KSC’s Make-A-Wish club is one of the biggest clubs on campus. The club exists to support service endeavors on campus with Make-A-Wish NH and new students join each year to help aid in creating fun experiences for the children of Make-A-Wish. The Equinox popped into the Science Center on Wednesday, Sept. 23 to see what the Make-A-Wish club is up to so far this semester.
General members of the club gathered in front of a presentation by the executive board as they introduced themselves and their roles and talked about what members can expect from the club at their weekly meetings. President and Founder of Make-A-Wish club, senior Sammi Goldblatt, took a good portion of the allotted hour to talk about the club’s Signature Event that they are planning to hold in the spring, where kids from Make-A-Wish will be invited onto campus for the day.
In addition to the Signature Event, the executive board took suggestions from the general members in the audience for other events they could hold to fundraise for Make-A-Wish. Ideas such as a bake sale, a build-your-own hot chocolate bar and a “pay-to-pie someone” ignited the room with excitement.
First-year Maddy Hollister gave her reasoning for attending the club meeting. “I love volunteering and I think being able to help kids get something that they may not be able to otherwise is such a unique and special experience,” Hollister said.
First-year Olivia Vetter gave a similar response when asked why she decided to attend. “I just like helping younger people and I know that some people struggle differently in ways people might not realize,” Vetter said. “Plus, I know a few people on the New Hampshire general board [of Make-A-Wish].”
Madeleine Boyer, a sophomore, said she decided to join Make-A-Wish club because she was looking for community. “Through [Make-A-Wish club], I’ve made some of my best friends in the world,” Boyer said.
Senior Abigail Russell also spoke on the bonds she’s made from being a general member of the club to joining the executive board as the club’s outreach officer.
“I am the hype-girl,” Russell said when describing her role on the e-board. “I like to reach out to people on campus, I reach out to people outside of campus to collaborate with our organization. I do a lot under Logan, who is the Vice President–I work a lot with him with those types of situations.”
“My favorite part of being in this club is literally every single person on the e-board,” Russell said. “They’re the most happy, down-to-earth real people that I’ve connected with throughout the past three to four years. They’re just absolute gems. I do love them.”
Russell shared her excitement for what the club is planning for the year. “I’m excited for every little thing we’re able to do,” Russell said. “The past few years have really been building years, because we are still very new. This is our fourth year and we are just getting started with this club, honestly. The Signature Event was new last year, and that went a lot better than we were expecting, so that’s super exciting [to look forward to] but also just all of the other things that we’re gonna be able to do this semester and next semester.”
Goldblatt said that the Signature Event last year “got our name out there so well.”
“This is the most people we’ve had at a meeting in forever, and it’s so great to see that we have so many people,” Goldblatt shared. “I’m already getting people asking to collaborate for the Signature Event, and we just decided the date less than an hour ago.”
Goldblatt described the Signature Event as “her baby last year.” “I’ve worked on it since I was Vice President and a founder, it’s been like two and a half years making the event, so that’s what I’m most excited for because it will be my last Keene State event that I host.”
Goldblatt shared some words of encouragement to those who would like to join Make-A-Wish club. “I know I’m biased, but I’ve been in over 20 organizations in my four years here, and one of my favorite things about our org is that we’re so welcoming and you can decide your commitment level, which is something that a lot of orgs don’t have,” Goldblatt said. “I feel like with a lot of orgs it’s like, if you show up you show up to every meeting, and you grow and you go up the e-board, and here you don’t have to.”
“Here you can do Wish search, you can volunteer at events, you can just come and hang out at meetings and I think that’s a really cool thing that we offer that a lot of orgs don’t,” Goldblatt continued. “There’s a lot of say that the general members have. You just need to try it. Yes, the e-board is a little intense, not gonna lie, but we are so welcoming and we’re real, like, this is what you get. That’s something that our org is passionate about is being authentic and real.”
The Make-A-Wish club will continue to hold meetings every Wednesday at 7 pm in Science Center Room 101. Interested students can follow the club’s Instagram page, @makeawishksc.
Serena Taylor can be contacted at
staylor@kscequinox.com.
