‘25

Students and teachers may be inclined to create and run different events, in order to feel that they are contributing to the community. But the question is: How? While it is easy to show up to different philanthropic clubs such as Interact and the Neverland Project, actually creating the events for students to involve themselves in and get service hours for is a different story. From Wyckoff Day to the Veterans Collection and even just a bake sale, the behind-the-scenes of actually making it happen can be very challenging—but not impossible. 

A student-created program at Indian Hills that is in charge of creating and setting up charity events is the Neverland Project. The Neverland Project is a branch of Interact that was created in order to do specific work towards helping the homeless. Senior Logan Render, a Neverland founder, discusses their process of coming up with this club, creating events, and getting them approved. However, before this project came to life, Logan was doing a lot of work with Interact. While working with this club, “I wished that it provided more to help those who are homeless,” Logan says. Once the idea of a club like this came to mind, Logan talked to Ms. Funk, the head of Interact who helped with most of the process of getting it approved. Logan suggests that if you are in a club and have an idea, talk to the advisor or even members of the club to get them involved and come up with ideas to help you be more prepared to get the event approved. Logan also suggests, “Getting involved in student council can be a great way to introduce your idea if you are not involved with a club”. Even just by creating your own event, “you are preparing yourself for networking,” Logan says.

A big event that was just recently put into action was the spikeball tournament Spike Out Hunger on April 6. Junior, Caden Concepcion created this idea along with his friend Michael Caso after hoping to create a club together: “We decided on Spikeball, as it is an easy game to learn, and it’s fun to play,” Caden says. Eventually, Caden and Michael chose to create an event rather than a club when some of their friends asked about prizes for the tournament winners. Soon, Caden’s friend and fellow junior, Ava O’Neal informed him of her connection with an NGO known as Full Belly Brasil, an organization trying to provide meals to the people and protect the environment. Caden was intrigued by this idea that just $1 is capable of generating 10 meals for a family in need. Caden says, “This enlightened me to how much inflation was present in the United States in regards to food, and the dire situation many Brazilian families are facing in recent years.” After organizing all of these different thoughts and ideas together, these students went to Director of Athletics and Student Activities, Mr. Duncan, to get a date approved, as well as approval from the PTSO and other necessary organizations. They then relied on social media to promote their event and get other students involved. Caden suggests that, “if you have an idea, just go for it.” The staff at Indian Hills is very supportive when you wish to achieve a goal and they most definitely will help you as you talk about your ideas. For example, Caden went to English teacher and advisor of the Teens Need Teens (TNT) club, Mrs. Frissora, when he needed help collecting donations. Overall, Caden advises that the best thing you can do is try and just pursue any ideas that you have: “The worst result is that you throw the idea out into the world for other people to improve upon, and you show the staff your ambition.”        

Now that you know how to get your idea out there, it’s time to figure out how to get it approved. Mr. Duncan is in charge of approving club event ideas that students and teachers propose. Mr. Duncan tries to approve as many events as possible, however, he “wants to ensure that the school community is going to have a positive response to them,” Duncan says. Mr. Duncan suggests that the first step you should take when wanting to create an event is to figure out what the purpose of your idea is. Ask yourself how you are going to draw everybody in, what the lead is that makes everything interesting, and how you can scale it in order to get a lot of people to come out. From there, it is a matter of growing it. In a situation like this, “make everything big,” Mr. Duncan states. Creating something small without a lead could make it a lot more difficult to bring people in and get involved in your event. Overall, the bigger everything is, the easier it will be to achieve your goal. 

Mr. Duncan has seen a lot of amazing ideas, however, he has one recommendation for all future groups who attempt to get their event approved: organization. “Many groups came asking about different fundraisers and just assumed they had it confirmed,” Mr. Duncan says. Coming in prepared and with a date reserved is very important because it can make or break the final decision. 

With all of this in mind, if you have an idea, just go for it. Although it can be difficult, this process is worth the effort and there are so many supportive students and teachers that can help you along the way. Even just by trying to create an event, you are helping the community.