Make a Difference!

New Semester, New Blog Host!

2007-01-04T22:48:00.000-08:00

Hey there MAD Clubbers! We've been having some problems with getting our posts up on our blog and out to your inboxes lately, so with the new semester approaching, we've decided to move on to a new blogging platform to host our news blog.

Our new blog link is http://makeadifference.vox.com - go check it out!

All new blog posts will still be delivered via email, so don't worry about changes with that. Our site just looks a lot spiffier and has lots of cool new organizational features (You can even subscribe to our new blog via a RSS feed easily now by clicking on the button on the side of the page!) now.

Thank you all for a great semester of volunteering and making a difference in our community! We managed to help out at many more events with many more local and national organizations than we've ever done before this semester as a result of all you wonderful members' dedication to community service.

Give yourselves a big pat on the back and get ready for another great semester full of fun volunteering opportunities!

Updated Locations List for SF FAD 2007

2007-01-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, some changes have taken place since I sent the location assignments out last night, so I've included a revised version of the list in tonight's post. All changes are in bold - most of the assignments have remained unchanged, but please double check to make sure everything is correct and contact me ASAP with any new corrections.

FISHERMAN'S WHARF AREA
Hyde Street Pier
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Danna Hong 0913
Judy Cheng 0906
Margaret Tsai 0918

USS Pampanito
Tiffany Au
Christine Le 0809
Anissa Chen 0804
Cynthia Lee 0813

SS Jerimiah O'Brien
Jan Young 0911
Joanna Huang 0911
Erin Tom 0901
Tina Kwan

Musee Mercanique
Sonya Ostashevskaya 0910
Karen Chen 0914

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
Yvonne Kong 0819
Michele Chui 0818
Aimee Howard 0812
Nora Casey 0815
Christine Trinh 0804
Annie Wong 0805

Wax Museum
Justin Chan 0801
Raymond Wu
Lily Guan 0811
Irene Cheung 0817
Katie Yee 0817
Tiffany Vu

Aquarium of the Bay
Natasha Sadikin 1016
Susan Lim 1019
Mindy Muynh 1011
Wendy Chak 1019
Jenny Huynh 1010
Vivian Suen 1015

GOLDEN GATE PARK AREA
Conservatory of Flowers
Amy Lai 0918
Shirla Shan 0902
Justine Pon 0901
Amanda Chu 0910
Janet Lee 0903

deYong Museum
Angel Huang 0917
Anna Chen 0904
Jenelle Guillermo 0916
Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
Annie Yan 0913
Peter Yu 0907

Japanese Tea Garden
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Thurston Zhu 1018
Arianna Lopez 1004
Jonathan Siu

San Francisco Botanical Garden
Jimmy Xie 0811
Evelina Vu 0817

You can find the links to the maps/directions for each location, as well as detailed instructions for this event, in last night's email or by clicking here.

Thanks!

Mayor Gavin Newsom's Family Appreciation Day 2007 - Sunday, January 7th

2007-01-03T18:39:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! Mayor Gavin Newsom's Family Appreciation Day is coming up this Sunday, so I have all the details and information you need to know about volunteering at this event ready for all you wonderful volunteers.

Listed below are the location assignments for Family Appreciation Day:

FISHERMAN'S WHARF AREA
Hyde Street Pier
(located at Hyde street on Jefferson Street)
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Danna Hong 0913
Judy Cheng 0906
Margaret Tsai 0918

USS Pampanito
(Click for directions)
Tiffany Au
Christine Le 0809
Anissa Chen 0804
Cynthia Lee 0813

SS Jerimiah O'Brien
(Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf)
Jan Young 0911
Joanna Huang 0911
Erin Tom 0901
Regina Lam 0701

Musee Mercanique
(Pier 45 Shed A at the end of Taylor Street at Fisherman's Wharf)
Sonya Ostashevskaya 0910
Karen Chen 0914

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
(Click for directions)
Yvonne Kong 0819
Michele Chui 0818
Aimee Howard 0812
Nora Casey 0815
Christine Trinh 0804
Annie Wong 0805

Wax Museum
(Click for directions)
Justin Chan 0801
Raymond Wu
Jessica Wong
Tina Kwan
Alan Lam
Karen Li

Aquarium of the Bay
(Click for directions)
Natasha Sadikin 1016
Susan Lim 1019
Mindy Muynh 1011
Wendy Chak 1019
Jenny Huynh 1010
Vivian Suen 1015

GOLDEN GATE PARK AREA
Conservatory of Flowers
(Click for directions)
Amy Lai 0918
Shirla Shan 0902
Justine Pon 0901
Amanda Chu 0910
Janet Lee 0903

deYong Museum
(Click for directions)
Angel Huang 0917
Anna Chen 0904
Jenelle Guillermo 0916
Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
Annie Yan 0913
Peter Yu 0907

Japanese Tea Garden
(between JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. drives)
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Thurston Zhu 1018
Angela Zhou 0711
Arianna Lopez 1004

San Francisco Botanical Garden
(Click for directions)
Jimmy Xie 0811
Evelina Vu 0817

Here are the instructions direct from the Mayor's office - please read them carefully so you understand your duties because it might get pretty hectic during your shift!

Please arrive at your assignment between 10:00-10:30 a.m. but definitely not later than 10:30 a.m. You will be finished at 4:00 pm.

Upon arrival, check in with the Site Supervisor who will be wearing a square Volunteer button. There should be a table and chairs set up for you near the entrance. You will also find the following supplies: easel, Appreciation Day poster, and a box containing wrist bands, Event Guides and volunteer buttons for you to wear. Please return the button at the end of the day so we can use it again next year.

WRIST BANDS:

Free admission will be granted to San Francisco families with children. Your main job is to check IDÃ’s for proof of San Francisco residency, and distribute wristbands and Event Guides. You only need to check one adult in each group. One adult can bring in an unlimited number of children and adults. Give one wristband to each person. Do not to be too rigid about what people show as proof. Here are some examples of what people may use as proof of residency:

DriversÃ’ License
Utility Bill or other bill
SF School ID
Library Card
SF YMCA card
Other (use your best judgment)

There may be a few suburbanites who perhaps work in the city and feel they should be allowed free admission. Please explain it is for San Francisco families only but donÃ’t argue if they insist--use your best judgment.

Please keep your eye on the wristbands--- things tend to disappear. If you think you may run out please call Mary or Jill and they will bring more to you.

EVENT GUIDES

The Event Guide is for families to use today and throughout the year as a reference for family friendly attractions in San Francisco. It lists all participating attractions and any special programming they have on Family Appreciation Day. There are a limited number. Please only hand out ONE PER FAMILY. If you are running low call Mary (415-845-7079) or Jill (415-420-9887) and they will bring more to you.

SITES

The museums and attractions have been extraordinarily generous with us---they are not being reimbursed for lost admissions, and they have put a great deal of time into making sure the details are all in place. Please make sure to thank the staff for participating in the event. Also, please be respectful of their needs and requirements and assist them in any way possible. Finally, we have a duty to make sure our visitors donÃ’t damage the attractions in any way. Please involve the Site Leader, museum personnel or security if you think a problem is brewing that you cannot handle yourself.

Because there will be no central meeting location before volunteers are dispersed to their locations, all volunteers are required to print a copy of a verification slip to bring with them to the event to be filled out and signed by their adult supervisor. You can download the slip here, labeled "Mayor Gavin Newsom's Family Appreciation Day Slips". There are three slips per page, so one person can print a sheet of the slips and share with two other group members to conserve paper.

