Organizing events and dedicating themselves to bringing change, various clubs and honor societies have been giving back to their community through various kinds of activities. Whether it be for raising funds or improving circumstances, clubs are displaying creativity through their actions. 

HOSA, for example, hosted a trivia night in order to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society March 10. The funds went to the organization, which helps raise money for blood cancer treatment.  HOSA teamed up with the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Science National Honor Society, National English Honor Society and Student Council to distribute the volunteer credit. HOSA decided to take a different approach to raise money this year, instead of their usual Pennies for Pasta fundraiser. 

“[We] eventually landed on doing a Trivia Night to raise money virtually,” club president Aashna Ravi said. “The Trivia Night was done over Zoom and was given the theme ‘2020,’ whereby about 50-60 questions were chosen based on events that took place in 2020. We presented the questions through slides and planned a system through the Zoom chat to acquire answers. In total, we had about 30 students participating in the Trivia Night, each of which donated six dollars and received one hour of service for participation.” 

In addition to one hour of service, Ravi said, the winner would receive a $20 gift card of their choice. With this, HOSA was able to raise close to $170 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Speaking on the behalf of HOSA, Ravi is very pleased with the success of the Trivia Night and appreciates all the students who participated. 

“I would definitely say that the Trivia Night was a success, seeing that this was not only the first time we were doing it, but given that it was held virtually,” Ravi said. “As a team, we feel that this is a great event that we can continue to build upon in years to come, as we transition back into person and one that will be successful in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We appreciate all of the students who supported and donated their time to the event and also wanted to thank the organizations that offered hours to make this event a success.” 

In terms of future service projects, HOSA is working with the Williamson County Medical Reserve Corps. They will replace their usual blood drive with this event. 

“In a normal school year, we usually hold two to three blood drives where anyone over the age of 17, with parent permission and who fall under the requirements, can donate blood in return for service and a pretty cool T-shirt, but also know the satisfaction that they are saving lives,” Ravi said. “Other than that, this year, we have started working with the Williamson County Medical Reserve Corps to bring high school volunteering opportunities to CPHS HOSA students and give them experience in community outreach.” 

Giving A Ray of Hope, an organization dedicated to educating the public about children’s diseases and giving back to children’s hospitals, has also recently finished their service project: giving out cards to the Dell Children’s Comprehensive Care Clinic (CCC) in downtown Austin. 

The project officially started on February 6, but due to the weather complications, had to be extended into March. 

This project involved members creating cards for children at the Clinic. In order to get one hour of community service, members had to complete five cards and an additional surprise gift. These gifts involved creating origami figures, but it was not limited to that. 

“In the cards, we were supposed to write a joke as well as an encouraging message,” junior Jillian Lach said. “I wrote a little riddle in the cards, decorated them, and also left a little message that said something along the lines of ‘You’re awesome, keep fighting!’ in order to leave the kids with some hope and happiness in their lives.” 

Lach said the best part of the project was making the cards and making children happy in general. Providing hope in such difficult times made it nice to know that a lasting impact would be left on the children, Lach said. 

“It’s already difficult being a kid in a hospital, and I’m sure tons of kids are really lonely and lacking hope and social interaction right now because of COVID-19,” Lach said. “It was really nice to know that my participation would hopefully lend some cheer and hope to the kids.” 

The organization was able to donate over 400 cards and gifts combined to the clinic. Because of this, members express pride at the success of the project and the amount of work, effort, and dedication put into making this project a success. 

“I feel great about the success of the project,” Lach said. “We donated [so] many cards and [gifts], and I think that’s super awesome knowing that so many people also want to make an impact on these kids’ lives.” 

Giving A Ray of Hope has also made a Service Project Blog, documenting the details of the Valentine’s Card Service Project. In April, the organization will be doing an Online Trivia Service Project, in which members will create a questionnaire via Kahoot, and hosting them for children in hospitals. 

The CPHS clubs provide opportunities for students to give back to the community, and the support is inspiring for them. Many of the clubs are happy to be giving back, just as they are happy for the support they get. 

For instance, the Environmental Club has done a series of park cleanups at Milburn Park back in early March. Vice president Hemani Goje feels proud about the support she and the club get, especially during the park cleanups. 

“Going to the park cleanups feel very rewarding,” Goje said. “Personally, it brings me a sense of community.” 

Goje also notes the easy environment of the club, and how everyone has similar interests. She feels the club is a good place to communicate with others in terms of concerns. 

“The club supports me tremendously and the sponsor and team members share similar interests with me,” Goje said. “So it’s a good place to communicate concerns.” 

The clubs are going to continue providing opportunities for students to help give back to the community and doing their best to improve the lives of others. Students can support clubs by joining them, keeping up with events on social media, and/or supporting them by participating in club-sponsored events.  HOSA Instagram. Giving a Ray of Hope Instagram.