Sophomore students strive to help the community

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:54:37 GMT

By Seungmin Lee and Sophie Park

Seungmin Lee
Results of Sophomore Service Project

The 10th grade class held various fundraising activities as an in-class assignment. They were influenced by the book Hiroshima , and each class set different goals that focused on the theme to support the community as a whole. The sophomore English class read the novel Hiroshima as a part of their assignment. This novel is about the atomic bombing which signified the end of the Second World War, that deal with issues such as the brutality of war and how to overcome difficulties. Through Hiroshima, the sophomore classes learned how to care for others and how people overcame difficulties in their own way. Another theme they discussed was caring for others in times of difficulties. Mr. Williams, 10th grade English teacher, says, “My goal was for students to connect the subject of English with the Christian notion that we should serve others.” In order to show their own love for others, the four English Literature classes of the sophomore year, taught by Mrs. Gilbert and Mr. Williams, are doing a service project each, and working to raise funds for a cause that serves others. Mrs. Gilbert, also a 10th grade english teacher, says, “We wanted to break down the racism especially against Japan. I’m hoping that the students would develop empathy for each other and learn how they can serve others.” The events the students planned vary from game competitions, fasting, talent shows, to even taking a more hands on approach and going to the homeless themselves. Hullabaloo Smile Train Hullabaloo is the name of their project they are holding in the auditorium on May 16th from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. There will be games for everyone to participate in such as the Peppero game, chubby bunny and many more. The winners of each of the games will win a prize. Depending on the number of people who participate, the audience will be split into groups where they will compete in several of the games as a team. The event is expected to be fast paced, relieving students from the stress of upcoming finals and other exams. The name of the event reflects on the game maker’s hopes that it will bring a smile to every one who participates. Katy Oh (10), one of the student leaders of H block English says, "The theme of our project is SMILE. In order to spread the smile we are holding a Dragon Tournament-ish thing to fundraise and present smiles to everyone all over the world.” Another student leader, Michelle Jang (10) says, “We only started to advertise a week before the actual event. It’s not a lot of time, but I’m still hoping we’ll be able to get the word out and make people come to our event.” The profits of the project will go to an organization called Smile Train which provides cleft surgery to young children. Each surgery costs $250. Children born with cleft lip and palate are deprived of the basic opportunities people have. “It affects the appearance of the children in a way that completely disfigures them,” says Katie Eun (10), another student leader. “People just take one look and make their opinions without getting to know the child.” Ryan Synn (10), the third leader says, “What we want to do is to raise enough money to create an opportunity for at least one child to live a normal life.” 30 Hour Famine 30 Hour Famine is a World Vision international event that promotes awareness of hunger in the world. The participants of the event fast for 30 hours after they have collected 30,000 won through sponsors. Although food is not allowed, they are allowed to drink anything other than milk. The event started on May 3rd at 2am and lasted until May 5th 8am when the students broke their fast and ate breakfast together. The goal was to collect 600,000 won however, they have collected over 610,000 won. However, not all students have paid yet and the class is expecting about 700,000 to 800,000 won in total. The money will be used to support an impoverished Korean child. 50,000won will be sent every month to the child. The students gathered in the auditorium and hung out together. They went to noraebang, played games, and watched horror movies to forget the hunger. Jungwon Park (10), a student who participated said his favorite part of the event was “playing with friends knowing we are all hungry on the inside.” Although the actual event was fun and games, it also had an unforgettable impact. Yong Jun Lee (10), a student leader says, “After 30 hours of starving, I began to appreciate little things.” For many of the students there, it was their first time fasting for a large amount of time. “By actually feeling the hunger, it changed my view of starvation and could not imagine the kids who starve for days because of poverty. It just made me willing to help and also made me value food,” says Jae Park, another student leader. Jae mentions that there may be another 30 hour famine event next year to support the child for a longer time. “It’s not official but we’re definitely thinking of hosting another event.” Daejeon Homeless Center Mr Williams' A block class have been planning to fundraise to provide utilities for the homeless people living near Daejeon Station. The liaisons of the A block class contacted the Daejeon Homeless Jiwon Center located near the Daejeon Station. The Daejeon Homeless Jiwon Center is an organization that provides shelter and food for the homeless people. Jeesoo Lee, a student from A block English class, said her goal for this service trip is " to learn about how to help others through a simple project in the community." Specifically, the A block class have been planning to fundraise for supplies and utilities including clothings and blankets to the Daejeon Homeless Jiwon Center, that would later be distributed to the homeless people. However, the A block class students said they are not sure if they will be able to hold this service trip anymore. Nami Kim (10), a student from A block, said “the A block class have not yet made further progress in this service trip. We are still at the stage of planning.” Isabell Park (10), another A block class student, also said “we don't have enough class time to work on it, and nobody really has time to work on it outside of school. If we all start working hard, I think it will be a success. Until then, I do not think this trip will be held in time." The A block class is still working on making actual progress with their trip to the Daejeon Station. Mr Williams said "I think the students made a lot of progress for the buildup, but due to unforeseen difficulties the follow through is not planning out as hoped." Heifer Talent Show Mr Williams’ G block class held the “Heifer Talent Show” on May 8. According to the “Heifer International” official website, the Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth. The G block class was also involved in the “Heifer International” as a part of their English service project. Tchelet Segev (10), one of the student leaders of the talent show, said “the purpose of the whole project was to raise money to buy livestock for impoverished villages. we decided to raise money for livestock because it doesn’t create dependency like sponsoring a child and giving money.” Jinny Won (10), another student leader of the talent show said “Honestly, I think the purpose in Heifer project is not to raise money for the poor countries but to raise awareness for our TCIS community.” Many groups performed on stage at the talent show, displaying different abilities and talents they had such as playing the acoustic guitar and beat-boxing. The G block English students raised more money than their original goal. The goal for the talent show was to raise 150,000 won, but they raised a total of 300,000 won altogether at the talent show. Jun Kim, a G block class student and also one of the performers at the talent show, said “It (Heifer talent show) was very fun and entertaining, yet there weren’t a lot of people but a good amount of people to enjoy. Also, we made 300,000 won! We can get two goats for a village now.” Ryan Synn(10), another performer of the talent show also said, “I think it was a good idea to hold the talent show. It was very fun.” Through different kinds of service projects, the sophomore classes learned to gather as one whole community. Each sophomore class strived for different goals and different service projects, taking time to experience many different aspects of serving, loving, and caring for others around them. Mr Williams is not sure yet if the 10th grade service project will be held again next year for the upcoming sophomore students. He said “that remains to be discussed. The G block class (Heifer Talent Show) was hugely successful- we got double of what we were planning for. I think it was a good idea to hold the talent show, but I think it is time consuming. If I do it again, I’ll try to figure out a way to alleviate some of that.”

The Golden Dragon

Sophomore students strive to help the community