Please remember to bring these slips with you to your location this Sunday because you will not receive credit if we do not receive a signed signed slip from you after the event as proof of yattendanceence.

This event is worth 6 credits (10 am to 4 pm). At the beginning of the year, we made it clear at our meetings that if you sign up for an event and find out that you can no longer attend, you have to let us know at least ONE WEEK in advance or else you will receive negative credits equal to the number of credits the event is worth. If you do not show up at an event you sign up for without notice, you will also receive negative credits equal to the number of credits the event is worth.

With that said, this event is worth SIX CREDITS, so if you do not show up at your assigned location or do not bring back a signed slip as proof of your attendance, you will most likely seriously jeopardize your active membership status for the Fall semester (unless you have enough extra credits to cover the negative six). Eight credits is required for active attendance for the Fall semester.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the event or our negative credit policies, please email us and we will be happy to work things out with you.

Thanks!

SF AIDS Foundation Kick-Off Party - Sunday, January 7th

2007-01-03T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hello there, MAD Clubbers! Here are the details for the SF AIDS Foundation Kick-Off Party, which is also taking place this Sunday, January 7th. Different tasks have different start and finish times, so please pay special attention to the times of your specific shift listed below!

(The asterisk(*) means you signed up for this event through email, but were not present at today's meeting and did not get a chance to choose your preferred shift. If there are any problems with your assigned shift, please contact me ASAP and I will work something out with you.)

Coat Check 9 am - 1 pm (3 credits)
Tiffany Lau
Angela Quach
Jonathan Siu*

Check-in 9 am - 1 pm (3 credits)
Serene Ho
Alice Lan
Serena Luong*
Gloria Chen

Volunteer Check-in 9 am - 2 pm (4 credits)
Stephanie Yee
Tina Liu

Greeters/Info 10:30 am - 1 pm (3 credits)
Wing Cheuk
Teresa Zhou
Diana Chen
Jason Jee

Coat Check 1 pm - 4 pm (3 credits)
Nancy Ma
Kelly Tam
Anne Yan

Greeters/Info 12:30 - 3 pm (3 credits)
Wendy Kwang
Carol Liang
Sirena Louie

Here are the details from the volunteer coordinator:

AIDS/LifeCycle Kick-Off Party Sunday January 7th

Nikko Hotel, 222 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Grand Ballroom on the 3rd Floor, you should be able to hear people!

Contact: Emily's cell. Phone number is 415-902-4974 but you will be reporting to Volunteer Check-In on-site and they will tell you to which area to report.

Dress:

Casual nice so nicer jeans with closed toe shoes. You will receive a t-shirt when you arrive. Do not bring any valuables. There will be a coat check but access will be limited so fanny packs or other containers for your stuff (i.e. lip balm, cellphone, keys, wallet, etc.) that allow your hands to be free would be great!

Food:

There will be water for volunteers in the morning but no coffee and the food will not be out until after noon so plan accordingly. Thanks for understanding.

Directions:

The Nikko Hotel is located on Mason between O'Farrell and Ellis so it is really close to Powell Street Cable Turnaround and the underground Muni and BART Powell station. If you are at the Cable Car turnaround at Powell and Market go up Powell towards Union Sqauare. Cross and the next street you will come to is O'Farrell. Go left at O'Farrell and after the next side street Cyril Magnin you will see an entrance to the Nikko at Mason on the left-hand side. Go on in and go up to the 3rd Floor. (You can go up Cyril Magnin but it's not as straight-forward so I gave the easy to explain way!)

TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION if possible because the Nikko is really central and parking is excruciatingly expensive downtown.

Because the different shifts for this event start at different times, we are requiring volunteers to print participation verification slips to bring with them to their shift to be filled out and signed by adult superviors in the vicinity. Slips can be downloaded here, labeled "SF AIDS Foundation Kick-Off Party Slips." There are three slips per page, so one person can print a sheet of the slips and share with two other volunteers to conserve paper. A signed slip will serve as "signing in" at this event, so please remember to bring a copy of a slip with you to the event and don't forget to turn in the signed slips to us at the meetings after this event! You will not receive credit for this event if we do not receive some kind of signed verification of your participation.

If you forget to bring or lose your slip while you are working at the event, grab a piece of paper and write down all the information required on the slip and have an adult sign the slip of paper. We will accept this and give you credit. (This also applies to Family Appreciation Day.)

Please contact us with any questions you may have about this event!

Important Update Regarding SF AIDS Foundation Kick-Off Party - Please Reply ASAP!

2006-12-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, I hope you're all enjoying your Winter Break!

I recently received an email from the volunteer coordinator at the SF AIDS Foundation telling me that the Kick-Off Party that was originally scheduled for Saturday, January 6th has been moved to Sunday, January 7th. Since Mayor Gavin Newsom's Family Appreciation Day is also on Sunday, the seventh, we have some conflicting volunteer issues to clear up.

We have already received our location assignments for Family Appreciation Day (most of the are really fun!), so filling out all the spots we have for Family Appreciation Day is our first priority. If you signed up for both the Kick-Off Party and Family Appreciation Day, I will remove your name from the Kick-Off Party list. Sorry for the last minute changes, but there's nothing we can do about a change of dates!

The following is a list of the people who signed up for the SF AIDS Kick-Off party, from the first people to sign up through email to the last:

(Please note, if you signed up for both the Kick-Off Party and Family Appreciation Day, your name will not appear on the following list.)

Wendy Kwan 0914
Diana Chan 1006
Tina Liu 0914
Natasha Sadikin 1006
Wendy Kwang 0820
Stephanie Tong 0908
Jenny Huynh 1010
Stephanie Yee 0817
Lily Wong 0919
Wenday Chak 1019
Serene Ho 0911
Salina Wong 0815
Shyana Sadiq 0807
Jin Zhou 1012
Elaine Situ 1012
Aileen Luo 1010
Arianna Lopez 1004
Melissa Sylvester 0920

If your name is on the list, please email makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com and let me know if you are still interested in volunteering at the event or not.

We need a total of twenty volunteers, ten for the morning shift (9 AM Â 1 PM) and ten for the afternoon shift (12:30 Â 4 PM).

If you did not sign up for the Kick-Off Party beforehand (and are not signed up to volunteer at Family Appreciation Day), but would like to come out and volunteer now, please email me at makeadifferenceclub@gmai.com and let me know! Priority will be given to those who signed up earlier, but you will still have a good chance of getting a spot!

I need to get back to the volunteer coordinator at the SF AIDS Foundation ASAP, so please respond as quickly as possible.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Updated Volunteers List for Saturday, December 9th Wrapping Party

2006-12-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

Click here for details about the event.

1. Angel Huang 0917
2. Sandy Diao 0906
3. Wing Cheuk 0820
4. Wendy Kwan 0914
5. Jenny Fong 0907
6. Emily Kuang 0814
7. Anna Chen 0904
8. Annie Yan 0913
9. Melissa Sylvester 0920
10. Victoria Liu 0820
11. Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
~~12. Frances Yan 0911~~
13. Serene Ho 0911
14. Justine Pon 0910
15. Jenelle Guillermo 0916

See you all tomorrow morning!

Missing Fewer than Three Credits?

2006-12-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

If you are missing fewer than three credits to fulfill our eight credit requirement for the Fall semester and know for sure that you will not be able to make it to either of my January events, we have another way for you to finish off those credits and get transcript credit!

