In an age where movements for change are gaining popularity across the nation, many West Ranch clubs aim to make a difference on a smaller scale through local community efforts and campaigns. Initiatives such as the Housing Project, Girl Up and Unlikely Heroes are doing their best to tackle prominent issues by mobilizing the power of students and community partners. By hosting fundraisers and raising awareness on pressing topics, West Ranch students are actively stepping up and being the change they want to see in the world.
Housing Project
In big urban and suburban areas, such as Los Angeles, homelessness is a rampant issue that students at West Ranch aim to remedy through a club called the Housing Project. Sophia Sadaqatmal, a sophomore at West Ranch and president of the Housing Project, explained that the purpose of this club is to “raise money and collect different kinds of goods mainly for local homeless shelters and refugees.”
The objective of the Housing Project is to make monetary and material donations to places such as homeless shelters so that people in need have easy access to basic necessities. Besides hosting fundraisers at restaurants in Santa Clarita, the Housing Project has also participated in packaging products for shelters. “We’ve created little hygiene kits that we actually donated to Bridge To Home homeless shelter,” Sadaqatmal said.
Amy, an employee at Bridge To Home’s Temporary Client Housing Shelter, explained that the club’s donation of these hygiene kits, and all donations in general, “take a weight off of [the shelter] to try and beat the never ending pressure of getting enough funding,” and that local efforts “help everyone get back on their feet and into a more permanent living situation.”
Kayla Patel, the Housing Project’s secretary, explained why she volunteers her time to give back to those in need: “It’s really uplifting that I can help in some sort of way, whether it’s participating in fundraisers or making the hygiene kits. I think it’s helping my community in even the smallest way.”
Not only does the Housing Project intend to donate essentials to those who need them, the club also hopes to spread awareness on the rising issue of homelessness. “I want to be able to raise not only money, but awareness in general on this topic. I’m doing it to help other people feel better; it’s not just about me,” said Housing Project vice president Mahati Dharanipathi.
Dharanipathi hopes that all students will consider joining the movement to create change. She described her own mindset on being able to make an impact on the lives of others: “When you are young, you are able to do just as much; I know that I can still do a lot of change right now. I know that I have a lot of privileges in life and I really hope that I can give back to people who don’t have the same privileges that I do, that I might not even consider privileges in my head.”
The Housing Project’s mission will take time, as the club hopes to create a long-lasting mark on the community. In the meantime, the officers of the Housing Project encourage students to stay committed and involved. “Just know that you’re doing this for some sort of purpose. You want to be mindful and purposeful as to why you’re doing something like this” Patel concluded.
Unlikely Heroes
Unlikely Heroes strives to educate and encourage student involvement in raising awareness on human trafficking. Unlikely Heroes club President and West Ranch senior Jonathan Dolce explained that “through Unlikely Heroes, my goal is to inform our school about the closeness of human trafficking and help us all realize that resources are within our grasp to continue that awareness to help those that may need it.”
Dolce recounted that a personal discussion with a friend about human trafficking and doing his own research on the topic is what inspired him to create Unlikely Heroes. “I noticed that I–like most other people I knew–had a severe lack of awareness and understanding of human trafficking. So, I sought a means to change that.”
Unlikely Heroes meets biweekly on Mondays to inform their club members and peers about current information about human trafficking as well as to discuss current and upcoming events to promote awareness.
Dedicated club member and West Ranch senior Sally Rabadi discussed the club’s current schedule of events taking place. “Last semester we did a lot of club meetings where the [club] officers educated and informed students about different types of human trafficking,” Rabadi remarked. “This semester I participated in our fundraising. We also have a guest speaker coming in. Stephany Powell, a former LAPD officer who is now the Vice President And Director of Law Enforcement Training And Survivor Services at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation will come to our school to educate students and spread awareness about this topic.”
Every day is a learning experience for all the club officers and members as they begin to feel the magnitude of their activism.
Human Trafficking is an issue here in Santa Clarita as much as it is a global one. Education of the signs of human trafficking to look out for and the stories of survivors are fundamental tools for students to use in the case of an emergency.
Rabadi shared that the awareness that Unlikely Heroes raises relates to her on a personal level. Her parents’ awareness of human trafficking made them fear the world for her. “This could’ve taught me to live in fear, but instead it made me want to make a change for all the parents that worry for their daughters and children from danger. I want to encourage parents to instead make the world less dangerous so kids will not fear the world but instead to embrace it.”
Girl Up
The Girl Up club aims to empower girls and to highlight gender inequality and discrimination. Senior Jessica Schreier, vice president of the Girl Up club at West Ranch, explained that their main goal is to “raise awareness, not only for the problems that we face in this community, but ones that other women face in other parts of the world and environments.”
Emma Liao, a senior at West Ranch and Girl Up club president, explained how the club works in an effort to “make sure that girls all over our community have equal opportunities and feel like they have a voice.” She added that the club “always tries to look for new ways to help the community, so it’s nice to have a lot of different perspectives and ideas all together to help with that.”
In recent club events, Girl Up has effectively been collaborating with other campus clubs, like the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Black Student Union (BSU) to highlight and gather various perspectives from young female leaders in the community. In recognition of Black History Month, the club invited members of Black Student Union (BSU) to speak about the change they strive for and plan to achieve as black women.
Another event the club recently organized was a fundraiser to sell shirts, with all proceeds being donated to a Los Angeles homeless shelter, specifically to their center for women and single mothers. Fundraisers and projects similar to these help ensure that young individuals can make a difference, regardless of their age.
Since club members are young activists with limited experience and abilities, Esi Otoo, junior president of Girl Up, advised that “the first step to making a big change is always making people aware of what’s going on. They may not see those issues on their own, so it’s more important than trying to force change upon people who don’t want it.” Otoo hopes that by starting small and expanding your individual knowledge on current global issues, you can stay educated and affect bigger future changes.
Being a member of an organization like Girl Up gives students a sense of direction and provides them with inspiration to make small changes in their everyday lives. Despite the fact that many members are under 18, eligible members are encouraged to go out and vote for what they believe in and to continue in making their voices heard.
Although the club currently consists of all girls, Schreier concluded by encouraging all young activists who believe in standing up for equal rights and change in their community to join Girl Up: “[We] want to eliminate the stigma that only women can join this club, because you don’t have to be only a girl to join this club, you can be a male, or any identity.”
