Harker hosted the 15th annual Howard and Diana Nichols Invitational Debate Tournament on the last weekend of September. A total of 380 students from 26 California schools participated in the tournament, which was run primarily by Harker debate students. In addition to various debate competitions, the event included several workshops taught by Harker debate captains.
“These workshops were dreamed up by Harker captains years ago and have become something we are known for as our successful older students teach Harker and outside students who are new to debate,” said Harker debate teacher Carol Green.
The weekend also included a special novice public forum tournament for debaters in grades 6-8, in which 35 middle school students participated.
UPDATE: Freshman Katherine Zhu played a phenomenal golf game, shooting 3 under 69, to take second place in the CCS Championships. That is the best finish by any Harker golfer, male or female, in history. On the par 3 sixth hole, her tee shot found some branches on the right, but she was able to make an incredible up and down in a sloping green. That set the tone for the day, as Zhu played smart and relaxed golf. She had a hot streak of 3 birdies on 12, 13 and 15. Zhu advances to Norcals Monday at Salinas Country Club. Let’s wish her the best of luck as she represents Harker on the golf course. If there was every any doubt, hard work pays off. Congratulations K-Zhu!
In other news, Senior Sid Krishnamurthi is the School Winner of the Wendy’s High School Heisman award. The program supports the pursuit of athletic and academic excellence with integrity, honors student accomplishments and intends to inspire future high school students to pursue their higher education goals.
Nov. 4, 2014 The championships are coming! The golf squad has one of its own competing in the CCS Championships today. Volleyball and tennis have wrapped up their seasons with amazing records. The varsity water polo clubs have their league tournament this week. And the cross country squad competes on Friday!
Golf
Freshman golfing prodigy Katherine Zhu won an individual league championship last week and plays in the CCS Championships today in Carmel! The team finished third in the league championships.
In middle school golf news, the Harker MS team took first place at the WBAL tournament on Oct. 27 at Los Lagos! This is the Eagles sixth WBAL tournament championship in a row! Pinewood took second place and Sacred Heart took third.
Harker’s top four scorers were Scout McNealy (33), grade 8; Alex King (36), grade 7; Aditya Tadimeti (37), grade 6; and Ronit Gagneja (40), grade 7. Also posting great scores were Abhinav Joshi (41), grade 8; Natalie Vo (41), grade 6; Katelyn Vo (43), grade 7; and Elvin Chen (51), grade 6.
Volleyball
The girls varsity squad kept rolling last week, beating Mercy-SF to improve to 7-1 in league play. Celebrate this year’s seniors Shreya Dixit and Katy Sanchez this Thursday evening as the team takes on Sacred Heart Prep for Senior Night.
Water Polo
All three clubs beat Cupertino last week, with the sweep putting an exclamation point on the Senior Night festivities. The third-place varsity boys and fourth-place varsity girls are gearing up for the league tournament this week!
Tennis
Despite losing twice last week, the girls ended their season with a 14-6 overall record, having won 70 percent of their matches this year. They’ll look to add a few more, starting tonight in the league qualifier. The team will learn its CCS fate this coming weekend.
Football
Freshman Nate Kelly’s touchdown pass to junior Johnathon Keller and senior Alyssa Amick’s extra point were not enough for the Eagles to overcome a strong Immanuel High School squad. The team has a bye week and resume play on Nov. 14 at Senior Night against St. Francis-Watsonville.
Cross Country
This Friday, the cross country team competes in the league championships at Crystal Springs!
We are saddened to announce that James “Jim” Near, father of longtime history teacher John Near, passed away Oct. 12 in Maui, Hawaii. He was 87 years old.
Jim and his wife, Patricia, established The Harker School’s first endowment, the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund, in 2009, to honor their son’s teaching career after he passed away in September of that year. Many students and families have since made memorial contributions to the endowment, increasing both the scope and breadth of the research that students honored as Near Scholars have been able to explore each year with their grants from the endowment. Recent research topics have included the impact of the feminist and civil rights movements on the disability rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s, and an in-depth review of news coverage on the Vietnam War and the resulting tension between news media and the federal government.
Jim Near’s generosity and vision will support our students and their teacher mentors in perpetuity, as they explore their interest in history research at The Harker School. The Endowment also funds the continued development of the John Near Resource Center in Shah Hall on the Saratoga campus.