There's a Holiday food drive going on right now for the SF Food Bank - you may have seen the green bins by the counseling office on the first floor. For every ten cans (or any other combination of nonperishable food items equivalent to ten cans) of food you donate, you will receive one credit! Please bring all donations to our next club meeting for officers to verify before putting your donation into the green bins so we know who to give credit to!

Note: This is ONLY available to people who are missing fewer than three credits as a last resort to get credit. We would much prefer you come out and volunteer with us to fulfill your requirements!

SF AIDS Foundation: Saturday, December 9th Wrapping Party

2006-12-07T18:51:00.002-08:00

Hey everyone! I hope all your December 3rd Wrapping Party volunteers had a great time snacking on Annie's Organic Cheddar Bunnies and drinking Kern while trying to figure out how to wrap a basketball or a giant Dora the Explorer last weekend! :D

Now it's time for another group of lovely volunteers to experience the Holiday joy!

Here's our volunteers list for the Saturday, December 9th wrapping party:

1. Angel Huang 0917
2. Sandy Diao 0906
3. Wing Cheuk 0820
4. Wendy Kwan 0914
5. Jenny Fong 0907
6. Emily Kuang 0814
7. Anna Chen 0904
8. Annie Yan 0913
9. Melissa Sylvester 0920
10. Victoria Liu 0820
11. Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
12. Frances Yan 0911
13. Serene Ho 0911
14. Justine Pon 0910
15. Jenelle Guillermo 0916

Waiting List
Salina Wong 0815
Shirla Shan 0902
Amy Lai 0918
Stephanie Tong 0908
Lily Wong 0909
Elaine Situ 0805

If your name is on the list and you won't be able to make it, please email me by no later than Friday, December 8th at 8:00 pm.

Attached is a message from the volunteers director at the SF AIDS foundation with all the details for this event:

Thank you so much for volunteering to sort and wrap the gifts for the women and family holiday party this Saturday, December 9th from 9am to 1pm. As you may know, the gifts that we donate, collect and wrap represent the only gifts that many of these people will receive this year so it is wonderful that you are volunteering to help with this event.

We will be meeting in the large Conference Room on the 2nd Floor of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF). (995 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. There will be a security guard at the front door to let you in. He may have you sign in. Take the elevator to the 2nd Floor. Go to your left when you exit the elevator towards the open door and the hallway. Go all the way to the end and you will be in the Conference Room. Rest assured there will most likely be plenty of noise/laughing/talking to lead you there! )

Public Transportation is the easiest way to get there as we are at the corner of 6th and Market, one block from the Powell Street BART and underground MUNI station. (Yes right near ALL the Union Square shopping and the New Bloomingdales Mall shoppers!!!) There is one hour metered street parking and there are parking lots but on Golden Gate Ave. I am not sure about the cost of the parking on weekends but on weekdays if you get in before 9:30 AM they are $7 until 5pm. I would suggest checking beforehand as parking at some lots can run upwards of $37 during the holiday season downtown.

Our activities will include unpacking the gifts from all the storage corners and closets around the Foundation sorting gifts to make sure that all the clientÃ’s gifts are equivalent i.e. a scarf and a hat are about the same as a blanket.
Engage parents/teachers to get a better idea of what toys are appropriate for whom/ages etc. and to create toyequivalencess (particularly tricky!) Getting the wrapping supplies ready and handy for all. We may have some facilitators doing this.

Then we will be wrapping the gifts and labeling them for their distribution at the Women and Family Holiday Party on Thursday Dec. 14th. Once we are all on-site I will explain the process more fully and we will break up the duties so that we utilize the specialties of various volunteers!

Dress is casual and comfortable but I suggest pants and closed toe shoes as these items tend to lend themselves to the easiest and safest movement.

There will be coffee and snacks but not lunch as we will be done by 1 PM. If you require a larger or a specialized meal please bring that with you.

Please be prompt, as we will be explaining the process at 9am.

That pretty much covers everything you need to know about the event! MAD volunteers should try their best to arrive at the SF AIDS Foundation headquarters by no later than 8:45 am to allow for time to sign in with officers and to receive any additional instructions.

A final-final volunteers list will be sent out on Friday night after 8 PM, so please remember to check your email before going to bed tomorrow night!

If you are on the waiting list and are missing credits, please email me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with December 9th Wrapping Party - Waiting List in the subject line and I'll try to work something out and get you a spot at this Saturday's event. Only people who are missing credits will be considered as add-ins!

AIDS/LifeCycle Kick Off Party: Saturday January 6th, 2007

2006-12-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

Our other January event will be the AIDS/LifeCycle Kick Off Party on Saturday, January 6th. The Kick-Off party is the first party of the year for AIDS/LifeCycle and historically it has been a blast! Registered riders, their guest, and people who have expressed interest in the ride will be present at the party. There will be at least 600 people at the party, so they'll need a lot of help to get things running smoothly! We will receive our specific assignments on the day of the Party, but generally, we will be doing anything we can to help out, including by not limited to coat check, guest check-in, volunteer check-in, raffle, registration, etc.

The time and location are still not set in stone yet, but I will be sending out emails announcing the details of this event as soon as I get them from our volunteer coordinator! However, I do know that our shift will start no earlier than 9 AM and will end no later than 4:30 PM, and will be about three hours long, so this event will be worth three (3) credits.

Space is very limited for this event, so please send an email to makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with AIDS/LifeCycle Kick Off Party 2007 in the subject line to sign up! Please don't forget to put your name and reg in the body of the email.

Spots on our list will be filled on a first come first serve basis, and the deadline for signing up will be Friday, December 15th at 8:00 PM.

SF Family Appreciation Day: Sunday, January 7th

2006-12-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

In January, MAD will have the opportunity to take part in Mayor Newsom's SF Family Appreciation Day, a day when a majority of the San Francisco museums and tourist attractions will be open to residents of San Francisco for free! The big day is set for Sunday, January 7th. You can find all the details about this event (in three languages!) here.

We will be stationed, in groups of two to six people, at the various attractions participating in this event to help the adults there facilitate the event. Some of our tasks will include checking the people for SF residency (checking drivers' licenses, etc.), distributing/checking wristbands, and passing out programs. A list of all the museums and attractions that are participating in SF FAD 2007 is available on the downloadable flier, so be sure to download it and check it out! We do not have our specific location assignments yet, but I will try to keep all MAD volunteers within close proximity of each other.

This event is a long one - we will be working from 10 AM - 4:30 PM, so volunteers will receive 6.5 credits for this event. For helping out, all volunteers will receive a scrumptious on-site lunch and a mystery gift from the City of San Francisco!

If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please email us at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with SF FAD 2007 Volunteer in the subject line. We will not be doing sign-ups for this event at our next club meeting - you can only sign up for this event through email. Spaces are limited, and will be available on a first come first serve basis.

Include all the names and regs of the people you would like to work with at this event in your email - there may be no more than six volunteers per group. Only one email needs to be sent per group. If you do not include any preferred group members in your email, we will put you into a group at our discretion.

Please do reply to this email with your requests to sign up because replies are sent to my personal email address and while I have been accepting sign up requests sent to my personal email address in the past, all requests sent to the wrong email address will no longer be counted. If you send a sign up request to my personal email address, I will send you a reply directing you to send your requests to the right email address, but only the timestamp that is attached to the email sent to the correct email address will be counted.

The deadline to sign up for this event is Wednesday, December 13th at 8:00 PM, so don't hesitate to contact your friends and get your group together before it's too late!

