories called divisions, made up of various clubs. Each division has a lieutenant governor, a student leader who carries out the district’s policies and provides support to the clubs. CLUB: Key Clubs are established in a high school or equivalent institution, or a community-based club may be chartered. Elected officers are president, one or more vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, editor, webmaster and one director from each class.
Members Club Officers District Board International Board
Table of Contents About Key Club
2
The Key Times Table of Contents
5
Midwood Social Media’s Page
6
Presenting Our New Club Board
7
NYDKC Social Media’s Page
8
Presenting Our New District Board
9
Letter From The Editor
10
President’s Message
11
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Clean & Green
12
Fall Rally
14
Little North Pole
18
Spruce Up Fort Greene
20
Project FIND Senior Citizen Community Outreach
21
December Divisional
22
NYCRUNS Cocoa Classic 5K & 10K
23
Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen
24
Bowery Mission Soup Kitchen
25
District and Governor’s Projects
26
Leadership Training Conference!
27
Credit System/Officer Requirements
28
Upcoming Events
29
Key Club “Caring - Our Way of Life”
Find us on
Midwood High School Key Club
Social Media
@midwoodhskeyclub
Midwoodkeyclub.weebly.com
Midwoodhskeyclub@gmail.com
Presenting Our New Club Board Wendy Lliguichuzhca President wendynl912@gmail.com
Josephine Wu Secretary josephinewu.ea@gmail.com
Justin Chow Webmaster chowjustin3@gmail.com
Tiffany Yong Vice President tiffanyy0028@gmail.com
Lillian Chen Treasurer Lillian11213@gmail.com
Anthony Guan Editor Anthonyyg0413@gmail.com
Find the NYDKC on
New York District Key Club
Social Media
@nydkc
@NYKeyClub
Nydkc.org
NYDKC
Presenting Our New District Board Gavin Li
Natalie D’Onofrio
District Governor Gavinli.gov@nydkc.org
Matthew Portnoy
District Secretary Nataliedonofrio.sec@nydkc.org
Dante Gil-Marin
District Treasurer District Webmaster Matthewportnoy.treas@nydkc.org Dantegilmarin.tech@nydkc.org
Clara Lee
Sherry Yu
District Editor Claralee.edit@nydkc.org
District Executive Assistant Sherryyu.ea@nydkc.org
Josephine Leung District Executive Assistant Josephineleung.ea@nydkc.org
Letter From The Editor
Hey Kiddos! Happy New Years!! I hope you guys had an amazing and fun break. After all we all needed one haha. As the end of the service year approaches, we will be electing new officers for the next service year! We held a small officer workshop during the winter break, explaining each positions responsibilities and their role in the club and I’m so happy to see that people are interested in becoming an officer of this amazing club! We will release the applications for each position soon later on this month and we will hold the interviews in February. What’s more exciting is that The 70th Annual Leadership Training Conference is coming up in a few months!! This year our theme for LTC is Birthday Bash. If you are interested in making a t-shirt or a pin design that’s related to our theme, you guys can! If you are chosen your t-shirt/pin will be wore all over the conference!! Woah that’s so cool! If you guys are interested about LTC or the T-shirt/ pin design, there will be more information towards the end of this editions newsletter. As always thank you for coming to all these wonderful events despite the freezing temperatures! Happy Key Clubbing!
Yours in care and service, Anthony Guan
President’s Message
Hey there my lovely Key Clubbers! I’ve missed writing this! It seems like it was so long ago since my last President’s Message but I am excited to get back to work! Ah there are only three more months left in this service year and I am so excited for what’s left of this journey. Throughout this newsletter you’ll be able to see some of our awesome events from November and December. In the month of December we teamed up with Madison and Murrow Key Clubs to volunteer alongside one another and serve our community. I hope you guys really enjoyed that and it helped remind you guys of the small things that make a difference in life. With this new year upon us, I hope that you will all continue to join me and the rest of the board on this Key Club journey and that we get to make an even bigger difference than before. I can’t wait to see you guys at our upcoming events and meetings! Happy Key Clubbing!
Yours in care and service, Wendy Lliguichuzhca
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Clean & Green When arriving at the Gowanus Conservative event, I was welcomed by the staff. They quickly signed me in, prepared me with gloves, and sent me to the rest of the volunteers. At first, I helped dig the soil with an appropriate depth, and then plant some plants of various sizes. With assistance from the members already at work, I quickly learned, and we effectively worked together in groups and had the job done. Afterwards, we were sent to another area of the site to assist in the softening of the soil to lay out the foundations for other plants. There were many people there, many from schools other than Midwood, and it was nice to see all these students come together and volunteer for a good cause. The work was quite physically tough though, but after a while, it felt great to have accomplish such a large task. Overall, this experience was an amazing one, and I certainly enjoyed working for what Key Club stands for. Serving the Community.
