The Outreach Club held its first virtual meeting of the year on Wednesday, Oct. 7 using the conferences tab on Schoology. Even though virtual circumstances make it difficult to participate in community service, the officer team is doing their best to provide virtual opportunities. 

“It was definitely difficult to find virtual volunteering opportunities because we are just so used to the normal physical ones so that took a lot of effort,” Jenise Dong ‘21 said. “Additionally, we had to find a variety of different opportunities making it more difficult. Because it is mainly virtual, the extent of our opportunities are drives or donations.” 

The meeting started with an introduction presentation by the officer team, where they introduced the purpose of Outreach Club as well as the requirements to stay an active member. After, they highlighted the methods members can use to stay updated with all the meetings and events during this virtual time. These include email, their schoology group, and their website. Next, they reminded everyone of the point system, which is used to track each member’s status within the club. In order to remain eligible, members must complete six hours worth of service by the end of the year. The Outreach Club officer team has worked hard to find opportunities that will both be enjoyed by the members and help the community during this pandemic. 

“Right now, we have to think of things we normally would not do in order to provide members with as many unique volunteer opportunities as we can,” Saanjali Majmundar ‘21 said. 

Some of the events that Outreach Club has planned are ‘Homeless Snack Packages,’ ‘Kindness Cards,’ Dell Children’s Drive,’ and ‘Operation Gratitude.’ Participating in making ‘Homeless Snack Packages’ requires members to obtain items such as crackers, nuts, and granola and donate them to Homeless shelters. It is a way to earn up to two points. Making ‘Kindness Cards’ means sending messages of encouragement to ill patients at Moveable Feast, a nonprofit in Maryland. Doing so will earn members up to one point. Participating in the ‘Dell’s Children Drive’ will allow members to earn up to two points. Lastly, ‘Operation Gratitude’ is a way to send short notes that will be printed and sent to a military member, first responder, or frontline worker. It is a way for students to show support during the pandemic, and earn up to one point. 

“I am looking forward to providing members with the same opportunities as last year and helping them serve the community while finding new ways to adapt to this situation,” Muhammad Khan ‘21 said. “Specifically, I can’t wait for the Robotics FLL event because it is one of our biggest, and it’s nice to see different clubs uniting together to help the community.”