December / 2013

The RoarDivision 41 South • Volume II • Issue 12

HappyHolidays!

Editor’s NoteHoliday Greetings, Key Clubbers:

It’s late fall at the time of this writing (yes, it is not winter until December 21st , although society would have you believe otherwise), the season of consumerism, increased Starbucks sales, and the realization that finals are just around the corner.

However, Key Club still sticks to its genuine, age-old roots during the holidays, still partaking in service in our community which, really, is what this season should be about. This Key Club newsletter also joins in on the holiday spirit, being decked out in red and green hues instead of the normal Key Club blue and gold. There are also many holiday themed icons in this edition as well.

In this note, I would also like to remind everyone to submit articles on time. I’ve been witnessing a sad dearth of articles and visuals. There should be a minimum of 2 articles and 2 visuals from each club and each division has a quota of 3 articles and 3 visuals. Essentially, I don’t want our division and, furthermore, our newsletter to just scrape by. I want us to exceed expectations in all that we do. If we value quality in our service and our leadership we should extend and reflect that in our newsletter as well.

Have a nice Christmas, Kwanzaa, or what have you,

Aidan Jones

1

Table of Contents

Mission Viejo

Cover Photo: Dana Hills High School ready to give children a better Christmas!

Body Text is set in 14 pt. Garamond Premier ProSubtitles are set in 24 pt. Myriad Pro CondensedPhoto captions and authors are set in various sizes of Myriad Pro Semibold ItalicPage numbers are set in 34 pt. Myriad Pro Bold Condensed All other text, except for this text, is set in various sizes of Myriad ProDesigned in Pages 4.3

Dana Hills

Tesoro

5

3

Tesoro

On Saturday, November 23, many of the Tesoro Key Clubbers went to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine to contribute to the Run or Dye 5K,

1

a 3.1 mile course where all of the participants can run, walk, jog, skip, or even dance to the finish line, all while getting covered in powdered dye. From little kids still in strollers to grandmas wearing tutus, hundreds of participants came to show their support to the Big Brothers Big Sisters, an organization that provides children with one-on-one mentors that inspire them to have a brighter future. In addition to all of the runners, there were hundreds of volunteers from other Key Clubs, charities and organizations. The Tesoro Key Clubbers were assigned to the red dye station, where there were a dozen 80-pound boxes of colored powder waiting to be thrown at the runners. This was the last of five stations of the run, so all of the participants were already covered in blue, green, yellow, and white dye. Exhausted from the prior four kilometers of the race, the runners approaching the final station needed the extra energy and enthusiasm from the Key Clubbers and other volunteers at the station to finish the last leg of the course. With a handful of dye in hand, the Key Clubbers waited anxiously for the first runners to pass the station. When the first participant ran through, the volunteers threw the powder up in the air and it fell down onto the runner, dousing him in red. The red dye station colored hundreds of participants over about five hours, making sure that each runner was a colorful masterpiece at the finish line. At the finish line, there was a celebration for the participants with live music, food, and lots of color. Each of the runners was given an extra packet of dye, and at the finish they opened it up and threw it at each other so that everybody went home a rainbow. The event was a success; while raising lots of money and awareness for a great cause, all of the participants had lots of fun and got colorful too.

- Taylor Villahermosa / Member

1

Left to Right: Taylor Villahermosa, Ashley Teves , Michael Zhou, Courtney Vega, Alex Choy, Ramona Bahnean

Ramona Bahnean, Alex Choy Taylor Villahermosa, Ashley Teves

Mission ViejoOn Sunday, November 17, Mission’s Key Clubbers went out and eagerly volunteered for the Adopt-a-Park clean up at William R. Mason Regional Park.

1

With the Key Club spirit high, a couple people even wearing the infamous Key Club shirts, everyone was ready to help clean and scope out the park in order to pick up stray pieces of trash and litter. It wasn’t just Mission’s Key Clubbers who went out to volunteer, though; some students from UCI tagged along, and it was great meeting new people. It was a lot of work cutting down rugged pompous grass, but it was all worth it since everyone had a good time chatting and laughing along the way. It’s also nice knowing that all that work contributes toward a cleaner, better, and healthier planet.

- Kaelani Vergara / Historian

3

24

On December 6, 2013, Dana Hills Key Club participated in the Happiness Project at South Coast Plaza.

Decked out in red shirts, we were introduced to groups of less fortunate families and children and took them around a section of the mall. After taking a picture with Santa, we were released to all the activities set up for us. Children could decorate holiday-themed cookies with colorful frosting and sprinkles, take a ride around Santa’s carousel, make crafts, and play games. While the entire night was full of fun and activities, my favorite part was taking my 8-year-old Steven and 6-year-old Karla to the ice cream stand for a last minute treat before we said goodbye. It was a memorable experience.

- Aaron Sy / Webmaster

Dana Hills

Ready to give children a better Christmas!