Ryan Chen Member
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Clean & Green The Gowanus Canal Conservancy, along with Bowery Mission, are probably two of my all time favorite Key Club events. We only recently started volunteering with the Conservancy but ever since that first event I’ve had a blast. Not only do these events appeal to my love of volunteering but also to my love of nature vand helping conserve our environment. With everything I’ve been learning in AP Environmental, I am more eager to help my environment and am more aware of all the problems we have caused. I think that we should all be held responsible for the degradation of our environment and should take action to help our dying ecosystem. At the latest Gowanus event we were able to help out the Conservancy by weeding and planting. I was in charge of cutting down large stalks of weeds with a huge pair of scissors and that was a really great experience. I was able to put my mind off of all the stress from school and the college admissions process and was able to bring a little good to the planet, which in my book is a great day.
Wendy Lliguichuzhca President
Fall Rally Fall rally was a really new and different experience for me. I think it’s really cool that it’s a cheaper alternative to LTC. Everyone got to learn more about Key Club while spending time with their friends. It brought me and my friends much closer. I also got to meet and speak with a lot of new people. I went to the Treasurer workshop because I’m interested in becoming the treasurer and I learned a lot from it, such as the duties I may have if I become an officer. There were also many activities and icebreakers which were really enjoyable as well. Seeing the hundreds of boxes of pizza was great too! Overall Fall Rally was a day where I really learned a lot about key club and what it’s like to be part of a club. I hope that the LTGs will keep Fall Rally going because everyone that I know who went had a really great time.
Vivian Chong Member
Fall Rally This year’s Fall Rally was held on Saturday, November 11th at Stuyvesant High School. Being the mini version of LTC, there were so many workshops and activities throughout the whole day. The lieutenant governors of Divisions 8-13 worked very hard to put it together and it was nice to see everyone having fun! One of the workshops that I attended was called “Friends of the Environment.” I was able to learn more about the environment and how to make a difference. Afterwards, we formed into groups and created small collage with recycled magazines, and it was so adorable! Of course, the biggest highlight of the day was K-fair! Everyone had fun playing icebreakers and bonding with other fellow Key Clubbers. It was great to see the energy in the room when we did the “We got spirit” chant. Overall, it was amazing to see everyone come together show their support and love for Key Club. Although it was the last Fall Rally of my high school journey, I look forward to the upcoming Leadership Training Conference in March! Tiffany Yong Vice President
Little North Pole
This was my first time volunteering in this Little North Pole event but one word to describe the Little North Pole event, fun. I met up with the other key club members since I realized it was on another place that I didn’t know existed.The weather was pretty chilly on the day of the event but the people there were very warm and welcoming. We were also given the Kiwanis Santa looking hat so I thought we looked pretty funny but it was okay because everyone had it on .In this event the people there were enjoying their time just going around watching performances, dancing, eating and spending time with their neighbors and family. During the Little North Pole event, we pretty much helped serve food, explained to the people what to expect from the Little North Pole event and helped with the set-up but the best of all you got free food. I particularly loved this event because of all the wandering around and the time when you return has the best sunset ever. I would totally recommend people to attend this event next year and every year on because you will feel happy just being there.
Hnin Lwin Member
Spruce Up Fort Greene
Walking into the Fort Greene Park was smelly and full of leaves and mushed up berries that people keep stepping on. I never expected my job to be raking those smelly leaves known as ginkgo berry leaves. After my reaction, I thought raking leaves wouldn’t be that hard nor would it be a memorable experience. Little did I know, it takes almost 6-7 people to lift up all those leaves to carry to another spot to deposit out of. Additionally, I met some new friends from Key Club that were and weren’t even part of Midwood. Working with others was very fun and enjoyable. When we’re we’re raking leaves, we had times of laughs and times of fulfillment. Time flew by when we were working. When it was time to go, I felt a sense of accomplishment because I helped clean up a park. I never expected to do that. If i had the chance, I would do that event because I made a an impact to our world and made it a better place.