Jim is survived by his granddaughter, Casey Near ’06, and daughter-in-law, Pam Dickinson, Harker’s Office of Communication director, as well as his wife, three sons and daughter. Contributions can be made in Jim’s honor to the John Near Excellence in History Education Endowment Fund by emailing Allison Vaughan at allison.vaughan@harker.org.
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond gave audiences a rare chance to see and hear one of the world’s most famous musical instruments at the first concert of the 2014-15 Harker Concert Series season. The centuries-old Lipinski Stradivarius, which briefly went missing earlier this year after Almond was attacked following a performance, has a long and storied history, one that figured into the evening’s repertoire.
Rather than start with the music straight away, Almond opted to address the crowd on the history of the Lipinski and its connection to two of the pieces he would be playing. Giuseppe Tartini’s Violin Sonata in G minor, commonly known as “The Devil’s Trill,” was a fitting choice as the first piece of the evening, he explained, as Tartini was the Lipinski’s first known owner.
That the sonata has a reputation for being technically challenging might not have been obvious from its somber, almost weepy first movement, as Almond brought out the warmth of the Lipinski before launching into the stately and quick second movement. Jeffrey Sykes’ precise (but not robotic) piano accompaniment may have been easy to miss amidst the note flurries and wide intervals, but it nevertheless provided the ideal backing for Tartini’s most widely known work.
When it came time for the sonata’s third movement, Almond proved more than up to the task of traversing it. Among the more impressive and moving displays of the evening was an unaccompanied section consisting almost entirely of treacherously difficult double stop trills, handled so well that any thoughts of the virtuosity involved all but vanished.
Impressive though it was, it seemed almost like a warmup for Almond’s rendition of Bach’s legendary Chaconne from Partita in D minor. A marvel of sheer creativity, the chaconne begins with a simple four-measure theme that is taken through dozens of variations, resulting in a piece that for centuries has been hailed for its emotional and structural depth. Bach’s vision was served well by Almond’s masterful hands, which beautifully manipulated the Lipinski to illustrate the uniqueness of each variation and how they combine into a brilliant whole.
The Röntgen family, Almond told the audience in his introductory talk, purchased the Lipinski Stradivarius after Karol Lipinski’s death. One of the sons, Julius, went on to become composer and pianist of some renown, with a close association to Johannes Brahms. The bittersweet first movement of his Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano feature Almond’s delicate playing floating atop Sykes’ dancing piano melodies, evoking a pastoral serenity. The frolicking second movement, with its playful call-and-response staccato lines, continued in this vein before making way for the contemplative third movement, which wavered between the solemn and triumphant, building momentum for a thundering emotional climax of crashing chords and piercing high notes, which the Lipinski sang beautifully.
Harker parent Prashant Fuloria (Anika, grade 6; Varun, grade 3) enjoyed the performance of the Bach piece in particular and said that the concert’s atmosphere was a good environment for many age groups. “It’s not too formal. Kids can go around and be kids and listen to some great music,” he said.
“It is breathtaking,” attendee Lynn Mitchell said of Almond’s performance. “I particularly enjoy the Röntgen piece.” She also enjoyed the “inviting” atmosphere of the venue, and said the food was “delicious.”
The ostensible final piece for the evening was Cesar Franck’s Sonata in A Major, which was chosen, Almond said, because “it’s fun to play.” Sykes set the tone with a soft bedding of chords before being joined by the violin, whose vulnerable melodies were gorgeously rendered as they swayed rhythmically with the backing piano, the two trading melancholic lines. An urgent, almost sinister assemblage of piano notes opened the next movement before bursting into a dazzling run. Almond expertly utilized the Lipinski’s warm lower registers to introduce the frantic, flowing melody, which both contrasted and played off of the panicked piano underneath. The slow and repentant third movement was beautifully anchored by Sykes’ emotive subtleties, punctuated by anguished outbursts. As if to make up for the anxiety and despair of the previous two movements, the sonata shifted into an uplifting and determined mood, bringing back the theme from the first movement for a rollicking finish.
Shortly after showing their immense appreciation for Almond’s performance, the audience was treated to an encore performance of one of Clara Schumann’s Romances, a double rarity in that Schumann’s pieces are not widely performed, much less on a legendary 300-year-old instrument. Almond and Sykes’ rendering of the piece by the legendary pianist and gifted (but unfortunately unprolific) composer was as lovely as one could have expected, its reflective melodies providing a fitting sendoff for the evening.
