Vedanti Patil

Teaching a member how to assemble the knots for the lanyard, Vice President Bailey Zhang ’25 demonstrates how to create a complete paracord lanyard to Kyla Cretencio ’28, while Secretary Naomi Kini ’27 and Zephan Momin ’25 watch. Zhang and Kini co-organized the lanyard-making event, and guided club members in crafting the lanyards.

Hosting a paracord lanyard-making activity on Monday, Oct. 7 in the IB colony, Outreach Club contributed to Operation Gratitude, an effort to showcase appreciation for military and first-aid responders.

Club members gathered to craft paracord lanyards, allowing them to creatively express their gratitude for military and first aid responders, as well as learn a new skill and enjoy the event with peers.

“Paracord lanyards can be used for a lot of things,” Secretary Naomi Kini ‘27 said. “You can use them to thread stuff. They hold a lot of weight and the paracord is [made of] really thick material, so it’s really good for outdoor stuff. We’re just making these to donate to Operation Gratitude, which is a company that supplies these cords for free.”

Committing to the club’s purpose of serving the community, Vice President Bailey Zhang ‘25 and Kini co-organized this event. They coached club members on making the paracord lanyards that will eventually be sent to Operation Gratitude, which strives to honor the services of military and first-responder communities by giving Americans across the nation opportunities to express their gratitude for them.

“I hope [club members] can understand [that] this is such a small part of what veterans and first-aid responders have to do,” Kini said. “Even when they use things like this, they usually have to make them themselves. Learning the process and the hardships they have to go through can help us sympathize, and want to help out in the community. They work so hard and they’re putting their lives on the line, so I think this is a good way to show them how we appreciate them.”

The event was also a way for the club members to bond and form friendships, another key goal of the Outreach Club. Members reflected this goal when they worked together to figure out how to make the lanyards.

“Collaborating with two other girls helped me a lot because they taught me how to [make the lanyards],” Vandya Agarwal ‘28 said.