Alice Yee Member
Project FIND Senior Citizen Community Outreach The Project Find event was great on a multitude of levels. To recap, on Thanksgiving, Midwood Key Club traveled to a church in Manhattan where people from various backgrounds found it in their hearts to pack meals for the elderly and disabled. On top of packing the meals, we had the pleasure of delivering these meals to the respective addresses. I personally delivered the meals with Secretary Josephine and Vice President Tiffany. Yes, the walking was daunting and I did complain, but it was well worth it to see the warm reactions of the meal recipients. There was one person that we delivered to who had a unique personality. The man, Mr. Johnson, had ultra-anti-Trump posters on his door and we didn’t know what to expect. To one surprised, Mr. Johnson was extremely friendly and was very grateful for us bringing him the food. After we finished delivering these meals and felt the love from the recipients… we (shout out to Josephine, Tiffany, Victor, Vivian, Justin, Benjamin, Carlos, Carmen, and Wendy) pulled up to Dunkin and had a phenomenal time getting to know each other’s goals and aspirations. Overall, the event brought everyone closer together and truly makes Key Club, Key Club… furthermore, events like this, where we give back to the community that we adore so much, is what makes passion for service the epitome of Key Club. I <3 Key Club!! Jonathan Li Member
December Divisional
Because Christmas was around the corner, the December Divisional was especially ‘magical.’ Divisionals are the go-to for learning about important events, whether they are upcoming or have already occurred. They’re always so informative and yet, at the same time, welcoming, and inviting you to meet new people, which is part of the reason I love them. One thing that surprised me was the fact that there were so many people (there was 92). As usual, people settled down quickly and important matters were brought up during the meeting. A main focus of the divisional was the upcoming LTC, which is already set for Friday, March 23rd to Sunday, March 25th. We watched a preview/promo of the upcoming LTC, which was silly and definitely gave an insight of the fun and friendly vibes that LTC has to offer. It definitely gave people a reason to go to the conference. At the end, “The Magnificent” Josephine gave us brownies, and they were too good to pass up the opportunity of free food. Again, if anyone doesn’t know how to learn about important events, just remember: divisionals are a great way to start!
Victor Zheng Member
NYCRUNS Cocoa Classic 5K & 10K On Saturday, December 16th Midwood Key Club went to Roosevelt Island, to volunteer at the NYCRUNS Cocoa Classic 5K & 10K, which is basically a jog or a run in a circle on the island. Since it snowed a few days prior, what the coordinators did was just to make the 5K & 10K run a fun run where you can just take your time running the lap. As the volunteers we helped with bag check in, serve bagels and energy bars for the runners, give out t-shirts and most importantly serve Hot Cocoa, hence the name of the run.It was pretty cold that day, especially when we all had to wake up really early in the morning to attend to this event. But surprisingly I still saw some people wear short shorts on such a freezing cold day for a run. My friends and I was helping serve out bagels and what turned out to be a â&#x20AC;&#x153;competitionâ&#x20AC;? to see who could serve out more bagels then the others since there were different type of bagels like plain, everything, and raisin. Attending to these runs the coordinators always get a excess amount of bagels so they let us take some home for us to eat, but overall this event was pretty fun besides me freezing outside in the cold haha.
Anthony Guan Editor
Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen
Key Club and I went to a soup kitchen called Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen. No matter how cold we all persevered and went to help those in need. It was a hustle but we all survived. There was a lot going on but it was a great experience. It was heartwarming to see these people have a smile on their face in their hard journeys. Thanks to Key Club this was possible.
Julianna Miranda Member
Bowery Mission Soup Kitchen
On New Years Eve, my friend, Yesenia Peregrina, and I volunteered at the Bowery Soup Kitchen. (We found out later that this was the only soup kitchen that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner so we thought that was cool.) Key club members from the 3M (Midwood, Madison and Murrow) attended this event. In total there was a total of 12 volunteers. The first thing we did was organizing and stacking different foods in their correct sections. About 5 other volunteers including Yesenia were also stacking, while everyone else cut vegetables. Afterwards, we made mashed potatoes using mash flakes. It was probably the most tiring thing we had to do at that event. At least 2 people were in charge of a whole tray. The tray was huge and the flakes kept popping out of nowhere. It was almost like they were trying to torturing us. We kept mixing and adding more water in the mashed potatoes. That wasn't even all yet. We still need to add the spices so that took more mixing. When we were finally done, we placed desserts and pastries into trays so that during the dinner shift, it would be easier to take the tray out inside of one by one. We got a small break afterwards, but after the break, we went straight to work because lunch hour started. Most of the volunteers served the people. Yesenia and I had the garbage duty. We went around the tables asking the people if they were done and if they wanted us to help them throw out some garbage. At the end of the event, everyone was tired and happy at the same time because we all had a great time. Yesenia and I both agreed that it was now our favorite Key Club event out of all that we have went to so far. Jenny Mei Member
District Project
Sunrise Day Camps are the world’s only dedicated day camps for children with cancer and their siblings, provided completely free of charge. Providing memorable summers since 2006 for children 3½-6, Sunrise Day Camps bring the simple pleasures of childhood back to children struggling with cancer, changing months of loneliness and isolation into summer’s filled with sunshine, laughter, and happiness. And because Sunrise is a day camp, it does all this while allowing the children to continue their medical treatment and enjoy the comfort and safety of their own homes at night.