The 2014 Siemens Competition Math : Science : Technology semifinalists were just announced and 408 national semifinalists and 97 regional finalists were named. This year 13 students from The Harker School were among the 60 California semifinalists, representing 22 percent of the statewide total. In addition, four of those students were among the 15 named regional finalists, representing 27 percent of the regional total. More Harker students were named in both categories than any other school in California. Congratulations to the students and faculty for this outstanding achievement.
Harker’s regional finalists and their projects are:
Jason Chu, grade 12: “Studying the Nature of Dwarf Elliptical Nuclei and Globular Clusters”
Vineet Kosaraju, grade 11: “Designing Tertiary Structures with RNA Motifs in Order to Optimize 3-Dimensional RNA Folds in a Massive Open Laboratory”
Jonathan Ma and Sadhika Malladi, both grade 11: “Systematic Rational Identification of Sex-Linked Molecular Alterations and Therapies in Cancer”
These four students have each earned a $1,000 scholarship and will move on to the regional competition, held next month at the California Institute of Technology, for a chance to appear at the national finals in Washington, D.C., in December, where students will compete for up to $100,000 in scholarship prizes.
This year’s other semifinalists are:
Andrew Jin, grade 12 (“A Machine Learning Framework to Identify Selected Variants in Regions of Recent Adaptation”)
Nitya Mani, grade 12 (“Characterizing the n-Division Points of Genus-0 Curves through Straightedge and Compass Constructions”)
Neil Movva, grade 12 (“How Do Teeth Grow? Characterizing the Morphogenesis of the Periodontal Ligament through Complementary Biomechanical and Histological Analysis”)
Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 12 (“Analyzing first-Trimester MicroRNA as a Marker for Assessing Adverse Pregnancy Risk”)
Ankita Pannu, grade 12 (“Mining Online Cancer Support Groups: Improving Healthcare through Social Data”)
Nikash Shankar, grade 12 (“A Potential Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: Encapsulation of Curcumin within Polymeric PLGA-PEG Nanoparticles Protects Neuro2A Cells from Beta-Amyloid Induced Cytotoxicity and Improves Bioavailability”)
Alice Wu, grade 11 (“Kinematic Anomalies in the Rotation Curves of Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies”)
Rishabh Chandra, grade 11, and Venkat Sankar, grade 10 (“Managing the Impact of Infrastructure Projects on Endangered Species: A Stochastic Simulation Approach Based on Population Viability Analysis”)
Sophomore Niki Iyer was featured in the San Jose Mercury News last week as the Santa Clara County girls Athlete of the Week in recognition of her 10th place finish and personal-best 18:18 run at the Clovis Invitational, a multi-state championship race.
This week, Iyer and senior Corey Gonzales each placed second in their races at the team’s second WBAL league meet of the year. A number of Eagles posted great marks in the race en route to a sixth-place finish for the girls and a fifth-place finish for the boys. Sophomore Dylan Hwang ran well in his first race of the year, while junior Jack Rothschild ran his best race of the year, his first as a cross country runner for Harker. Junior Alex Dellar, meanwhile, finished 16th and qualified for the CCS championship next month.
Football
After being down 21-0 in the first quarter, the Eagles roared back to capture a 32-28 victory on their final drive of the game when senior Keanu Forbes bolted into the endzone to cap off a magical game. The Eagles also scored on sophomoreWill Park’s interception return for a touchdown, two scrambles into the endzone by freshman quarterback Nate Kelly and a 30-yard field goal by senior Alyssa Amick. The team plays Friday at 7pm at home against Emery in their penultimate game of the year.
Golf
Freshman Katherine Zhu was named to the American Junior Golf Association’s Gary Gilchrist All-Star Team, which includes the top 10 girls golfers between 12 and 15 years old. Back at home, the Eagles lost to rival Sacred Heart Prep last week.
Water Polo
Last week was a spectacular one for Eagles water polo as the boys varsity, girls varsity and boys JV teams scored a perfect 6-0 combined against Fremont and Santa Clara. The most exciting contest belonged to the girls varsity club, which, after trailing 7-1 at halftime against Fremont, came roaring back for a stunning 10-9 victory. Senior Anushka Das had the greatest individual game, scoring six goals against Santa Clara. Water polo’s senior night on Oct. 28 will celebrate Das and fellow seniors Delaney Martin, Jackelyn Shen, Sheridan Tobin, Dipam Acharyya, Annirudh Ankola, Aadyot Bhatnagar, Jeremy Binkley, William Bloomquist, Eric Holt, Siddhant Jain, Mohannad Khadr, Hemant Kunda, Ryan Palmer, Alexander Thomas and Harry Xu.
