Last month, THHS Key Club attended the annual NY District Key Club Fall Rally at Long Island University in Brooklyn, attending workshops, connecting with other district clubs, and fundraising for the district.
“The Fall Rally was meant to connect fellow Key Club members together, build essential skills, and give back to the community,” said co-secretary and junior Xinyi Chen. Other attending Key Clubs in the NY district included: Francis Lewis High School, Bronx Science High School, Cardozo High School, Queens High School for the Sciences, and other clubs within division 8-11.
Co-secretary and junior Vivian Lin said that the event creates opportunities “for future collaborations with other schools within our large Key Club community.”
The Fall Rally also provided workshops including guidance for those taking on a leadership position within their school club. Vivian said that Xinyi and her “learned skills for future secretarial and clerical work” at a workshop focused on Key Club secretaries.
Attendees also created flowers out of pipe cleaners as a service project to connect with each other.
Co-Vice President and senior Vidhi Patel said, “The service project is done to increase team bonding for those participating. [These] projects involve volunteers [by] using arts and crafts. Then, the flowers are collected in the end to give to other people.”
Each year there is also a selected charity at Fall Rally, and this year part of the fundraising went to Athletes for Hope charity, a national nonprofit organization that works with athletes of all backgrounds to “build stronger, healthier, and more inclusive communities” around sports. Guest speaker psychiatrist Dr. Mena Mirhom endorsed Athletes for Hope with a tradition known as “Miracle Minute.” The tradition encouraged participants to donate what they could within a time limit of 60 seconds, resulting in nearly $200 for the charity.
Vivian said, “It was endearing to see that the people who donated [to the Miracle Minute tradition], including me, were able to contribute in [a meaningful] way to the Fall Rally.”
Key Club advisor, and guidance counselor Anthony Santos emphasized the importance of events like the fall rally. “Collaboration is key,” he said. “I think building community is super important, and I think that’s why Key Club can be so successful.”
