New UNICEF Club encourages service on a larger, global scale
Photo by Photo by Ruby Lueras
The orange “trick-or-treat” boxes that students collected money in as part of UNICEFS first fundraiser. Profits from fundraisers like these will go towards helping UNICEFS cause.
Of all the schools service clubs, such as Interact and Habitat For Humanity, none have focused on issues on a global scale, until now.
This fall UNICEF (United Nation International Children’s Emergency Fund) club kickstarted off at the school. Kim Ferraro, club sponsor, said she just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to support a club that does such good.
“Last spring I had two students come up to me and express interest in having my help in starting a UNICEF club,” said Ferraro. “Since the club is new, we’re still trying to find our footing, but moving forward I think we want to focus on more of an educational standpoint, so not only can students fundraise for an organization like this, they can also educate their peers on what the club is doing.”
The clubs first fundraiser of the year was one where members of the club walked around carrying orange “trick or treat” boxes to collect change, according to Debby Chung, junior and co–founder of the club. Around 30 students participated in this fundraiser and all together they raised over $500, according to Mrs. Ferraro.
“The idea [was] to fundraise money by collecting any spare change that people might have. It was a great idea because there is so much spare change that no one really wants that could add up to be a ton of money that [the club] can use,” said Chung. “We wanted everyone to know that every penny counts for UNICEF.”
Every penny counts for such an organization that focuses on more than just what students at Lake Zurich see on a day to day to basis, according to Nihita Valluru, junior and co-founder of the club.
“Most other clubs in our school are mainly about contributing to our community and those around us. This, of course, is extremely charitable but sometimes it’s good to look at the big picture,” Valluru said. [For example], we as students complain about going to school and doing homework when in reality there are millions of children being trafficked and children who lack basic rights [such as] shelter, clean water, and education. Our club, like no other club, allows students to make an impact and contribute back to our world.”
As a senior, this will be Ruby's third year on staff and first year as LZ Life Editor. When Ruby is not in the journalism room you can find her running...