Two Upcoming January Events

2006-12-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, remember when I told you all about our tentative January events? Well, I'm happy to announce that we have two confirmed events for January before the end of our Fall semester.

All members need eight (8) credits to receive transcript credit for MAD for the Fall semester, so these two events will most likely be your last chances to fulfill any missing credits before the Fall semester ends. Any credits you complete over the required eight for the Fall semester will be rolled over to help fulfill Spring semester requirements, but no matter how many extra credits you may have accumulated in the Fall, you will still need to volunteer at a minimum of one event in the Spring in order to retain your active status in our club.

The Spring 2007 semester starts on Monday, January 29th, so the last week of January will also be the start of the "new" semester for MAD. We will be announcing our Spring semester credit requirements some time in the following weeks, so please check your email regularly to receive updates!

December 3rd Wrapping Party

2006-12-02T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! I haven't received any emails about drops or changes in the volunteer list for the SF AIDS Foundation December 3rd Holiday Wrapping Party, so I expect to see all fifteen people on the list tomorrow morning!

Since there have been no changes, please refer to the last long email for details about the wrapping party. You can find all the information you need here.

Remember to dress comfortably and show up to sign in by 8:45 am tomorrow morning!

We have another wrapping party with the SF AIDS Foundation next Saturday, December 9th, and I will be posting the volunteers lists up early next week.

Thanks again for being awesome volunteers!

SF AIDS Foundation: Sunday, December 3rd Holiday Wrapping Party

2006-11-30T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late message - my internet hasn't been working properly lately, so I couldn't go online to post to our blog.

Here is our final volunteers list for this Sunday's SF AIDS Foundation Holiday Wrapping Party:

1. Lily Guan 0811
2. Irene Cheung 0817
3. Katie Yee 0817
4. Tiffany Vu
5. Regina Lam 0701
6. ChristineTrinh 0804
7. Aimee Howard 0812
8. Nora Casey 0815
9. Serena Luong 0810
10. Sirena Louie 1004
11. Natasha Sadkin 1016
12. Linda Tsang 0716
13. Danna Hong 0913
14. Judy Cheng 0906
15. Yvonne Kong 0819

If your name is on the list and you won't be able to make it, please email me by no later than Friday, December 1 at 8:00 pm.

Attached is a message from the volunteers director at the SF AIDS foundation with all the details for this event:

Thank you so much for volunteering to sort and wrap the gifts for the women and family holiday party this Sunday December 3rd from 9am to 1pm. As you may know, the gifts that we donate, collect and wrap represent the only gifts that many of these people will receive this year so it is wonderful that you are volunteering to help with this event.

We will be meeting in the large Conference Room on the 2nd Floor of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF). (995 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. There will be a security guard at the front door to let you in. He may have you sign in. Take the elevator to the 2nd Floor. Go to your left when you exit the elevator towards the open door and the hallway. Go all the way to the end and you will be in the Conference Room. Rest assured there will most likely be plenty of noise/laughing/talking to lead you there! )

Public Transportation is the easiest way to get there as we are at the corner of 6th and Market, one block from the Powell Street BART and underground MUNI station. (Yes right near ALL the Union Square shopping and the New Bloomingdales Mall shoppers!!!) There is one hour metered street parking and there are parking lots but on Golden Gate Ave. I am not sure about the cost of the parking on weekends but on weekdays if you get in before 9:30 AM they are $7 until 5pm. I would suggest checking beforehand as parking at some lots can run upwards of $37 during the holiday season downtown.

Our activities will include unpacking the gifts from all the storage corners and closets around the Foundation sorting gifts to make sure that all the clientÂs gifts are equivalent i.e. a scarf and a hat are about the same as a blanket.
Engage parents/teachers to get a better idea of what toys are appropriate for whom/ages etc. and to create toyequivalencess (particularly tricky!) Getting the wrapping supplies ready and handy for all. We may have some facilitators doing this.

Then we will be wrapping the gifts and labeling them for their distribution at the Women and Family Holiday Party on Thursday Dec. 14th. Once we are all on-site I will explain the process more fully and we will break up the duties so that we utilize the specialties of various volunteers!

Dress is casual and comfortable but I suggest pants and closed toe shoes as these items tend to lend themselves to the easiest and safest movement.

There will be coffee and snacks but not lunch as we will be done by 1 PM. If you require a larger or a specialized meal please bring that with you.

Please be prompt, as we will be explaining the process at 9am.

That pretty much covers everything you need to know about the event! MAD volunteers should try their best to arrive at the SF AIDS Foundation headquarters by no later than 8:45 am to allow for time to sign in with officers and to receive any additional instructions.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to give you an answer!

A final-final volunteers list (taking any drops/bumps from the waiting list into account) will be sent out via email on Saturday afternoon, so please be sure to check your email sometime on Saturday to get the latest updates.

Thanks again for being awesome volunteers!

UNCEF BOXES DUE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH

2006-11-28T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break! Our next MAD meeting will be tomorrow afterschool in room 259.

If you participated in our Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF 2006 campaign and have not turned in your orange collection box yet, please be sure to bring your box to the meeting! Remember, $20 = 1 credit, and any additional credits over the required eight (8) for the Fall semester will be rolled over to meet Spring semester requirements. Here's your chance to rack up some easy credits and truly make a difference around the world, so don't miss out! Even if you didn't manage to collect $20 in your box, please turn in any collections you did receive because every penny counts.

You do not have to count the money inside your boxes yourself - we will be counting the money in the weeks to come and a list of all participants with the number of credits they received will be posted on our blog sometime before Winter Break.

See you all at our meeting tomorrow!

NO MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH

2006-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, there will be NO MAD MEETING afterschool on Wednesday, November 15th. Spend the extra time studying for all your end of the grading period exams!

Our next meeting will be after Thanksgiving, on Wednesday, November 29th. Just as a quick reminder, UNICEF boxes are due on the 29th, so please remember to bring them to the next meeting.

Just one more week until Thanksgiving break (yay, five-day weekend)! :)

NO MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8TH

2006-11-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello MAD Clubbers! Since we don't have any upcoming events for you volunteers to sign up for, there will be NO MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY. Take the time to catch up on your work before the semester ends or to enjoy the last rays of sunshine before winter sets in!

Check your emails often, and I'll keep you all updated with any new news about our winter events.

Have a Happy MAD-free Wednesday, everyone! :D

SF AIDS Foundation: Wrapping Parties

2006-11-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! Thanks for emailing in your sign ups so quickly for the SF AIDS Foundation Wrapping Parties in November! We'll try our best to bring as many interested volunteers as possible, but for the time being, we have to set the maximum at fifteen volunteers per event. The volunteers lists (plus waiting lists) for both events is listed below:

SF AIDS Foundation: December 3rd Wrapping Party
1. Lily Guan 0811
2. Irene Cheung 0817
3. Katie Yee 0817
4. Tiffany Vu
5. Regina Lam 0701
6. ChristineTrinh 0804
7. Aimee Howard 0812
8. Nora Casey 0815
9. Serena Luong 0810
10. Sirena Louie 1004
11. Natasha Sadkin 1016
12. Linda Tsang 0716
13. Danna Hong 0913
14. Judy Cheng 0906
15. Allison Nguyen 0801

Waiting List
16. Michele Chui 0818
17.. Annie Wong 0805
18.. Stephanie Yee 0817
19.. Teresa Zhou 1012
20. Serene Ho 0911
21. Susan Lim 1019
22. Jan Young 0911
23. Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
24. Elaine Situ 0805
25. Jonathan Kyi 0707

SF AIDS Foundation: December 9th Wrapping Party
1. Angel Huang 0917
2. Sandy Diao 0906
3. Wing Cheuk 0820
4. Wendy Kwan 0914
5. Jenny Fong 0907
6. Emily Kuang 0814
7. Anna Chen 0904
8. Annie Yan 0913
9. Emily Wang 0909
10. Victoria Liu 0820 (?)
11. Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
12. Frances Yan 0911
13. Serene Ho 0911
14. Justine Pon 0910
15. Jenelle Guillermo 0916

Waiting List
16. Melissa Sylvester 0920
17. Salina Wong 0815
18. Shirla Shan 0902
19. Amy Lai 0918
20. Stephanie Tong 0908
21. Lily Wong 0909
22. Elaine Situ 0805

I'll have more details about both events for you when we get closer to the dates in December - thanks in advance for volunteering!

