Members of the Chaminade Education Club do not require the completion of any community service hours, but they still try to help wherever they can, whether within the community or beyond.

On Monday, 12 club members gathered supplies and put together 5 baskets full of school supplies that will be delivered to teachers in Chuuk during the annual Micronesian Teacher’s Education Conference. Handmade cards with notes of inspiration and encouragement were also added to the baskets. Six of the education professors from Chaminade will be traveling to Chuuk in July and delivering the baskets to teachers in need. 

“That’s what we’re really proud of that it really was student-initiated after hearing about the stories and Scott’s experience in Chuuk,” said Dr. Mary Smith, the Education Club advisor. “They took it upon themselves to do some fundraising and do a drive and collect more materials for students in Chuuk.”

Dr. Scott Wylie, an assistant professor in education, attended the previous year’s conference and learned what exactly the teachers there needed as far as supplies. Each basket consisted of notebooks, markers, crayons, pencils, pens, erasers, glue and pencil sharpeners. 

“The types of materials aren’t the same in every classroom,” Wylie said. “For example, some classes might not have whiteboards or chalkboards. So anything that could be useful for students in any classroom regardless of what other materials are available, so things like markers, crayons, pencils, and other basic school supplies.”

Dalton Alatan, president of the Education Club, took initiative to get his club involved in the supply drive.

“This wasn’t anything that Dr. Smith and I planned or set up,” Wylie said. “We just kind of mentioned the need and talked about it general our experiences and visits. The Education Club took it from there. They did everything with no guidance from me.”

Wylie shared that he will be involved in workshops within the conference that deal with student-involvement with the community around them. He values the idea of civic engagement with his students, which makes the supply drive even more worthwhile.

This isn’t the first time that the Education Club has volunteered for community service events. In honor of Earth Day, it partnered with Trees to Seas in Palolo where it helped to pick up debris and trash in the neighborhood. Four members of the club attended the event along with their advisor, Katrina Roseler.

“I didn’t realize how fast trash can pile up,” said Angelica Concepcion, the vice president of the Education Club. “It’s really frightening to see how dirty the earth would be if people didn’t clean up after themselves. It’s great to have organizations doing these things, taking care of the Earth, because if not us then who will.”

In late April, half of the club members also volunteered to work as judges in Texaco’s Annual Speech Festival held at Kaimuki High School. According to Alatan, the event was designed to help encourage students grow in their public-speaking skills and gain self confidence.

Most clubs have a minimum requirement for hours of community service. However, the Education club chooses to participate without that stipulation.

“We just want to do as much as we can for the community,” Alatan said.