What’s the goal of the Helping Hands club?

The goal of Helping Hands is to raise money for various charities while involving the student body, as well as our community. Vanessa and I also hope that our club encourages others to find a cause they are passionate about and take action. Life moves incredibly fast; it is sometimes easy to forget how fortunate we are compared to others. Our club believes it is so important to recognize our fortune and use it to give back to those who are in need. As our club name suggests, a helping hand is always appreciated.

How did you start the Thirst Project? Did something inspire you?

When we first started planning for Helping Hands, Anushka stumbled upon an amazing

organization that dedicated itself to providing clean, safe drinking water to impoverished

communities in developing countries: the Thirst Project. 663 million people throughout the world consume dirty drinking water daily. With clean drinking water always at our disposal, we can often take its importance for granted. The Thirst Project’s initiative to combat this global water crisis inspired Anushka and I to lend a helping hand through our club! Our first fundraiser (which we are currently in the process of) is raising money that will go directly towards building hand pump freshwater wells!

What are your plans for the future? Anything specific?

With the current circumstances and the uncertainty of the world at large, it’s hard

to plan ahead. Anushka and I, as well as our club members, have some amazing

ideas for future fundraisers! However, it is hard to implement them with the current

restrictions. We hope that we can soon return to a level of normalcy and conduct the in-person fundraisers we have in the back of our mind! In the meantime, we have been holding regular meetings and we are currently in the process of our first fundraising event virtually! We are just trying to take it one step at a time.

What’s been the club’s greatest strength so far?

Really, our greatest strength is our advisor, Mrs. Matjasic! Vanessa and I are not familiar

with building a club from scratch, let alone continuing to run it throughout the year, but

Mrs. Matjasic has really been a huge help. She has provided us with support, enthusiasm and great ideas; we are so grateful to have her on our team! Our members have also been amazing and we are so thankful to have a club full of active participants! We understand that Zoom meetings can be frustrating and sometimes a little awkward, so we really appreciate their patience and cooperation.

Why did you start the Helping Hands club?

Helping Hands was officially started in late August, but this idea has been on our minds since sophomore year. We wanted to create a fundraising club that did not just focus on one organization, but a variety. There are so many amazing charities around the globe, spreading awareness of significant causes; we wanted our club to reflect a large diversity. Vanessa and I wanted to make a difference in our community, especially since many of us are very privileged and can tend to forget that. If we could give back to people who do not have the same experiences, we would be making a huge change in both our lives and theirs.

What have you learned since starting the club?

Although a little cliché, Anushka and I have realized that everything will work out

eventually, despite how hazy the result may seem. When our club initially brainstormed

ideas for fundraisers, we had several great ones we believed could be implemented; however, with the current circumstances, they were just not possible. Anushka and I felt a little at a loss, wondering how we would be able to carry out our first fundraiser safely and efficiently. Fortunately, we were able to brainstorm and create a successful and safe first fundraiser!

I’ll give you a moment for some self-promotion :) For the readers, what is your club all about and why should people participate?

HelpingHands is essentially a club that allows students to become active in communal, national, and global issues through fundraising for various charities. We strive to create a positive, friendly atmosphere in which our participants can voice their opinions, make a difference within society, and encourage others to do the same. Through our club, we hope to encourage the student body to lend a helping hand whenever it may be needed :)