Volleyball
The girls volleyball team crushed both Mercy-SF and rival Sacred Heart Prep last week in straight games. The Eagles hit the road to face Menlo and Notre Dame this week.
Tennis
Girls tennis lost to Menlo last week, then rebounded with a clutch 4-3 victory over Castilleja. This week, the girls take on King’s Academy and Crystal Springs.
Lower and Middle School Fall Wrap-Up
Football
Varsity A flag football (grade 8) went 4-2 in league (third place) and 10-2 overall. The VA team also took first place at the Harker Flag Football tournament! Team awards went to Demonte Aleem (MVP), Jackson Williams (Eagle), and Charlie Molin and Zachary Hoffman (Coaches).
Varsity B flag football (grade 7) went 3-3 in league (fifth place) and 7-5 overall. The VB team also took first place at the Harker Flag Football tournament! Team awards went to James Rugnao and Aaron Featherstone (Co-MVP), Jeffrey Liu (Eagle) and Naveen Mirapuri (Coaches).
Junior varsity A flag football (grade 6) went 5-1 in league (second place) and 6-1 overall. Team awards went to Michael Mitchell (MVP), Srinath Somasundaram (Eagle), and Arjun Virmani and Marcus Anderson (Coaches).
Junior varsity B flag football (grade 5) went 5-1 in league (tied for first place). Team awards went to Eric Bollar (MVP), Rishi Jain and Anquan Boldin Jr. (Eagle), and Raj Patel (Coaches).
Intramural flag football (grade 4) enjoyed their inaugural season of play. Although they do not compete in games, the boys learned a lot and had fun with their friends. Team awards went to Rohan Gorti (Eagle), and Freddy Hoch and Dylan Parikh (Coaches).
Softball
Varsity A softball (grade 6-8) went 6-1 in league (second place) and 6-2 overall. Team awards went to Lilly Wancewicz and Taylor Lam (Co-MVP), Alaina Valdez (Eagle) and Cameron Zell (Coaches).
Junior varsity A softball (grades 4-6) went 1-5-1 in league (sixth place). Team awards went to Alexandra Baeckler (MVP), Brooklyn Cicero (Eagle) and Emma Crook (Coaches).
Intramural softball (grade 4) enjoyed their inaugural season of play. They did not play in any games, but the girls learned a lot and had fun. Team awards went to Brooke Baker (MVP), Keesha Gondipalli (Eagle) and Allison Lee (Coaches).
Cross Country
Cross Country (grades 6-8) enjoyed a phenomenal season! The final three meets of the season, the team really turned it on.
The following were first-place finishers at the Harker meet: Julia Amick, Lilia Gonzales, Anika Rajamani, Alycia Cary and Aneesha Kumar (8th grade girls team); and Gina Partridge, grade 7.
The following were first-place finishers at the Menlo meet: Julia Amick, Lilia Gonzales, Anika Rajamani, Alycia Cary and Aneesha Kumar (8th grade girls team); and Julia Amick, grade 8.
The following were first-place finishers at the WBAL final meet: Julia Amick, Gina Partridge, Anika Rajamani, Lilia Gonzales and Alycia Cary (grade 7/8 team); and Julia Amick, grade 8.
Team awards went to Mihir Sharma and Julia Amick (top runners), Gina Partridge, Arya Maheshwari and Alex Rule (co-MVP), Anna Weirich, Noah Lincke and Lilia Gonzales (Eagle), and Jasmine Wiese, Aneesha Kumar and Grant Miner (Coaches).
Swimming
The lower and middle school swim team participated in the Harker and Castilleja meets. First-place finishers at the Harker meet were Lorenzo Martinelli, grade 4 , in the 100 IM and 100 freestyle; Ysabel Chen, grade 5, in the 100 IM and 100 freestyle; Ethan Hu, grade 7, in the 100 IM and 50 freestyle; Angela Li, grade 8, in the 100 IM and 50 backstroke; Bobby Bloomquist, grade 8, in the 50 freestyle; Rhys Edwards, grade 6, in the 50 breaststroke; and Matthew Hajjar, grade 8, in the 50 breaststroke. First-place finishers in the Castilleja meet were Brandon Wang, grade 4, in the 100 IM and 100 freestyle; Ethan Hu, grade 7, in the 100 IM and 50 freestyle; Anh My Tran, grade 7, in the 50 freestyle; Bobby Bloomquist, grade 8, in the 50 freestyle and 50 backstroke; Angela Li, grade 8, in the 50 butterfly and 200 breaststroke; Leland Rossi, grade 6, in the 50 backstroke; Andrew Fox, grade 4, in the 25 breaststroke; and Leon Lu, grade 8, in the 50 breaststroke.
