By ASHLEY LEUNG
This school year, Malden High School welcomes back the return of the Helping Hands club, along with a new arrival, the Habitat for Humanity club. These two clubs have high hopes for the new year, and are working hard to make their mark on MHS’s students.
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that helps build homes for people in need of proper housing. Junior Amelia Midgley introduced the nationwide club in early September. Midgley came from a different high school where Habitat for Humanity was an active and running club. When arriving at MHS, she saw an opportunity to bring the club to help people in need. Midgley had taken a course over the summer that taught her exactly how to run the club, and everything she will need to know about the organization. So, along with the help of history teacher Ann Pember as the advisor, they were able to start the club. Currently, Habitat for Humanity members are planning fundraising ideas in order to raise money to buy supplies for building homes.
Helping Hands is “a club that does activites with the East Middlesex ARC.” East Middlesex ARC (EMARC) is a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities from over 12 cities in the East Middlesex region and provides free services. The club was first introduced back in 2009 by former MHS student Alana Casey when she was a sophomore. The club was quite popular at MHS, but it had died down last year. The club was advised by Erin Craven since 2009. However, Blue and Gold member junior Julie Lam, senior Hanh Pham, and MHS graduate Daniel Doza brought the first EMARC dance to Malden as their National Honor Society Project during the summer, which sparked interest in Helping Hands to many new members. The dance “was a success,” and one of the club’s goals this year is to bring another EMARC dance to Malden, this time during the school year. The Helping Hands not only helps host dances for the students that are a part of the EMARC program, but they also organize the swim clinic located at the YMCA, and MASH Days, which will start in October. MASH Days are a day once a month where the Helping Hands members do a variety of fun activities with the students. For these days, they work with the MASH Program.
Lam was a member of Helping Hands during her freshman year, and she recalled that it was a big club during that time. It had died down last year though, but after the success of Lam, Pham, and Doza’s NHS project, Pham and Lam brought the club back to MHS, with Erin Craven help as the advisor.
