On campus, there’s a variety of clubs that offer meaningful volunteer opportunities that contribute to important causes. Whether passionate about supporting children with cancer or the need for global education, there’s always a club for those interested in participating in local community service projects.
Ayala Yield Pair Chapter
After its flashy debut of a student-led thrift store, the Ayala Yield Pair chapter is ready to make its second appearance on the Ayala High School campus. The club was originally brought to the campus by senior advisors Charlene Cheng (12) and Katelyn Chang (12). In 2023, both Cheng and Chang partnered with co-presidents Jeremiah Park (12) and Alicia Tse (12) to implement the club onto the Ayala campus.
Yield Pair is dedicated to supporting education in underdeveloped countries that do not have the opportunity to provide more equitable education opportunities to its citizens.
“At Ayala, we enjoy a pretty high quality education,” Park said. “So our goal as a club is to reach out to communities around the world who don’t have the same access to education as we do.”
Hoping to continue raising funds to donate supplies to the less fortunate, both Tse and Park have been planning different and creative approaches to implementing new fundraising strategies and volunteer opportunities onto campus. Those who participate in donating their time and supplies are rewarded with service hours.
“We don’t have regular club meetings,” Park said. “Most of our members will be active through events which are probably, I think, more inviting.”
In addition to their many service events yet to come, the Ayala Yield Pair hopes to provide underclassmen with leadership opportunities. Cheng is confident in the fact that freshmen need to be in leadership roles.
“We don’t want the same people to be in power for a long time because new people in leadership allow new ideas,” Cheng said.
Ayala’s Yield Pair club not only gives students at Ayala opportunities to give back to the community, but also a shot at uptaking an early leadership role.
American Heart Association Club
Inspired by the need for more awareness of heart diseases, the American Heart Association club is preparing for their debut on the Ayala campus. Led by founder and president Karissa Guzman (10), the club’s goal is to kickstart their first year at the campus by making a positive impact towards the health of the community.
“We hope to make an impact on people’s lives and reach out to different communities to better the lifestyle of each other’s mental and physical health,” Guzman said. “We also hope to have volunteer opportunities with different hospitals and local American Heart Association events.”
But in order to benefit a larger audience, Guzman and the other club officers want to start small by creating a space where members can be themselves.
“We will provide a safe space where [members are] open to be themselves and to be passionate about what they hope to do in the future,” Guzman said.
Although completely new on campus, the club is already making plans to advance its influence within not just Ayala, but schools within the community as well. Rather than focusing primarily on improving mental and physical health, the American Heart Association club hopes to educate the community about the signs of heart disease and their causes.
“[We want to] host different events at schools in our district, such as elementary schools and middle schools,” Guzman said. “We plan to teach about heart diseases as well as different factors that can affect them.”
Heal Club
Inspired by the idea of “HEALing” the community, Ayala’s Heal club has dedicated their time and effort to providing pediatric patients in hospitals the love and support they deserve. Where meetings are held bi-monthly, students should expect to create small cards and gifts for pediatric patients.
“The purpose of my club is to raise awareness about children who have cancer and to help them,” President of Heal Club Eliana Shin (12) said. “We help children by raising funds and creating this for them to look forward to.”
The club has maintained prominence within the Ayala campus for a few years, and hopes to continue its success in providing awareness for pediatric patients within our community.
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Through these clubs, students are able to find a positive outlet for their time and efforts, further benefiting not only themselves through volunteer hours, but more importantly the community as well.
“Volunteering encourages being an active member of the global community and to think for more than just yourself,” Park said. “If you develop those characteristics, it will reflect really well on you and have a meaningful impact in the world.”
