The Give Back Club is the school’s very own Homeless Relief club, led directly by students, Jacqueline Maldonado, president, and Sarahi Romano, co-president. They plan to raise and volunteer for local homeless shelters. Along with this, they plan to start initiatives in 223 to promote change for this issue. Students who participate in the Give Back Club will receive community service hours for their effort and time. They have already hosted a holiday bake sale on 12/18/23 and it went very well as the club were able to fundraise enough money to initiate services in school and outside of school that will contribute to our local community.
President of Give Back at HS 223, Jacqueline Maldonado shares her story on how she started her own club, “I think a lot of it was that there was a lot of stress between seniors trying to get their hours together. A lot of people already have their hours done but it is out of making bulletin boards, cleaning up classrooms, and it felt like a shared consensus or something that everybody acknowledged was that they weren’t as meaningful as we would like them to be. But there’s no partners that we have within the school to volunteer with. So, I saw all these things happening and I was just like I need to take matters into my own hands and create my own club.”
Maldonado also expressed her inspirations, she stated “seeing my members everyday, be excited to come to Give Back and feel rewarded because some of them are not usually are the type to participate in school activities, but every time they come here, they are ready to go work because they really motivated by our mission.”
When asked about the exciting initiatives and upcoming events in the club:
Co-president of Give Back at HS 223, Sarahi Romano said, “Since we recently had a bake sale to raise money and that went pretty well, we raised a good amount of money. So right now, we are proposing ideas on how to spend the money. Some ideas are to do raffles, setting up workshops, donation boxes, and we probably do bake sales or sell snacks during lunch time or donate clothes you don’t use anymore to donate to shelters.”
Club member of Give Back at HS 223, Eduardo Maldonado shares his inspirations and goals, “What inspired me is that was trying to help, even if it’s just one person, I still wanted to help some out and I think joining the club gave me the opportunity to not only just help one person out, but multiple people. Some goals I have for this club is that after I graduate, the club is still here and continues its mission even if it’s a few members that are still around to help.”
In all, the Give Back club is making a difference in addressing homelessness in our community through volunteer work at local shelters and the initiation of community initiatives within our school, they are actively working towards positive change. The Give Back club is a shining example of how students come together to make a meaningful impact. Their dedication, leadership, and commitment to helping those in need are truly inspiring. We can all learn from them and strive to create positive change in our own lives and communities!
All thanks to Jacqueline Maldonado and Sarahi Romano for making this happen. That being said, if you are hoping to contribute to this club be sure to stop by room 223 on Fridays after school because this is how we start giving back to our communty.