Leo Club hosts Thanksgiving performance

Leo Club is a platform for students to volunteer for causes they are passionate about.

Last Sunday, residents of Saratoga’s Our Lady of Fatima Villa Assisted Living Facility enjoyed singing, dancing, and instrumental performances from members of the newly formed Leo Club.

According to club president Anouk Yeh, a freshman who started the club last year at Redwood Middle School and kept it going at SHS, the Leo Club strives to inspire its members to volunteer and create events for causes that they are truly passionate about.

The club has sister clubs in over 140 countries around the world including India, Japan, Italy, China and Singapore.

“The Leo Club’s goal is to provide a platform for members to not just participate in, but also create projects that help alleviate both local and global concerns, whether it'd be working with the local government to host a carnival for special needs individuals or working internationally with sister Leo Clubs in India to help alleviate the pollution crisis,” Yeh said.

The club was brought to the school after Yeh and the other officers noticed that students tended to sign up for the mandatory volunteer hours in many clubs.

The officers presented their club to ASB and the club commissioners at the beginning of the year, and the club was approved on the first try.

Freshmen club members Elaine Liu, Lily Yang, Maddie Jin, Katherine Chen, Aeshon Balasubramanian, Jordan Heindorn, Bella Lin, Chen and Yeh participated in the Lady of Fatima Villa event.

Balasubramanian, who played the piano, said he participated because he wanted to have a new experience and hoped that the seniors enjoyed the performance.

In general, the officers hope that through their club, members become motivated to volunteer for causes they are passionate about.

“We understood that in high school, a lot of people do go out to serve their community, but mainly for the goal of gathering volunteer hours,” Yeh said. “We wanted to change that and inspire our members to serve because they’re passionate about the causes affecting our community and because they want to better our culture.”