Awards for middle school swimming went to Angela Li, grade 8, MVP; Leah Anderson, grade 6, Eagle Award; and Evan Bourke, grade 6, Coaches Award. Awards for lower school swimming went to Lorenzo Martinelli, grade 4, MVP; Arianna Martinelli, grade 4, Eagle Award; and Daniel Fields, grade 5, Coaches Award.
It was with tremendous gratitude that Chris Nikoloff, head of school, announced on Oct. 13 the exciting news that the Harker community contributed just over $10 million in gifts and pledges, meeting the deadline for the historic Rothschild matching gift challenge.
The entire Harker community is enormously grateful to Harker parents Jeff and Marieke Rothschild, who matched $10 million in gifts, essentially doubling every contribution made between April 21 and Oct. 12. The $30 million capital campaign rose from just under $5 million on April 21 to just over $25 million on Oct. 12. This intensive, six-month challenge inspired many in the Harker community to act.
The challenge was met with outright gifts to the capital campaign combined with funds from a second matching gift fund established by Harker’s Board of Trustees and Board of Fellows. Trustees and fellows, who already contribute their time and unmatchable expertise, were key to preserving the much-needed annual support of our programs while inspiring the community to contribute to the events center.
There currently remains approximately $1.3 million in the trustees and fellows gift fund to be matched, and while the capital giving challenge has been met, families and alumni who have not yet had a chance to participate in the campaign can still have their annual giving gifts matched to double the impact of their contributions.
“The entire Harker community is especially indebted to Joe Rosenthal, executive director of advancement, and his advancement team, whose commitment to the children was evident in their work,” said Nikoloff in an email following the school’s annual Harvest Festival, where several hundred donations were logged in just a few short hours, putting the fund over its goal.
On Oct. 12, the entire Harker community united at the middle school campus for the Harvest Festival, held each year to draw together families, faculty, staff and alumni in a fun setting. As in past years, attendees played carnival games, enjoyed a variety of foods, watched performances by Harker students, renewed past friendships and made new friends. This year’s festival was capped by great news about the events center fundraising effort, which exceeded the $20 million goal and raised $25.4 million.
Festivalgoers had no shortage of activities to choose from. Some headed to the field for time-honored classics such as the sack race, while others enjoyed a round of laser tag, which featured an improved arena with more obstacles.
The silent auction was also as popular as ever, with a wide array of prizes, from wine tasting trips to boogie boarding lessons to premium seating at a 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium. This year’s raffle was improved to offer entrants more opportunities to win prizes by having students sell tickets at every school event leading up to the festival, including Homecoming. Prizes included gift cards to local businesses and eateries, fashion accessories and free dress days.
“It exceeds our expectations,” said Harker parent Lloyd Bakan (Cooper, preschool), who was attending his first Harvest Festival. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly is a great atmosphere and fun for all the kids and parents.”
Harker students, meanwhile, were excited to see their friends and enjoy the atmosphere. “You get to have a lot of fun and you get to see all your friends and play a lot of games,” said Alaina Valdez, grade 6.
“I’ve been coming here for 10-plus years and each year I have more and more fun,” said senior Jeton Gutierrez-Bujari. “I love the different booths and seeing all my friends. I think having your friends here is definitely a plus.”
Many alumni gathered at the alumni barbecue luncheon, where graduates reunited to catch up and share memories of their years at Harker.
The middle school campus’ outdoor amphitheater was the center of attention for much of the day as performing arts groups from the lower, middle and upper schools – including the upper school show choir Downbeat, middle school dance groups Showstoppers and High Voltage, and the lower and middle school jazz bands – kept audiences entertained.
One of the biggest attractions this year was Witch’s Flight, a 300-foot long zipline ride that enticed thrill-seekers throughout the day. Riders hollered with delight as they flew across the air 30 feet above the festivities.
Elsewhere, attendees partook in the many food choices available. Food trucks served diverse items such as tacos, Korean barbecue and grilled cheese sandwiches, in addition to the selection of grilled foods, pizza and Indian cuisine.