Treasure Island Triathlon - Volunteers List

2006-11-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hello there! The final volunteers list for the Treasure Island Triathlon (tomorrow!) is attached below:

Justin Chan 0801
Jason Jee 0802
Yvonne Kong 0819
Emily Kuang 0814
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Carol Mamon 0916
Nora Casey 0815
Aimee Howard 0812
Lisa Wong 1016

Please remember to bring a signed waiver (you can download them here) with you to the Volunteers Tent to sign in between 8:30AM and 8:45AM tomorrow.

Dress in layers because it can be kind of chilly on Treasure Island!

I hope you all have a great time helping out at the Finish Line Food tent tomorrow. :) If you have any questions on Race Day, please direct them to our VP, Raymond - 415-823-1214.

Thanks again for volunteering!

US Half Marathon - Volunteers List

2006-11-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! The following people were bumped from the waiting list onto the official volunteers list for the US Half Marathon:

Diana Liem
Lily Guan
Paula Fon
Linda Tsang

If any of you gals can't make it to the marathon due to the short notice, please contact me ASAP and you will not be penalized for it. However, all other volunteers on the official volunteers list will be penalized for not showing up because you all knew what you were getting into further in advance.

Please keep in mind that if you sign up for a MAD event and need to cancel for whatever reason, you must contact us at least one week in advance or risk receiving negative credits for that event. We will totally understand if you cannot volunteer due to some dire emergency and will adjust our policies accordingly, so please don't hesitate to contact us with any concerns!

Here's the final volunteers list for the US Half Marathon:

1. Eva Luo 0909
2. Connie Tran 0905
3. Carol Liang
4. Sirena Louie
5. Anne Yan
6. Amy Yan 1003
7. Kelly Tam
8. Susan Lim 1019
9. Wendy Chak 1019
10. Diana Liem 0903
11. Latisha Chan 0902
12. Wendy Kwan 0914
13. Stephanie Tong 0908
14. Wing Cheuk 0820
15. Teresa Zhou 1012
16. Daisy Mah 0903
17. Jeremy Mah 1009
18. Viktoriya Figlina 0905
19. Judy Cheng 0906
20. Danna Hong 0913
21. Calvin Chin 1006
22. Telly Cheung
23. Tina Liu 0914
24. Karen Chen 0914
25. Lily Wong 0919
26. Emily Wang 0909
27. Jenny Fong 0907
28. Natsha Sadikin 1016
29. Mindy Hyunh 1011
30. Jonathan Siu 1013
31. Aileen Luo 1010
32. Jenny Huynh 1010
33. Lily Guan 0811
34. Diana Chan 1006
35. Jason Jee 0802
36. Allison Nguyen 0801
37. Paula Fon 0914
38. Elaine Situ 0805
39. Vickie Chung
40. Linda Tsang 0716

If anybody has any questions, please feel free to contact me via email or call me on my cell.

Thanks again for being great volunteers!

Treasure Island Triathlon - Semi-Final Volunteers List

2006-11-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Now that you're all done reading about the US Half Marathon, here's another long one with the details for our other big event this weekend, the Treasure Island Triathlon!

MAD will be volunteering at the 2006 Treasure Island Triathlon at the Finish Line Food tent from 9AM to 3PM on Saturday, November 4th.

Here's the semi-final volunteers list for the triathlon:

Justin Chan 0801
Jason Jee 0802
Yvonne Kong 0819
Emily Kuang 0814
Priscilla Yip 1016
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Carol Mamon 0916
Nora Casey 0815
Aimee Howard 0812

If you emailed me to sign up but do not see your name on the list, please email me again! I've been getting a lot of emails lately, and if you didn't put the correct subject line in your email, I may have missed it when I was sorting through my messages. It is very important to always include the correct subject line when you email us to sign up because it makes it a lot easier for us to organize all the replies we get!

Anybody interested in volunteering for this event can still sign up by email, as long as I receive volunteer requests by no later than 8PM on Friday, November 3rd (tomorrow). Send an email to makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "TREASURE ISLAND TRIATHLON 2006" in the subject line and be sure to include your name and reg in the body of the message.

Please download and print a volunteer waiver here (named "TREASURE ISLAND TRIATHLON 2006 - WAIVER"), and give the completed/signed waiver to Raymond when you sign in on Saturday. Volunteers only need to fill the top part of the waiver (personal information like name, email address, phone number, etc) and get a parent or guardian's signature - please ignore the two columns on the bottom half of the waiver.

A map (pdf) of how everything will be set up on Treasure Island on Race Day is also available for download in our MAD BOX.

Volunteers must meet at the Volunteer Tent (you can find it on the PDF map of the island) on Treasure Island between 8:30AM and 8:45AM to sign in, grab a t-shirt and some breakfast before getting together for a short orientation about your specific duties at the Finish Line Food tent.

I won't be at this event (another SAT Saturday), so please direct all questions on Race Day to our awesome VP, Raymond. He'll be one of the only officers present at this event, so please cooperate with him to the best of your abilities and don't give him a hard time!

Please email me with any questions, and look for a final email in your inbox tomorrow evening with the final volunteers list and any last minute details I may have forgotten to include in this email.

Thanks in advance for volunteering!

US Half Marathon - Semi-Final Volunteers List

2006-11-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, thanks for the quick email responses regarding the details for our two upcoming weekend events. I know it can get kind of complicated trying to organize stuff through email sometimes, so I really appreciate your cooperation!

As you all probably know already, MAD will be volunteering at the US Half Marathon this Sunday from 6AM to 11AM. A semi-formal volunteers list is included below.

Diana Liem, Paula Fon, and Linda Tsang got bumped up to the volunteers list from the waiting list, so if any of you three don't want to volunteer at the US Half Marathon, please let me now ASAP (and I mean it when I say "as soon as possible") so we can give the other people on the waiting list a chance to volunteer at this event. I will send out another volunteers list tomorrow night, and that list will be considered FINAL. That means if your name is on the list but you don't show up on Sunday, you will get negative five credits. The end of the semester is nearing and there won't be as many opportunities for you to make up negative credits, so don't let this happen to you, and e-mail me NOW if you know something will come up preventing you from volunteering this Sunday.

