The Giving Tree of Winter

Bronx Science distributes the presen(ce)ts

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Audrey Hill

Key Club members Jessica Alonso ’22 and Eva Manabat ’22 concentratedly write Macy’s letters to Santa for the Make A Wish Foundation during a Key Club meeting.

With the cold winter season, the homeless resided on the streets, hoping for a winter miracle. Bronx Science volunteer organizations like Red Cross bundled up, and aided the homeless with warm smiles, “We intend to promote awareness of the problems people face on a daily basis and try taking action to help people into a better position,” Red Cross President Andy Liu ’20 said. Red Cross planned to collaborate with a homeless shelter this winter by supplying them with food and basic necessities.

In Key Club, the biggest volunteer organization at Bronx Science, students travel around New York City every weekend, serving in hospitals, schools, bookstores, and festivals such as Holiday Mania.

“My favorite part about [Holiday Mania] was spending time with the kids and watching their creativeness flow,” said Key Club member Ahona Rana ’22. Tanmoy Paul ’20 agreed. “Kids need lots of opportunities to have fun and be children while they still can, because the world is hard to live in, and childhood innocence should be as best and as long as possible. The event has made me want to help out more in these types of events so that more children can be happy,” Paul said.

Key Club members like Bhaskar Chakrabarti ’22, who helped set up a Christmas Party for the Estonian Education Society, found that he developed leadership skills. “We had to solve many problems ourselves, like where to put certain food or decorations,” Chakrabarti said. “We strive to build a friendly community that welcomes high schoolers and allows them to gain the confidence necessary to enact change. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to be surrounded with,” Key Club President Megan Ngo ’19 said.

The event has made me want to help out more in these types of events so that more children can be happy,” Tanmoy Paul ’20 said.

Numerous clubs participate in the UNICEF Penny Wars every year. Each club’s collection is then relocated to children who need immediate financial aid. “Our primary concerns are always focused on humanitarian aid for underprivileged children in areas of the world with ongoing crises,” said President Abdelkader Achibat ’19.

This year’s wish lists that unwell children have made will finally be granted because Make-A-Wish is coming to town! Make-A-Wish is a club that focuses on providing help for children with serious illnesses and this winter, Make-A-Wish wrote seventeen Christmas cards to a 14-year boy, Maddox Hyde, who is suffering from Neuroblastoma. Vice President of Make-A-Wish, Nusaiba Chakladar ’19 said, “As a club, are very proud that we could help lift a child’s spirit during the Holiday season.”

Every year, New York students celebrate the holidays and end the year with hope for a better new year. Children rush out of school for Winter Break, vibrant with the holiday spirit. Many students walk out with the intention “to become more productive members of society by becoming socially aware and proactive,” said Amnesty Vice President Alif Matin ’19.

Such efforts show that Bronx Science serves as a caring and responsible community. Our fellow Wolverines journey around New York City, spreading joy to the coldest corners.