Students give back during the holiday season

Whether they volunteered to clean up trash or donated cans to the homeless, many students provided assistance to those in need during the holidays. 

Typical of those who volunteered were seniors Tiffany Yung and Lauren Chu and juniors Justin Lee and Eric Kao, who visited the Opportunity Center of the Midpeninsula in Palo Alto to help organize clothes donated to the homeless on Dec. 1.

“I think it’s really important to keep in mind that some people do not have a place to call home,” Yung said. “I wanted to help as many people stay warm as possible, especially since the weather is getting so cold these days.”

Yung explained that during the charity event, the volunteers sorted through piles and bags filled with donated, used clothing. They examined each item to make sure it was still wearable, and then categorized them into different boxes labeled toddlers, pre-teens, teens and adults. 

“After two hours of separating the clothes we were brought downstairs to organize a very cluttered closet of clothes, shoes and socks,” Yung said.

Once three hours of examining, sorting and cleaning had passed, Yung, Chu, Lee and Kao had finally completed their volunteer tasks. While all the work was tedious and tiring, the volunteers all agree it was worthwhile. 

“Saratoga is a much more privileged city than most people here understand,” Kao said. “It’s great to help out in more troubled cities every once in a while.”

After this event, Lee still continued volunteering as much as possible over winter break and plans to continue throughout the rest of the school year. He has a lot of past experience with volunteering, having earned over 70 community service hours since his freshman year. 

“I volunteer because there are people out there that are less fortunate than we are, and it is usually something that is outside of their control,” Lee said. “I often forget this because when I come home, I don’t have to worry about not having food on the table or not having warm clothes.”

Kao is thankful for the experience and finds it “very gratifying” to know he’s made an impact on someone’s life. 

“It’s heartwarming to realize I made someone’s holidays a little bit better just by taking some time out of my weekend to provide them with a warmer winter,” Kao said. “[I had] a more pleasant Christmas knowing that I helped someone enjoy their holidays more.”