Many new clubs were introduced to UHS this school year with an extensive variety of missions, sizes and goals. One club newly established this fall is the Miracles for Kids Club run by juniors Blake Baek and Ashton Baek. Blake and Ashton Baek are brothers and the founders of the club.
The club here at UHS is part of an Irvine-based non-profit in Southern California that aims to support families with terminally ill children by providing them with financial aid, housing assistance and other similar services. The Baeks first started volunteering with the organization, before moving on to creating the club at UHS.
“Around my freshman year I wanted to become involved with community service,” Ashton Baek said. “So we found Miracles for Kids and we’ve been doing it ever since.”
Ashton and Blake Baek volunteered with Miracles for Kids for some time before starting the club at UHS, encouraging students to volunteer at Miracles for Kids events.
“After we started volunteering at Miracles for Kids for a couple of events, they reached out to us asking us to start a club here,” Blake Baek said.
Currently, the club has relatively few members. However, Miracles for Kids has been active on campus since its creation this year, being present at Club Kickoff, as well as attending events to assist in helping families.
“We went to an important event around a month ago to help pack boxes to send to the families who need it,” Ashton Baek said. “We’ve also planned to collect origami and cards that we will also send out to those people.”
The club holds biweekly meetings for its members to advance its cause. At meetings, club members focus on making items to encourage families supported by Miracles for Kids.
“At meetings, we make origami, make cards and pack gift boxes for the families with disabled children,” Ashton Baek said.
Because Miracles for Kids is an official nonprofit organization outside of UHS, students who join also gain the opportunity to get volunteer hours for the work that they do in the club.
“We offer volunteering in two ways, both remote and in-person,” Blake Baek said. “So if they can’t make it in person, then they could just do remote volunteering.”
The Miracles for Kids Club has various plans for the future, including events scheduled for the holidays.
“Sometime in mid-December we really want people to sign up for an event to pack holiday boxes,” Blake Baek said. “We’ll pack boxes with practical supplies such as tissues, hand sanitizer and also gifts such as toys for the kids.”
The Miracles for Kids Club at UHS aims to create a positive impact on the community through future volunteer work. The club meets once every two weeks on Tuesdays in Room 713 and highly encourages students to join.
“Joining is a great way to [earn] service hours and serve the community,” Ashton Baek said.
Blake Baek also highly encourages students at UHS to join the club because of the unique experience it offers and the impact it has on the community.
“People can earn volunteer hours by doing something fun but they can also make a positive impact on the community that they’ll remember,” Blake Baek said.
