Little boxes, big money

Joey Flores, News Editor

December 5, 2012

During the months of October and November, the members of Key Club at Downey High School raise money for UNICEF, called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, to support Iodine deficiency and HIV/AIDS programs worldwide. With their efforts, the club successfully raised over a thousand dollars.

Downey High School’s Key Club has raised over $1,000 for UNICEF, an organization that donates money to third world countries, by doing different fundraisers during the months of October and November

The club is amongst those groups that helped eliminate tetanus in some third world countries. Key Club used a variety of techniques that proved to be successful. Every member participated in at least one of these fundraising techniques.

“I saw that the club was really devoted to raising this money because they gave us a bunch of stuff to do for the cause,” Monica Rojas, 10, said.

In addition to buttons being distributed to each member to sell for a dollar, they also carried donation boxes around for any amount of money that people had to be donated. The members also decorated their donation boxes to create a more festive spirit. The buttons read, “Trick or treat for UNICEF,” which was the name of the fundraiser. They did this, as well as a class competition.

“I participated in the class competition that the club was having,” Cynthia Tran, 11, said. “I basically helped out during my lunch with the junior’s photo booth. I also walked around in a clown wig with Anne [another Key Club member] and tried to convince strangers to support the cause.”

The competition within the club was used to have the members raise money in a more interesting way. With the satisfaction of helping UNICEF, the freshmen had a yard sale, sophomores sold popsicles, juniors had a photo booth, and seniors had a bake sale. Tran, along with other Key Club juniors, brought in props for customers at the photo booth to use. This eventually paid off when the juniors won the competition after raising over a hundred dollars.

“There was a lot of time invested into raising the money, but I feel like most of it was done by the members,” Key Club president Amy Lee, 12, said. “They worked very hard, as did the [Key Club] board.”

Lee was observant over her members during the two months and she really saw who was doing what. She then said that although the work was tiring for the members, board members in particular, they kept on going because they knew that it would be worth it in the end.

Since the club is amongst those who fundraised over a thousand dollars for UNICEF, Key Club is very proud of their devotion to the cause. The money raised is the result of the kindness of those who were nothing but willing to help.

About the Contributors

Joey Flores, News Editor

Joey Flores is a 14-year-old sophomore at Downey High as well as a writer and News Editor for The Downey Legend. Flores chose to join the 2012-2013 staff because he wants to gain experience in journalism, since he aspires to work for Details or Rolling Stone magazine. He plans to attend the University of Oxford or NYU. “I have a minor obsession with the U.K.,” Flores said when asked why he wanted to attend the University of Oxford. He admitted that he will miss his friends and family when he’s away for college, although he won’t be missing the California weather. The News Editor always preferred English over any other subject. “When I was younger I always preferred English because I felt that I had the freedom when it came to creative writing,” Flores said. Along with being on the newspaper, he is also taking Honors English 10, which will help enhance his writing skills. Flores’ main goals are to fulfill everything that comes his way and to come up with interesting stories that will receive multiple views. The staff member enjoys listening to indie and alternative rock. He is a big fan of the 80s band, The Smiths. Flores loves doing community service and is a member of the Key Club. The News Editor enjoys helping others and wants to help “beautify the community.” Flores has volunteered at recovery centers, like Rancho Los Amigos. He participated in a carnival for the disabled patients at the RLARC. “It was very eye-opening because you realize that they are incapable of doing much, but they never give up,” he said. Although Flores has a lot on his plate- being The Downey Legend’s News Editor, volunteering at rehabilitation centers, and succeeding in AP European History and Honors English 10- he will manage to stay on top of everything and make his sophomore year a memorable one.

Celeste Lira, Photo Editor

Senior Celeste Lira is this year’s 2012-2013 Photo Editor for The Downey Legend. In hopes of becoming a better photographer, Lira landed a position on staff to allow her to get more experience in becoming a professional photographer. “It sounded fun and it would be a good experience being part of this school since I just moved to this school sophomore year and not living in Downey and all,” Lira said. Taking Photo 1 last year, Lira took an interest in photography, but she didn’t know she was going to like it as much as she does now. She continued to pursue her new interest and is also currently in Advanced Photo. This year will be her first and last with The Downey Legend, so she hopes to make the most of it. Her goals for this year are to get more students excited about the online newspaper, thus gaining popularity for the site. Aside from photography, Lira plays guitar and plans to one day travel the world.