This article originally appeared in the spring 2016 Harker Quarterly.
A lower school dress drive brought smiles to the faces of at-risk and underprivileged youth at the Starbird Youth Center in San Jose. The clothes were part of a larger donation of more than 500 gifts collected for clients of the center.
“There were about seven bags of boys and girls party clothing donated,” recalled Teré Aceves, Harker’s director of event fundraising.
The gently used clothing was collected during a holiday cookie-decorating event. About 60 parents heeded the call for such items.
Harker parent Erin Vokey (Miles, grade 1) is the youth activities supervisor at the Starbird Youth Center and is in charge of the center’s day-to-day activities, as well as its literacy programs.
“We are an after-school program that works with at-risk and under-privileged youth. We help them by providing food, homework help and a safe place to go after school. We also do a program called The Good Choices, which is a basic moral guide that teaches them the right choices to make to lead a better life,” she said.
Around the time of the dress drive, the center also had partnered with the Family Giving Tree to distribute gifts to clients and their families, Vokey explained. “We set up a room where children picked out clothing from the dress drive. This is the second year we have had the dresses there and it was a huge success. Fellow Harker parent Julie Carr (Aiden Harshman, grade 1) and her family volunteered to hand out all of the dresses to the youth in our community. It was an extremely heartwarming event,” recalled Vokey.
Another Harker parent, Stephanie Black (Chloe, grade 1), is the program director at the Starbird Youth Center. “Without her none of this would have been possible,” added Vokey.
Carr and her son agreed that it was wonderful to see the joy on the kids’ faces when they got a beautiful dress, jacket or new shirt. “Stephanie, Erin and the entire staff at the center made it so easy for us to come in and volunteer. We are very grateful for the work they do and proud that we got to represent Harker’s philanthropy,” said Carr.
Of his experience volunteering, Carr’s son, Aiden, reported that it was “really cool.” He said that there were lots of games to play with at the center and that he enjoyed seeing the kids get toys. “It made me feel good in my heart.”
Harker students initiate and participate in outreach activities all year round. Visit Harker News and search “outreach,” or go to https://staging.news.harker.org/tag/outreach, for all the Greater Good stories!
This article originally appeared in the summer 2015 Harker Quarterly.
For the ninth year in a row, young cancer patients attending Camp Okizu will benefit from the annual Harker Cancer Walk.
On March 24, students, parents, family members, faculty and staff from Harker’s four campuses united at the middle school field for the walk, which has become a beloved annual tradition.
Cindy Ellis, middle school head, was thrilled to report that “between the baked goods, smoothies, shirts and donations, we raised over $10,000!”
Located in the Berry Creek area of the Sierra foothills and mirroring a residential camp experience, Camp Okizu provides a safe place for children with cancer to enjoy regular summer camp activities and social events.
The name Okizu (oak-eye-zoo) comes from the Sioux language and means “unity.” Camp Okizu is free of charge to all attendees, but it costs $700 to $1,000 to provide a weeklong camp experience for one child. Therefore, the camp relies on donations, making fundraising efforts such as the Harker Cancer Walk incredibly important.
“There’s always a moment at each Cancer Walk when I stop and look around at everything that’s going on. People are smiling, laughing and talking. There’s hustle and bustle in front of various tables. And even though the event can be a reminder of something sad, it also can be a reminder of those wonderful days gone by,” recalled Michael Schmidt, middle school computer science teacher and department chair, who had the idea for the fundraiser following the passing of his own mother due to cancer.
Today, he said, he no longer views the Cancer Walk as just a tribute to his mother “as much as I think of it as a tribute to the people and relationships I’ve experienced at Harker. Thank you all for sharing that with me.”
Prior to the walk, students engaged in activities to learn about different forms of cancer and cancer prevention strategies. In a further show of support for the fundraising effort, many teachers displayed door decorations with themes designed to promote cancer awareness.
For more information about Camp Okizu: http://www.okizu.org/about.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Fundraiser Lets Dancers Shine
Grade 6 students Aarzu Gupta and Radhika Jain took first place for one of their dances in the Bollywood category at a fundraising competition held at Chabot College in Hayward. The competition was sponsored by the Charitable Care Foundation (CCF).
Founded in October 1991, the CCF aims to help needy people become healthy, productive and self-reliant. Their efforts and resources are focused on local and international needs, particularly in the Bay Area and India.
The girls regularly attend a Bollywood dance class together in San Jose.
Canned Food Drive Helps Ease Hunger
The middle school’s annual canned food drive took place in mid- November. The drive was hosted by Harker’s advisories in conjunction with the Second Harvest Food Bank. Many canned and non-perishable food items were collected in containers, which were located in classrooms throughout the campus.
Last year, almost 50 million Americans lived in homes without enough food to eat. Harker is proud to have collected 2,632 pounds of food in this year’s drive.
DECA Chapter and Red Cross Club Sponsor Event
In early November, Harker’s DECA chapter and Red Cross Club hosted a lunchtime community service event in front of Nichols Hall. Students placed granola bars, batteries, Band-Aids, hand sanitizers and toothbrushes into kits that may be sent to disaster victims overseas. They also made cards for Veterans Day.