Capping off the fun and excitement was the announcement about the $25.4 million raised for the events center with the generous help of the Rothschild matching gift challenge. The announcement was made with the assistance of Harker’s MathCounts team, who guided the audience through the somewhat complex nature of the fundraising process. Naturally, the announcement was met with much applause, gratitude and excitement from those in attendance!
The Eagles trounced Ribet Academy 51-6 en route to a big Homecoming win, with touchdowns by seven different Eagles: senior Keanu Forbes, junior Johnathon Keller, and freshmen Tyerinn Pollard, Anthony Contreras, Nate Kelly, Angel Cervantes and Dominic Cea. Senior Alyssa Amick put the exclamation mark on three touchdowns with extra point kicks. The team travels to San Lorenzo Valley on Saturday. Watch the video of the Harker Homecoming Experience!
Water Polo
Harker’s only upper school home contests in any sport this week are the water polo games the Eagles will host at the Singh Aquatic Center Thursday. The boys will be coming off of a 2-2 result at the Sobrato Tournament, in which they defeated both Lincoln and Sobrato. Meanwhile, the girls have had a tough season so far, with a 4-10 overall record and 1-5 league record despite never falling by more than three goals. Root for both on Thursday!
Tennis
The girls dropped their match to state powerhouse Menlo last week, 6-1, with freshman Lizzie Schick earning the sole victory for the Eagles. The team will have plenty of opportunities the rebound this week, with three matches on the schedule.
Cross Country
The Eagles competed in the first WBAL cross country meet of the year last week, with senior Corey Gonzales leading the boys to a sixth-place finish and sophomore Niki Iyer leading the girls to a seventh-place finish. Gonzales and Iyer each finished second in the course, a hill-heavy stretch across 2.8 miles.
Volleyball
The girls varsity squad is now 4-7 after beating Notre Dame-San Jose last week. This Thursday, the team will head to Castilleja for a crucial league match.
Golf
The girls lost to a tough Castilleja squad last week but bounced back to defeat Mercy-Burlingame, giving the Eagles a 3-1-1 record.
This article was originally published in the fall 2014 Harker Quarterly.
About a half dozen members from the Harker community spent time volunteering for StandUp For Kids (SUFK), a national outreach organization and center for homeless teens that seeks to end the cycle of youth homelessness throughout the United States.
From two of Harker’s upper school students painting an art mural to lower school parents donating folding chairs to members of the school’s faculty and staff preparing meals – these individuals have all helped the nonprofit, volunteer-driven effort in their own unique ways.
Stephanie Woolsey, a lower school math teacher at Harker, has been a longtime volunteer with SUFK. She said the Silicon Valley branch is an entirely volunteer-run center that survives on donations from the community.
Most recently, Avni Barman and Jessica Yang, both grade 12, painted a mural on a wall at the StandUp For Kids’ San Jose facility. They designed and created the painting using donated paint they secured themselves.
“Avni arranged getting some donated paint and materials from the Home Depot, and she and Jessica created the design, which was approved by the leadership at SUFK. I also donated artist paints and materials,” said Woolsey.
Sarah Zareen, director of the SUFK- Silicon Valley mentor program, said that it warms her heart when young people come together to help homeless youth. “The talented teen artists from The Harker School came to paint a mural in The Village. The beautiful mural not only adds color but also is inspiring,” she said.
In addition to the student artists, Woolsey noted that Harker parents Mustafa Gurleroglu and Monique Cabral (Emma Gurleroglu, grade 5) donated folding chairs to the organization last year.
“Chef Steve [Martin] is also donating meals one day a month (SUFK provides meals Monday and Thursdays, as well as showers, clothing, etc.) and I bring them to the center,” Woolsey added.
The primary goal of SUFK is to establish and build relationships with runaway, homeless and street-dependent youth and young adults, ages 13-25. Through supportive relationships with caring adults the organization helps young people adjust to safe and appropriate alternative living arrangements while becoming independent, self-sufficient, contributing members of society.
The SUFK Street Outreach Team literally goes to the streets to locate homeless and at-risk youth; extensive training helps the volunteers identify those who need help, who often blend into the crowd for their own safety. The organization also provides an outreach/drop-in center to provide a protective environment for at-risk youth who are looking to escape the dangers of the streets.
StandUp For Kids is currently seeking both volunteer and financial contributions. For more information about SUFK and its work: http://www.standupforkids.org/.