And here we go with all the semi-formal listy goodness:

1. Eva Luo 0909
2. Connie Tran 0905
3. Carol Liang
4. Sirena Louie
5. Anne Yan
6. Amy Yan 1003
7. Kelly Tam
8. Susan Lim 1019
9. Wendy Chak 1019
10. Diana Liem 0903
11. Latisha Chan 0902
12. Wendy Kwan 0914
13. Stephanie Tong 0908
14. Wing Cheuk 0820
15. Teresa Zhou 1012
16. Daisy Mah 0903
17. Jeremy Mah 1009
18. Viktoriya Figlina 0905
19. Judy Cheng 0906
20. Danna Hong 0913
21. Calvin Chin 1006
22. Telly Cheung
23. Tina Liu 0914
24. Karen Chen 0914
25. Lily Wong 0919
26. Emily Wang 0909
27. Jenny Fong 0907
28. Natsha Sadikin 1016
29. Mindy Hyunh 1011
30. Jonathan Siu 1013
31. Aileen Luo 1010
32. Jenny Huynh 1010
33. Shyana Sadiq 0807
34. Diana Chan 1016
35. Jason Jee 0802
36. Allison Nguyen 0801
37. Paula Fon 0914
38. Elaine Situ 0805
39. Vickie Chung
40. Linda Tsang 0716

People who are still on our waiting list:
Lily Guan 0811
Irene Cheung 0807
Tiffany Vu 0816
Annie Wong 0805
Victoria Wong 0803
Janet Lee 0903
Angela Lau
Christine Trinh 0804
Michele Chui 0818

I want to especially thank all the volunteers on the US Half Marathon waiting list who decided to sign up for the Treasure Island Triathlon instead - I really appreciate your flexibility!

If any of you wonderful MAD Clubbers are still interested in volunteering at the Treasure Island triathlon, it's not too late - send me an e-mail with your name and reg by 8:00 PM on Friday, November 3rd, and I'll put you on the list.

Here are the details about race day for the US Half Marathon:

All volunteers must arrive at Jefferson and Hyde (Aquatic Park) between 5:45 AM and 6 AM (no tardies!) to sign in with a MAD officer at the big, white Volunteers/Medical tent.

Meet at the green arrow.

You can see a bigger version of the map and get directions from Google Maps here.

After you sign in, you will receive a t-shirt, a goodie bag (yay), and your specific assignment for the day. For the most part, our club will be stationed at the finish line festival as "course marshals" on Marina Blvd and at mile 3 & 5 water stations. It should be lots of fun!

Like always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me or call me up on my cell on race day (415-830-2371) and I'll try my best to help you.

Thanks again for volunteering, everyone!

SF AIDS Foundation - Holiday Gift Wrapping Party, December 3rd, 2006

2006-11-02T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hey there MAD Clubbers! Our first December event will be the "Holiday Gift Wrapping Party" with the San Francisco AIDS Foundation on Sunday, December 3rd from 9AM to 1PM. This event will be worth four (4) credits. The semester is coming to an end quickly, so be sure to sign up for our December events if you're still missing credits!

Volunteer duties involve sorting and wrapping tons of cool gifts donated to charity in preparation for the holiday season at the SF AIDS headquarters located at 995 Market Street (by 6th Street).

We can only take the first 15 volunteers for the December 3rd wrapping party, so be sure to e-mail me soon if you're interested in helping out! Send an e-mail with your name and reg to makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "DECEMBER 3RD WRAPPING PARTY" in the subject line.

There will be another Holiday Wrapping Party on Saturday, December 9th, so don't despair if you don't reply in time to get on the volunteers list for December 3rd. To sign up directly for the December 9th wrapping party, send an e-mail to makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "DECEMBER 9TH WRAPPING PARTY" in the subject line.

We will probably have one more event in early January (it's still tentative at the moment) before the end of the semester, so please be aware of your current credits status. Remember, $20 = 1 credit for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign (boxes are due on the last Wednesday of November), so if you're short on credits, talk to more people and try to get those donations!

Treasure Island Triathlon & US Half Marathon

2006-10-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hello there, MAD Clubbers! As you all know, the US Half Marathon is coming up this Sunday, but did you know that the Treasure Island Triathlon is also taking place this weekend? MAD is lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer at both events, so we're going to have a busy weekend!

We need about 15 volunteers for Saturday, November 4th from 9AM to 3PM to help out with Finish Line Food at the Treasure Island Triathlon. You probably already guessed it from the name of the triathlon, but this event will be taking place on Treasure Island. MAD was in charge of the Finish Line Food tent at the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon last June and it was a lot of fun, so volunteers should have a blast working at the Treasure Island food tent! Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt, lots of free food to snack on (and probably some left-over food to bring home), and five (5) credits for participating at this event.

We can only take around 40 volunteers with us to the US Half Marathon on Sunday, November 5th, so volunteers who signed up for the US Half Marathon will get priority in switching to/signing up for the fifteen spots for the Treasure Island Triathlon.

If you are interested in volunteering at the Treasure Island Triathlon, please send me an e-mail at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "TREASURE ISLAND TRIATHLON 2006" in the subject line. Don't forget to include your name and reg in the message! If you signed up for the US Half Marathon and are e-mailing me to switch, please also mention that in the e-mail.

Our second event of the weekend will be the US Half Marathon on Sunday, November 5th at Ghiradelli Square from 6AM to 11AM. This event is also worth five (5) credits.

We had an overwhelming number of members showing interest in volunteering at the US Half Marathon, and we are very happy that everyone is so willing to help out, but we can only bring 40 volunteers with us to this event. The following list is of the first forty people who signed up for this event either at a club meeting or through e-mail:

1. Eva Luo 0909
2. Connie Tran 0905
3. Carol Liang
4. Sirena Louie
5. Anne Yan
6. Amy Yan 1003
7. Kelly Tam
8. Susan Lim 1019
9. Wendy Chak 1019
10. Sandy Diao 0906
11. Latisha Chan 0902
12. Wendy Kwan 0914
13. Stephanie Tong 0908
14. Wing Cheuk 0820
15. Teresa Zhou 1012
16. Daisy Mah 0903
17. Jeremy Mah 1009
18. Viktoriya Figlina 0905
19. Judy Cheng 0906
20. Danna Hong 0913
21. Calvin Chin 1006
22. Telly Cheung
23. Tina Liu 0914
24. Karen Chen 0914
25. Lily Wong 0919
26. Emily Wang 0909
27. Jenny Fong 0907
28. Natsha Sadikin 1016
29. Mindy Hyunh 1011
30. Jonathan Siu 1013
31. Aileen Luo 1010
32. Jenny Huynh 1010
33. Shyana Sadiq 0807
34. Diana Chan 1016
35. Jason Jee 0802
36. Allison Nguyen 0801
37. Justin Chan 0801
38. Elaine Situ 0805
39. Vickie Chung
40. Carol Mamon

If your name is one of the forty listed above and you would like to switch to volunteering at Treasure Island Triathlon finish line food tent, please e-mail me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com and don't forget to include our name, reg, and list number (1-40) in the body of your message!

If your name is on the first forty list and you no longer wish to volunteer at the US Half Marathon for whatever reason, please e-mail me to let me know so somebody from the waiting list can fill your spot. You will not be penalized if you let me know by no later than Monday, October 23rd.

