You may have seen their flyers posted in the hallways, their table selling baked treats or maybe you even remember their Halloween donation boxes from elementary school.
The UNICEF club at the high school meets in room 302 during X-block and is focused on raising money and awareness for underprivileged children. The organization UNICEF helps children in need by increasing their access to education and healthcare. The club supports this mission by fundraising and sending donations. Additionally, club members have supported children in Brookline by volunteering at the Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline village, where they work with kids on arts and crafts projects. The club is a close-knit community where members collaborate to improve their fundraising strategies and increase the club’s visibility.
Senior and co-president Cole Ortiz joined the club his junior year, and that same year won the election for president. He said the club is always trying to build a stronger community and connection around a shared purpose.
“The club itself is dedicated to fundraising and creating awareness for situations in impoverished countries where we raise money for kids in need,” Ortiz said.
Senior and club member Jacob Letterman said one of his favorite initiatives taken by the club was visiting elementary schools and speaking with students about UNICEF’s mission, which he said helped him improve his social skills.
“It’s helped a lot just melting my social anxiety when I’m just talking to random people on the street,” Letterman said.
Ortiz said the club is very community-oriented and focused on interpersonal interactions.
“The way that we raise money is through human connection, and not just through, ‘Hey, please donate to us’ but rather, ‘Hey, come see what we’re about, and see if you like what we’re doing,’” Ortiz said.
This year, the club hosted a Clash Royale tournament with a five dollar buy in: two dollars going to fundraising, and three going towards the prize pool. Ortiz said the event did not include as many people as hoped but was still successful.
“It was a smaller event, but it was well received, so I think it’s definitely something that we want to do again,” Ortiz said. “I think that the opportunity to continue to make [the tournament] larger is definitely there.”
Senior and co-president Walker Fahrenbach said that, in addition to improving fundraising, he would like to make an effort to better educate members of the club about UNICEF’s mission.
“I’ve been making more of an effort during the meetings to have actual material to teach so that when we do an event, we can be better with dialogue,” Fahrenbach said.
According to Letterman, the experiences he gained while volunteering were worth it.
“In the times that I do [volunteer], it’s the most fun I have,” Letterman said. “It just makes me glad to be a part of this really community-oriented activity.”
