Written by: Maya Paddon
over the past two school years, KCI’s Spanish Club, led by Mme. Lopez, has been sponsoring a 13 year old child from Colombia named Angelica. An idea that originated three years ago entirely by Spanish Club students, they have been able to sponsor Angelica through an organization called SOS Children’s Villages.
For privacy reasons, SOS Children’s Villages keeps the majority of Angelica’s personal information confidential. However, the Spanish Club does receive some occasional updates regarding Angelica’s lifestyle and interests, as stated by club member Vicky Hynes: “Sometimes we get little updates, like letters [about] how she’s doing, which is really sweet.” Mme. Lopez added, “The last letter they sent us, they said that she’s doing fine, that she loves to colour, to draw, and that she’s becoming more friendly, because she used to be very quiet.”
To comply with the policies set by the organization, the Spanish Club must raise $500 annually to continue supporting Angelica: “The good thing is that we have been able to raise it,” said Mme. Lopez, adding, “The kids have worked really hard to get that money.”
And indeed they have. Through a variety of activities and sales put on during KCI’s monthly community fests, the Spanish Club has been able to raise lots of money to sponsor Angelica. From food items, to collectibles, to raffles, Vicky outlined the assortment of fundraisers the club has run in recent months: “The most recent [community fest] we participated in was last week or two weeks ago, in which we sold nachos and also these really beautiful crocheted flowers that the talented Olivia Winter made for us to sell! Before that, around the holiday time, we sold these really cute collectible figurines. I know we did a candy salad buffet sometime in the fall, as well as we’ve done different raffles. So we’ve done all different sorts of sales,” Vicky noted.
Both Mme. Lopez and Vicky concurred that the opportunity to sponsor a child has come with several positive benefits to not only Angelica herself, but also the Spanish Club students. Vicky mentioned that she has enjoyed getting the business experience that comes with selling various items to continue supporting Angelica: “It’s great actually getting this kind of business experience, and learning how to do these sales. So everything that goes into the sale, all the preparation, and on the actual day is the biggest learning experience we get - actually selling to other people and having to pitch to other people and how to manage all of that has been a great experience to gain those skills, which I think is super valuable and super transferable.”
Meanwhile, Mme. Lopez is grateful to offer an opportunity for students to demonstrate “their citizenship, responsibilities, and growth as human beings.” She continued, “Here at KCI, we do a lot of activities to support our local community, which is very good, but [this goes] farther. It’s giving [students] an opportunity to help somebody, becoming citizens of the world.”
If students outside of the Spanish Club are interested in helping sponsor Angelica, Mme. Lopez and the students involved highly encourage participation in the club - even without prior Spanish experience or knowledge. Mme. Lopez explained, “I have students that have not even been in my Spanish class, but because of this, they have joined the club because they want to help.”
For students interested in this opportunity, join the Spanish Club Google Classroom via this code: wdntfzv