A few years ago, Laura Chen would have felt helpless when her friend told her about Syria’s bloody conflict, and the horrendous impact it was having on civilians’ lives.
But, as a member of R.C. Palmer Secondary’s Global Network club, she now has the confidence, and the skills, to spring into action.
“My friend [from Syria] didn’t want pity,” Chen says. “She wanted people to become aware and support the innocent civilians…. She was really upset that no one knew what was going on.”
Chen is co-president of Global Network. She helped organize a campaign to not only inform students about what was happening in Syria but also raise $500 to help families.
Back when she was in Grade 9, pity would have been the only thing she could offer her friend, who is a Syrian refugee. However, she’s learned a lot through the club, which meets over lunch at the high school every Friday. The club’s leadership training “really got me to be creative about the things I was passionate about — [it taught me to] put all your heart into what you care about.”
“Leadership is a way of standing up for others and starting a conversation,” fellow club member Sarah Chen said at the Richmond Student Leadership Showcase at the Aberdeen Centre on March 6. “Things can change through that process. We are having such a good life here and others should deserve it, too.”
Student passion was palpable at each of the booths that circled the mall’s fountain as part of the culmination of Education Week activities. A variety of youth groups, including Boy Scouts, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets and the Richmond Schools Youth Volunteer Association, took part in the event organized by Jim Ling, the district chair of Rotary International’s Interact Clubs, which also had a strong showing.
In British Columbia, as with many provinces, high school students are required to volunteer a minimum of 30 hours in order to get their diploma. The Richmond Schools Youth Volunteer Association wants students to take the next step — to think of volunteering as a hobby, not a school requirement. Volunteering helps create a sense of community, and a sense of community makes us feel less isolated.
To help bring people together as new friends, the students are helping to organize a Block Party at the South Arm Community Centre on June 25.
