What is the Starlight Club and What Do We Do?
The fifty minute lunch period that Galloway provides is great to catch up with friends and with homework. Sometimes, though, lunch can go by very slowly and there's not much to do. Joining a club is a great way to pass the time. Clubs are perfect for making new friends across all grade levels, working with people who have similar interests to you, or trying out something that you have never done before. There are a multitude of clubs at the Galloway school and a variety of categories of clubs: athletic clubs, clubs centered around hobbies, clubs that may relate to your identity, or service clubs. One service club at the school is the dynamic, sincere Starlight Club.
The Starlight club began meeting in the 21’-22’ school year and is continuing this school year as well. It is being led by Ashaar Bakshi (‘24), Ella Bohntinsky (‘24), and me, Hasita Yalamanchili (‘24). Starlight is centered around helping the Starlight Foundation, which is a charity that helps kids with long-term illnesses that are staying in hospitals. The charity was founded in 1982 by Emma Samms and Peter Samuelson in Los Angeles, California. Its donations go towards purchasing virtual reality headsets that allow children to see other places that they can not necessarily visit. The money also goes to games, such as Nintendo Switches fun hospital robes with better quality and designs; and more. This helps to make the unavoidable hospital visits better and add some entertainment. The foundation sends this equipment to more than 800 hospitals all over the United States. And, since its start, Starlight has extended its operations to the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
Last year, the Starlight Club created posters with QR codes for people to directly donate to the foundation and held a bake sale in front of Flik, raising money selling a variety of goods that the club members brought. This year, the Starlight Club hopes to raise more money through holding a variety of fundraisers. Some ideas of fundraisers that members want to hold this year are raffles, bake sales, or selling pancakes in the morning to students.
The Starlight Club meets twice a month during school hours, specifically lunch. It occurs in Ms. Gruber’s room on Wednesdays. The Starlight Club is important because all of its activities give children the opportunity to just be children. It gives them some normalcy and a great deal of fun while they have hospital visits that can seem daunting or monotonous. Everyone is welcome to come join in the meetings and fundraisers, and the foundation brings a smile to thousands of children!
By Hasita Yalamanchili