People from the waiting list below will be given the chance to fill open spots from the top down - all names are listed in the order in which I received sign-up requests:

Diana Liem 0903
Paula Fon 0914
Linda Tsang 0716
Odalis L. Mandereau 1015
Lily Guan 0811
Irene Cheung 0807
Tiffany Vu 0816
Annie Wong 0805
Victoria Wong 0803
Janet Lee 0903
Angela Lau
Christine Trinh 0804
Yvonne Kong 0819
Aimee Howard 0812
Michele Chui 0818
Nora Casey 0815

I encourage all volunteers on the waiting list to consider volunteering at the Treasure Island Triathlon instead (you guys get priority!) because it will be a lot of fun and both events are worth the same number of credits (5). Treasure Island is a lot closer than you think it is! Depending on which part of the city you live in, getting to Treasure Island may actually take less than than it would take for you to get to Ghiradelli Square.

Feel free to e-mail me with any additional questions.

Thanks!

Nike Marathon - Last Minute Details

2006-10-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hey there MAD Clubbers! I have some last minute details regarding the Nike Marathon for all you volunteers out there.

First of all, thank you all for signing up to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by volunteering at the 2006 Nike Marathon!

There are a few guidelines that all volunteers should be aware of:
- Show up at Union Square to sign in at the Volunteers Tent (it'll be huge one right near the center of Union Square) by no later than 5AM. The first part of the race starts pretty early, so we need all the time we need to prepare the start area. You will receive your specific assignments from the race directors when you sign in with them, so show up early to get the more desirable jobs!

- Remember to sign in with both the race directors, AND with a MAD Club officer in order to receive credit for this event. You will receive your volunteer t-shirt when you sign in, so show up early if you want a smaller t-shirt since the smaller sizes tend to be the first to run out.

- Since this marathon is sponsored by Nike, the organization putting this event together asks all volunteers to refrain from wearing any clothing that explicitly displays any of Nike's competitor's logos. This means, please do not wear jackets, sweatshirts, shoes, etc. that have Adidas, Fila, or any other athletic brand's logo on it. If you have some cool Nike gear, be sure to wear it!

- Dress in layers because it will be very cold down at Union Square at 5 in the morning. Your volunteer t-shirt must be visible at all times during the event, so make it easy for yourself and wear something you can put the t-shirt over quickly!

If any problems come up or if you have any additional questions, please feel free to call me at 415-830-2371.

Thanks!

US Half Marathon - Sunday, November 5th

2006-10-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hey there MAD Clubbers! Now that the October Madness is nearly over, ending with the Nike Marathon this Sunday, it's about time to announce our first November event!

On Sunday, November 5th we will have the opportunity to volunteer at the US Half Marathon from 6AM to 11AM. You can learn more about the US Half Marathon here.

This event will be worth five (5) credits. We will be volunteering in the Aquatic Park/Ghiradelli Square area; I will have more details about the location and our responsibilities soon, but we'll be doing the usual marathon-type volunteer things, and all volunteers will receive t-shirts and other goodies.

We want to limit this event to the first 30 or so volunteers who sign up, and we already had 37 people sign up at the meeting today! However, if you are interested in volunteering at this event, please e-mail me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com and I'll put you on the waiting list. We will try our best to accommodate all the members who want to participate in this event, and we might increase the number of volunteers we will bring to this event, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you're interested. Participation will be on a first come first serve basis, so don't wait or you might miss out!

Walk for Hope - Details

2006-10-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! The Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer down at Justin Herman Plaza is this Saturday, October 14th from 6AM to 11AM.

The following people are signed up to volunteer at this event:

Giang Pham 0905
Anna Chen 0904
Annie Yan 0913
Angel Huang 0917
Stephanie Yee 0817
Amy Zhou 0819
Cynthia Lee 0813
Helen Zhang 0812
Victoria Wong 0914
Sonia Chan 0916
Lianna Hinh 0916
Carol Mamon 0916
Jonathan Koo 0801
Kalvin Chin 0820
Telly Cheung 1004
Calvin Chin 1006
Connie Tran 0905
Eva Luo 0909
Latisha Chan 0902
Sanday Diao 0906
Aileen Luo 1010
Allison Nguyen 0801
Jason Jee 0802
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Danna Hong 0913
Paula Fon 0914
Judy Cheng 0906
Lily Wong 0919
Emily Wang 0909
Odalis L. Mandereau 1015
Amy Yan 1003
Jonathan Siu 1013
Natasha Sadikin 1016
Serena Luong 0810
Janelle Guillermo 0916
Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
Jenny Fong 0907
Wendy Kwan 0914
Erica Chin 0911
Karen Chen 0914
Tina Liu 0914
Melissa Sylvester 0920
Susan Lim 1019
Diana Liem 0903
Anne Yan 1015
Kelly Tam 1014

If you don't see your name on the list, but you definitely remember signing up at one of our earlier meetings, then don't worry about it. Send me a quick e-mail with your name and reg and just remember to show up on time and we will add you to the sign-in sheet.

Here's the map of the Walk for Hope festival area I promised I would post:

If you cannot see the image in your inbox, click here for the direct link.

Volunteers must show up to sign-in at the Volunteers Booth located in the grassy area behind a big water fountain (circled in orange on the map) before 6AM. Tell the people in the Volunteers' tent that you are volunteering with Lowell High School's Make a Difference (MAD) Club, and they'll put your name down on the correct list and hand you your assignment and a cool t-shirt. Make sure you tell the people you are from MAD because there are several other Lowell clubs volunteering at this event, and if you do not sign in with the right list, you may not receive credit for this event. There will be signs directing you to the volunteers booth all over the place, so don't worry about getting lost!

If you do get lost, please call Raymond, our VP, at 415-823-1214 and he'll try to direct you to the right area. I will have the pleasure of sitting through another SAT in a dingy room while all you lucky duck volunteers get to have fun at the Walk for Hope, so please be cooperative with the officers who will be in charge of organizing this event.

Don't forget to sign-in with the officers who will be hanging around that area - you will not receive credit for volunteering if you do not sign in with a MAD officer.

Dress in layers, and don't bring any valuables - you know the drill. Most importantly, have a great time!

If you have any additional questions, feel free to e-mail me before Saturday and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Trick-or-Treat for UNCIEF - Reminders

2006-10-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! I've been spotting orange collection boxes all around campus = thanks for joining the campaign so enthusiastically and good luck with fundraising!

Please remember to write your NAME and REG in pen or preferably, permanent marker, on your collection boxes. We will be recording credits using the information found on your box, so make it big and clear! Also, if you misplace your box at school, it will be easier to return it to your if your name and reg are written clearly somewhere on the box.

We only have a few boxes left, so if you would like to join the UNCIEF campaign, please e-mail me with your name and reg and I'll send a collection box to your reg ASAP.

Boxes are due on Wednesdsay, November 29th - let's see if we can match the $800 we donated last year!

Lowell Beautification Day - Volunteers UPDATED

2006-10-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, sorry for spamming your inboxes with e-mails tonight!

I forgot to add a bunch of names to the Lowell Beautification Day volunteers list, so here's the updated version.

Aimee Howard 0812
Tina Liu 0914
Serene Ho 0911
Joanna Huang 0911
Justin Chan 0801
Jan Young 0901
Angela Quach 0901
Peter Yu 0907
Alice Lan 0920
Wendy Chak 1019
Vickie Chung 0912
Thurston Zhu 1018
Alice Lan 0920
Gloria Chen 0906
Angelina Hon 0901
Tiffany Pang 0805

If you see any more mistakes, please feel free to contact me!

Nike Marathon - Parent Volunteers Needed!

2006-10-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

Hello MAD Clubbers! We only have ONE parent volunteer (thanks Connie!) for the Nike Marathon signed up as of now. We need SIX more parents to come help out, so please ask your parents if they are willing to come out and support a great cause. Remember, volunteers get an extra ONE credit for each over-18 volunteer they bring with them, so please e-mail me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com if you know somebody who's interested in helping out!