The event was run in accordance with the community-oriented pillar of the national DECA organization. Creating disaster kits for those who can’t afford them illustrated “the type of community involvement crucial to building a foundation for community-oriented entrepreneurs,” according to California DECA’s press release.
Hot Chocolate Sale to Aid Typhoon Haiyan Victims
The week after Thanksgiving break, the lower school’s student council sponsored a hot chocolate sale to raise money for relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan.
The funds raised by the hot chocolate sale were then combined with funds collected by the middle school for donation to Habitat for Humanity, which will help typhoon victims rebuild their homes. Faculty and staff also pitched in by donating money to offset the cost of supplies. The hot chocolate was sold for $1 a cup.
Colorful Painted Pumpkins Delivered to Neighbors
In a show of neighborly good will, this past fall grade 2 students painted and hand delivered pumpkins to residents living near the lower school campus.
The annual outreach and community service project took place in late October, just in time for Halloween.
After decorating the pumpkins and allowing them to dry, the students walked around the neighborhood leaving them on porches, along with cards.
“This was their annual service project to say ‘thank you’ to the local residents for being such good neighbors,” reported art teacher Gerry-louise Robinson, who facilitated the painting portion of the activity. Students painted in her room during their health education classes (one class at a time) with members of the BEST staff on hand to assist in the effort.
For student Kabir Ramzan, the biggest challenge was to “make the pumpkins really colorful.” Working in small groups, he and his classmates succeeded by painting in various hues of blue, green, yellow and red. They also gave each pumpkin its own special smile.
“It was action-packed and nonstop. … Utilizing the art room helped to make the event more meaningful and fun!” said Robinson, adding that the students really embraced drawing faces on the pumpkins; the facial expressions and details made each one a unique gift.
“It was marvelous how the children carefully chose colors and applied them,” she added. “The pumpkins all lined up ready to be delivered looked very charming indeed.”
“This is a really good project. I think it’s something the neighbors will like!” enthused student Aeliya Grover.
Club Plans Coastal Cleanup
In the fall, grades 4 and 5 held their first Spirit/Service Club meeting of the year, playing fun activities in advance of the Harker Harvest Festival.
“Our first club meeting was great. We had over a dozen fourth and fifth graders sign up. Fun was had by all!” reported Mel Robinson, a grade 5 P.E. teacher who helps coordinate the club.
In addition to playing spirited games, the Spirit/Service Club implements important outreach activities. For example, the club aids California coastal cleanup efforts and has a Green Committee charged with decreasing food waste in the lunchroom.
Students Donate to Emergency Shelter
Prior to her retirement, former middle school history teacher Pat White passed along her advisory project, which involves collecting toiletries for women and children at a local emergency shelter. Middle school math instructor Leah Moll took over the project, which benefits the Georgia Travis Center in San Jose.
“This year my seventh grade advisory, along with Kathy Pazirandeh’s advisory, have made and donated 85 personal kits to the center,” reported Moll.
The shelter is sponsored by the Inn-Vision Shelter Network, one of the leading shelter/housing and supportive service providers in Northern California. It aids more than 20,000 homeless men, women and children each year.
Middle School Holiday Drive Helps Fulfill Wish Lists
In an effort to serve people in need during the holiday season, Harker’s middle school community took on a project to help fulfill the “wish lists” of people living in low-income neighborhoods. After obtaining the names and wishes of individuals from an organization called Family Giving Tree, middle school families, faculty and staff set to work on fulfilling as many wishes as possible. Nearly 500 holiday wishes were granted to children, the elderly and physically disabled individuals in need, with gifts averaging about $20-$30.
Gift of Song, Carriage Rides and Wreath to Local Communities When the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce put out a call for wreaths to help decorate Blaney Plaza for the holiday season, the Awasthi family (Shivani, grade 9; Mohan, grade 6; and parents Anupam and Aarti) generously offered to create and donate one on behalf of Harker. The beautiful wreath, illuminated by LED lights, was clearly a labor of love.
And in a show of support for the Los Gatos community, Harker also helped sponsor carriage rides in the downtown area. For more than 30 years, the stately horse-drawn carriages, which meander through downtown, have attracted thousands of residents and visitors during the holiday season.
The upper school’s show choir, Downbeat, added to the cheer by caroling one night in downtown Los Gatos.
Upper School Holiday Volunteering at Harvest Food Bank
Kerry Enzensperger, the upper school’s director of community service and activities, reported that her advisory volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank the first night of Thanksgiving break. “We did a food sort at the Cypress Center in San Jose. Along with other volunteers we sorted carrots into boxes that weighed 25 pounds. By the end of our shift we had sorted 770 boxes of carrots equaling nine tons! We had a great time working together,” she said.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Harker freshman Arjun Subramaniam recently joined celebrities and prominent activists in addressing an audience of more than 16,000 students from various California schools at an event called We Day.
The event, held on March 26 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, was sponsored by Free The Children, a nonprofit organization that works to eradicate child labor in developing nations. After being introduced by actress Selena Gomez, Subramaniam took to the stage to speak about his work with the organization.
