ASB dedicates month to charity

For most of society, the “season of giving” is limited to the winter holidays, but ASB is trying to continue this mood throughout the rest of the school year.

The ASB has decided to dedicate each month to a different charity with a “relationship to the month or activities that are happening in school,” assistant principal Kerry Mohnike said.

Mohnike said the recipient charity will be announced at the beginning of each month and chosen by the ASB.  According to senior ASB member Shireen Kaul, ASB plans to start this charity of the month tradition soon.

“We are probably going to start in March and maybe have spirit days according to each charity,” Kaul said.

Kaul said the group may align the month’s charity with monthly charities that are already in place nationwide.  Additionally, students may also be able to suggest charities to focus on for certain months.

“People can recommend to the ASB different organizations, and then we can decide from there,” Kaul said.

Kaul believes the idea of a charity of the month will be impactful because it will provide a longer focus on one specific charity than the school has had in the past.

“A lot of the times when doing something for charity, we do it for a week and then forget about it. So, we want to be able to focus on a specific charity for a month and maybe raise more awareness,” Kaul said.

Kaul hopes that this new idea will be successful.

“I definitely think students will receive the idea [positively], especially if we promote and advertise it well,” Kaul said. “Hopefully next year’s ASB will be motivated to continue.”
Mohnike believes that this month will have a positive impact, on both the participating students and the charities they will support.

“Providing opportunities to share, give back, or provide service is an important function of developing citizenry.  We all have something we can give, whether it be time, talents, or money,” Mohnike said. “It also helps students develop and work their empathy muscles that I believe will make them happier throughout their lives.”

Additionally, Mohnike is hopeful that it might help to expand the horizons of the student body as a whole.

“Doing good works for others can be beneficial for the recipients and the givers,” Mohnike said. “Helping our student body realize that there is more to life than the ever present race to college or financial success would seem to be worth some time and energy on our part.”

According to Mohnike, this month could teach students a lesson about the importance of giving.

“I hope that if students don’t already understand [these priorities], that given these opportunities, they will gain a new appreciation for the good feeling and confidence boosts it provides when we care about others more than ourselves from time to time,” Mohnike said.