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intention of bringing the organization into the world of volunteer work beyond the education of English language facts — while staying aligned with one of its key values: reading. President Ocampo relayed, “SEC thought of a way in which we could hold onto
F these same principles and objectives [of PoUCh] with an added twist unique to our organization’s vision and mission.”
Organizing a charitable initiative to empower school-age youths has been a long time coming for the club since its reintroduction in 2021, only awaiting the return of onsite classes. More than teaching the English language, SEC hoped to use it as a means of bringing light to social issues and empowering learning individuals.
The club president continued, “Ever since establishing [SEC], the officers and I have always envisioned our club going outside the school to reach out to neighboring communities that are in need of our help.”
According to President Ocampo, books were the main subject of the donation drive due to the advent of mass technological usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She mentioned that despite physical books being scientifically more effective for brain training and knowledge absorption, the easy access to information via technology and the everyday presence of social media has greatly distanced youths from printed literature, a potent source of knowledge.
Announced via morning assemblies and the club's official social media platforms, SEC members worked throughout the month to tally the donations and host the drive’s activities. Donated books throughout the donation period ranged from educational textbooks to narrative novels. This mix of genres was maximized to ensure studentbeneficiaries can enhance their knowledge, analysis, and contextualization throughout their class discussions.
skills
SEC held the Book Donation Drive Turnover Ceremony on June 16 at CAANHS - Annex, and it was hosted by club volunteers for the eighth-grade beneficiaries of the initiative. The event hosted activities for bonding to happen between the representatives of SISC and beneficiaries
CAANHS
Annex, including
Jeopardy and Guess the Actor/Actress, before the actual turnover of donations.
Lively and friendly interactions between both schools ensued, and many SEC volunteers bonded with their beneficiary counterparts. President Ocampo remembered, "We’re so glad this took place because we not only contributed to the enriching these students’ education, but also gave them an opportunity to fall in love with learning even more."
Following the remarks of International Basic Ed and IB Principal Dr. Marie Vic Suarez and President Ocampo, the newly-acquired books were given to the public school under the supervision of CAANHS
Annex
Principal Dr. Alejandro G. Esperanza.
Beyond CAANHS - Annex, the SEC heads look to further expand the charity drive to other public high schools. While they pass on their positions and responsibilities to their juniors, the club seniors hope that SEC will continue doing outreach with discussions on more volunteer initiatives and fundraising opportunities in the future.