Happy New Year! It brings me great joy that 2016 has finally ended and a new year full of potential and possibilities is just waiting to be fulfilled! I must admit, I did not intend to leave 2016 on a sad note by not posting monthly. It had come to my attention that the updates were not needed at the time, because I would rather present to you small steps accomplished over the course of a few months. But now, the weightless feeling of opportunity to spend 365 more days was too exciting to ignore.
Since the summer, Give A Spit has reactivated the club at Amity Regional High School and on Club Day, we had over 70 people sign up. But, as most people are aware, approximately 15% of that number actually are involved in the club over the school year. Despite this, I’ve brought up some ideas that the club could expand on for a strong finish my last year at Amity with Give A Spit (unless a younger member decides to step up to the plate). In addition to the monthly club meetings, Give A Spit has been working on a lot of projects that will culminate in a final fundraiser this year.
Here’s what has happened since August:
- Ms. Barnych was happy to be Give A Spit’s club advisor again.
- Give A Spit added over 70 members to the club, of which 15% are continually involved. Although small in number, it’s the effort that counts!
- VP Katie Handler managed her first donor drive on her own at the Halloween Hoopla in Ansonia, CT and recruited three additional donors.
- A club member and I both volunteered at a locally run donor drive that would benefit a local Woodbridge resident who has children attending Beecher Road School and is looking to find a match for her bone marrow transplant. We assisted the fundraiser and donor drive to help 40 people sign up for the registry!
- I had decided to push for a local 5K held on the same course as the Woodbridge 5K Race that is annually run. Since September 2016, I’ve been in contact with Ms. Chase, a wonderful Events Manager of Be The Match.
Whew! That was a handful. I’ll explain a little more in depth concerning #5:
If you’ve been following the blog, you understand that in the past, I’ve tried to initiate a fundraiser with the same intention; motivating the local community to get involved in to support Be The Match through a 5K and Walk. Two years ago, I attempted to host a “school” run right at Amity Regional High School. Unfortunately, the request was immediately shut down. This really weakened my confidence that I could possibly maybe be able to contribute on a larger scale. But on the plus side, I realized one rejection doesn’t hurt because there are plenty more chances to take outside of the school. Last year, I attempted to do the same but in a different direction; a color run. It made complete sense to me how a color run would not only increase participation and thus funds, but also present it as a more family friendly event. In time, I found this to be too expensive and an intangible dream for a teenager. In addition, many of the local parks I contacted could not risk the notion of the difficulty in cleaning the area after severely coated with color powder. After ditching the idea, I thought, “These two years of ideas and dreams had no outcome.”
But that grieving mentality changed over the summer of 2016. I knew I had interest in this fundraiser, and I knew I had to do something before I leave for college. Although now a time crunch, I decided the time was NOW. And so, the difficult journey of getting permits began.
*Correction-Half Mile Fun Run
To tell you the truth, when I envisioned planning and directing a 5K and Walk and spent some spare time looking up race items, I hadn’t put much thought into the traffic and road logistics. Now, I am much aware of the consequences of not planning much earlier. Bureaucracy is very slow. I sent a field request to the Woodbridge Town to hold the race, and Mr. Franco who is in charge of the field requests reminded me and Ms. Chase that there are other forms/permits needed for “state highways”. This was new to me; routes are called state highways! After that revelation, I wrote a permit request letter and sent it into the the Woodbridge Traffic Control for them to approve or reject the proposal. The December town meeting was delayed to January, and that put a time crunch on getting approval so our club can start planning.
Today, I received good news from the Committee! Our request to hold the Be The Match 5K & Walk was approved unanimously by the Board! Next steps include mailing the letter and confirmation to the District office and the last step approval will let Give A Spit to immediately start planning the 5K. The fundraiser is scheduled for April 15th, 2016 from 9:45am to 1:00pm. There will be a half mile children’s fun run from 9:45 to 10:00am and the 5K Walk will start by 10:30am and end whenever all racers have crossed the finish line.
More details to come. I’m excited to plan this out with the club! I am a little disappointed the race can’t cater the funds to a Woodbridge resident in need of a transplant, but it is possible to raise funds through other methods for the Woodbridge resident.
May the New Year be a fresh start for Give A Spit! And you, of course!
Lillian Zhang
Give A Spit 