Free The Children is an international charity and educational partner that believes “in a world where all children are free to achieve their fullest potential as agents of change,” according to its website. The organization works domestically to educate, engage and empower youth to become active local and global citizens.
Speaking at the recent We Day was a transformative experience for Subramaniam. “Everyone there has inspired me to keep being part of the fight to eradicate child labor,” he said. For more information about We Day and Free The Children, visit: www.freethechildren.com.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When junior Ashwini Iyer was in grade 7, she went to Tanzania with her father and a teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. That firsthand experience, she said, planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts to empower povertystricken women and children from around the globe, and led to the founding of Harker’s Rising International Club.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate, without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, founder and president of the the club, which is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission is to help end world poverty.
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the event, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate), went directly to the organization.
For more information about Rising International, go to http://www.risinginternational.org.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When junior Ashwini Iyer was in grade 7, she went to Tanzania with her father and a teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. That firsthand experience, she said, planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts to empower povertystricken women and children from around the globe, and led to the founding of Harker’s Rising International Club.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate, without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, founder and president of the the club, which is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission is to help end world poverty.
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the event, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate), went directly to the organization.
For more information about Rising International, go to http://www.risinginternational.org.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
When junior Ashwini Iyer was in grade 7, she went to Tanzania with her father and a teacher to help orphans there learn math and English. That firsthand experience, she said, planted the seeds for her current volunteer efforts to empower povertystricken women and children from around the globe, and led to the founding of Harker’s Rising International Club.
“Ever since then, I have been trying to find ways to give back and help those who are not as fortunate, without having to travel too far,” said Iyer, founder and president of the the club, which is one of several local chapters of an international nonprofit by the same name whose mission is to help end world poverty.
On March 30, Iyer, with the help of schoolmate and club vice president Roshni Pankhaniya, grade 11, hosted a home-based fundraising event attended by about 60 Harker students and parents, as well as neighbors and family friends. All proceeds from the event, which totaled $4,226 (with more donations expected to flow in from people who could not attend but wanted to donate), went directly to the organization.
For more information about Rising International, go to http://www.risinginternational.org.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
Five fifth grade girls shared the joy of volunteering during a fun community service project called Sew For Love, in which they sewed needed items for local charities.
Nilisha Baid had heard about the opportunity through her Girl Scouts troop. She had met the Sew For Love organizer at Girl Scouts events and had been wanting to volunteer. So she decided to ask some of her classmates to join her at this year’s 12th annual Sew For Love, which was held on a weekend during the Presidents’ Week break.
She and classmates Ankita Kundu, Advika Phadnis, Pramiti Sankar and Arushi Saxena joined other volunteers who were working in teams on various projects.
Whether busy at the sewing machine, scissors-cutting, hand-sewing or threading, Sew For Love volunteers combined their efforts to produce 871 items in just two days. Completed items included child and adult quilts, pet beds, tote and drawstring bags, fleece hats, bean bag chairs, and small “Pocket Love Bears.”
More details about the Sew For Love project can be found here.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
After being diagnosed her freshman year with hypothyroidism – a disorder in which the thyroid gland fails to produce sufficient thyroid hormone, causing fatigue, lack of focus and other symptoms – Samantha Madala, now grade 11, became determined to help prevent health problems from interfering with children’s education.
To that end, Madala founded Healthy Scholars last year to raise awareness of health issues that could stymie education. In December, Madala and her team trekked to Varni, India, to perform screenings for medical problems that could be obstacles to learning. Healthy Scholars worked with organizations in India, including the Lions Club, NICE Hospital and LEAD Foundation, to offer blood pressure tests, individual medical consultations, dental exams, vision and hearing tests and more to nearly 600 schoolchildren.
That same month, Healthy Scholars kicked off a fundraising effort, raising nearly $4,000 via fundraising website Crowdrise. An additional $25,000 donation enabled Healthy Scholars to stage more screenings. Madala is planning another trip to Varni in early June. Stateside efforts are also on the agenda. “We also aim to hold a similar health screening camp for at-risk Native American youth in Montana,” she said.
This article originally appeared in the summer 2014 Harker Quarterly.
This year, enough donations were collected at the upper school’s annual blood drive to save up to 81 lives, according to Sabrina Sidhu, grade 11, who serves as president of Harker’s Red Cross Club, which organized the recent drive.
“By the end of the day, we had collected 27 units of blood, which went to the American Red Cross,” she said. “I’m glad that so many people were interested in donating. Unfortunately, a large portion of potential donors were turned away because their hemoglobin levels were not high enough. Regardless, I was really happy with the way that everything came together. It was heartwarming to see how excited all of the donors were to have the chance to help out someone in need.”
Harker students, faculty and staff united to give blood, which was distributed to local hospitals within the required 72 hours. According to Red Cross statistics, every donated unit can save up to three lives. Every two seconds, a patient relies on blood and platelet donors for help.
The Red Cross is the largest single supplier of blood in the United States, collecting and processing more than 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply and distributing it to some 3,000 hospitals and transfusion centers nationwide.