Governor’s Project
The Honeybee Conservancy is a 501c3 nonprofit established in 2009 in responses to the bee crisis. To help the bees, they inspire communities to plant bee habitat and act as stewards for bees, support bee research in an effort to end bee population declines, advance science and environmental education, support local food initiatives, and encourage communities to support their local beekeepers.
Leadership Training Conference! When: March 23rd - 25th, 2018 Location: The Desmond Hotel (Albany, NY) Theme: Birthday Bash/Celebrate the Service Price: $295 (per member + a bus fee TBA) What is LTC? The Leadership Training Conference or LTC for short is a weekend long conference where Key Clubbers across New York State, join together at the Desmond Hotel and celebrate the end of the service year through fun workshops, inspiring speakers, and elections for the new district board. Why come? You get the chance to meet new people all around the district, attend informative and fun workshops to learn more about Key Club and most importantly, have fun and make new memories to be cherished! T-Shirt/ Pin Contest: If you guys are interested in making a design for a T-Shirt or a pin for this years LTC, it has to be related to our theme. It is preferred to have a beaver and/or KCI Logo. Please submit all your submissions to our Governor, Gavin Li (gavinli.gov@nydkc.org).
Credit System For every 25 points you earn 1 credit. The maximum credits you can receive per semester is 10. The spreadsheet with everyone’s points is posted on our Facebook page. -
Base of 2 credits for official members (paid dues) Events: 6 points for every hour (1 point for every 10 minutes) * Time In/ Time Out* Divisionals: 10 points each Club Meetings: 5 points each Committees: 3 credits (maximum) Articles for club and division: 5 points each Pictures: 1 point for 2 non-duplicate pictures Fundraising Boxes/Cans: 5 points
Officer Requirements This coming April we will be retiring and new officers will be installed. In order to become an officer there are a few things you have to do. One of these is to attend either Fally Rally or LTC or both and get training for the position you are thinking of applying to. If you’re interested in applying for a position you MUST attend either of these conferences or else you will not be considered eligible to run for a position. In addition to these, some other requirements include: Attending at least 2 divisionals Attending at least 3 division events (Ex. Breast Cancer, Out of the Darkness, Fall Rally, etc.) Attending at least 7 club events (including one fundraiser) Attending at least 65% of club meetings Attending a workshop we’ll be hosting at a library later this year
Upcoming Events Annual Division 9 Ice Skating Fundraiser Come join us at our annual ice skating fundraiser!! Last year we were able to raiser over $700 dollars for Voices for the Blind. Let’s try to beat the record this year! Everyone is invited to come regardless if you’re a Key Clubber or not. You must bring and sign the waiver with you on the day of the Ice Skating Fundraiser. Date: Wednesday January 24th Time: 11:00 A.M. Location: LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park (171 East Drive Brooklyn, NY 11225) Price: $11.50 with skates/ $15 without skates Sign Up Form: NYDKC Division Nine Annual Ice Skating Fundraiser Waiver: Ice Skating Waiver
Women’s March On January 20th, we will be participating in this march for equality. Throughout our history, minority groups have always been oppressed in some way, shape, or form. We can use our voices now and fight to protect our civil rights and those of everyone else of minority groups. Date: Saturday, January 20th Time: 11:00 AM Location: 72nd and Central Park West Entrance, New York, NY Sign Up Form: Women’s March
Thank You for reading The Key Times!
If you guys have any questions, comments, or concern please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to contact any of the officers. Please send any feedback to midwoodhskeyclub@gmail.com and continue sending in any articles and pictures as well for the next newsletter!
Happy Key Clubbing!!