The Make-A-Wish Club at Keene State College is dedicated to lighting up the lives of children who struggle with illness. The club hosted a drive to raise funds for fidget toys and stress balls for children in need on the L.P. Young Student Center lawn on Friday, Oct. 11.
Students and other interested parties passing by had the option to pay five dollars for five minutes of free roaming fun on the lawn in either of the two plastic human hamster balls the club purchased for the event. The money raised from people’s time in the balls was then used to purchase the fidget toys and stress balls that were donated to children within the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Junior and president of the Make-A-Wish Club Sammi Goldblatt organized the event. Goldblatt said she was introduced to the club as a first-year student after attending the club’s booth at the annual involvement fair on campus. Goldblatt was elected to vice president of the club a week after joining, and continued to serve as vice president for two years before being elected to president this year.
Goldblatt said she was originally approached by the Make-A-Wish office to have the club attend a trunk-or-treat at the New England Truck Center in Pembrooke, N.H., but declined the offer due to the distance of the event from campus. Goldblatt said she still wanted to support the children, so she instead created the drive as an on-campus event to raise funds and allow more club members to be involved.
“This is the first full event we have been able to put on, so I’m very excited to get to host an actual event on campus and be together as a club,” Goldblatt said. Goldblatt said she was particularly excited to get the first years of the club more involved.
When asked what her favorite part of the Make-A-Wish Club was, Goldblatt said the environment. “There is so much laughter; it is a very safe, fun environment. I usually host meetings just on the floor, we play The Wiggles– there’s just such a community and family vibe to our club,” Goldblatt said.
First-year Lexie Soto, a member of the Make-A-Wish Club, attended the drive on Friday. Soto said she joined the club as she wanted to continue the community service she had done in high school.
“I’ve really enjoyed this event, it’s been really fun,” Soto said about the drive. She said her favorite part of the event was being able to play in the human hamster balls.
Arianna Garceau, another first-year member of the club, attended the event. She said she learned about the club from the involvement fair and joined to be a part of something volunteer-based.
“Seeing our e-board be so into this event has been really fun. It’s great to see the people who lead us have fun and be engaged– it’s inspiring,” Garceau said. She said her favorite part of the event was watching the E-board be active and play in the human hamster balls.
The club raised $46 from the event, all of which was used to get fidget toys and stress balls into children’s hands. The Make-A-Wish Club meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in room 101 of the Science Center. Students interested in getting involved with the club can attend a meeting or check out the club’s Instagram, @makeawishksc.
Serena Taylor can be reached at
staylor@kscequinox.com