If we do get enough responses with adult volunteer sign-ups by Monday, October 16th, we will have to cut down our volunteers list drastically. We need one parent volunteer for every 12 volunteers under the age of 18, so you can imagine how many people will be cut if we don't get any more adult volunteers! If circumstances force us to make cuts, the people who responded earliest with their Emergency Contact info will get priority in volunteering at this event.

We really don't want to turn away willing volunteers, especially at this awesome event, so please ask your parents to come out and help out!

Lowell Beautification Day - Volunteers

2006-10-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, here's the volunteers list for Lowell Beautification Day.
If you e-mailed me to sign up but your name is not on the list, please contact me ASAP!

Aimee Howard 0812
Tina Liu 0914
Serene Ho 0911
Joanna Huang 0911
Justin Chan 0801
Jan Young 0901
Angela Quach 0901
Peter Yu 0907
Alice Lan 0920
Wendy Chak 1019
Vickie Chung 0912
Thurston Zhu 1018
Alice Lan 0920
Gloria Chen 0906
Angelina Hon 0901
Tiffany Pang 0805

Remember, you must get the signature of an adult supervisor present at the event (any teacher, administrator, PTSA member, etc.) to prove that you actually showed up and participated in order to get credit for this event. Don't forget to download and print the credit slips here! Look for the file named "Lowell Beautification Day Slips."

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF - 2006

2006-10-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

Attention all MAD Clubbers! The Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign for 2006 has officially begun.

For those of you who are not familiar with UNICEF, you can check out their webpage here.

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF is the trademark fundraising campaign for UNCIEF, which is an international organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children all over the world.

Did you know that just 7 cents is enough to buy crayons for an entire class? Or that $1 could give a child a life-saving immunization for polio?

Every penny you raise counts, so don't forget to dig deep into those couch cushions for spare change to put into your orange collection boxes!

MAD raised close to $800 for UNICEF last year, so let's see if we can beat that amount this year.

Orange UNICEF collection boxes will be available at upcoming MAD meetings, but if you would like to participate in this fundraising event and cannot make it to our meetings, please e-mail me with your name and reg and I'll send a collection box to your reg ASAP.

For every $20 you collect, you will earn one (1) volunteer credit.

Boxes are due on Wednesday, November 29th, so you have plenty of time to fill those boxes up with donations! Please do not let our credit policy limit your fundraising; it is perfectly okay to turn in boxes with less than $20 - all donations matter, so please remember to turn in your boxes no matter how much money you raise.

Nike Marathon - Calling All Parents! (Extra Credit Opportunity)

2006-10-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! Are you guys and gals interested in getting some easy extra volunteering credits? Well, then read on!

This year, the volunteer coordinators from the Nike Marathon require us to bring one adult for every 12 volunteers under the age of 18. Since nearly all of us high school kids are under 18, we will be needing a lot of adult supervisors in order to bring everyone interested in volunteering to the event. If you know your parents might be interested in helping out with a great cause, we would love to have them come volunteer with us!

Parent/adult volunteers will receive a free volunteer t-shirt like the rest of us volunteers, and MAD have a small gift ready for all the wonderful parents/adults as a thank you for their time and energy.

For each parent/adult volunteer a member convinces to volunteer with our club, the member will receive one (1) extra volunteer credit - that means if you bring one parent with you to the Nike Marathon, you will be getting six (6) credits for four hours of work! Remember, you need eight (8) credits to get transcript credit for the Fall semester, but any extra credits beyond the required eight will "roll-over" to the Spring semester to make up for any missing credits at the end of the year.

This is an awesome opportunity to get easy extra credits! We need a total of SEVEN adult volunteers, so please e-mail me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with your name and reg, and the name and phone number of the adult who is interested in volunteering with us. If we do not get at least seven adult volunteers, we will have to cut volunteers off of our list, so try your best to enlist your over-18 friends and relatives to help out at a great cause!

Nike Marathon - Volunteer Waivers and Additional Information Needed

2006-10-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello MAD Clubbers! The Nike Marathon is coming up soon, and we've got some paperwork to fill out for the organization in charge of putting this event together.

All volunteers must download a volunteer waiver here and have a parent or guardian sign the form if you are under 18 years old. Look for the file named "NIKE MARATHON 2006 - UNDER 18 WAIVER." All waivers are due on Wednesday, October 18th. You can turn them in at our meeting or into my reg box (0701) by no later than 3:30PM on October 18th.

The organization in charge of the Nike Marathon would also like to have some additional information from each volunteer in case of an emergency, so all volunteers must send an e-mail to makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "NIKE MARATHON 2006 - EMERGENCY CONTACT" in the subject line and their

NAME
REG
AGE (as of October 22nd, 2006)
PHONE NUMBER (cell preferred)
NAME OF EMERGENCY CONTACT PERSON (parent)
PHONE NUMBER OF EMERGENCY CONTACT PERSON

We must receive this e-mail from you by no later than Tuesday, October 17th. Please make sure you put the correct title into the subject line because it makes the specific titles make it a lot easier for us to search through our e-mails to find your information.

Sorry you have to deal with so much paperwork just to volunteer! All the big events require a lot of paper work for legal reasons, so please try to bear with the organizations in charge. We'll definitely make all this extra work worthwhile for you in the end by throwing a huge party after the event to thank all the wonderful Nike volunteers for waking up super early and being cooperative!

If you know your friends do not check their e-mails often, please remind them to send out e-mails with their information because you cannot volunteer at this event unless we get all the required information from you.

Feel free to contact me with any additional questions!

Lowell Beautification Day - Saturday, October 14th

2006-10-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Hey there MAD Clubbers! Mr. Van Court wanted me to make an announcement about Lowell Beautification Day, so here's some important information for you all.

Lowell Beautification Day will be on Saturday, October 14th (the same day as the Walk for Hope) from 9AM to 1PM. Volunteers will be working with members of the PTSA to make Lowell look spiffy and clean, so the entire student body will be able to benefit from your hard work!

Free food will be provided for all volunteers courtesy of the Lowell PTSA.

Since you will be working for four hours, participating in this event will give you four (4) volunteer credits toward the EIGHT you need for the Fall semester. Don't forget about our "Roll-Over" policy where any credits over the eight required can be rolled over to make up for missing credits in the Spring! I strongly recommend members to volunteer for as many events as they can during the Fall because most people tend to be busier with school work later in the school year (especially with finals and APs looming around the corner) and there is a tendency for fewer volunteer opportunities at big events in the Spring because of the seasonal limitations on the nature of these kinds of athletic events.

I am aware that October 14th is a very busy day with lots of different things going on, but Lowell Beautification Day is a great and easy way to get some volunteer credits! The event starts at 9AM, which is probably the latest start time you'll ever see for any MAD event, so take advantage of that! The event also takes place on our own campus, so transportation to and from volunteering would be easier than at most of our other events.

In order to receive credit for Lowell Beautification Day, you must get the signature of an adult supervisor present at the event (any teacher, administrator, PTSA member, etc.) to prove that you actually showed up and participated. Volunteers can download the volunteer credit slips to be signed by an adult here. Look for the file named "Lowell Beautification Day Slips."

Each page contains three volunteer credit slips, so one person can print out a page and share the other two slips with his/her friends to conserve paper. :)

Copies of the volunteer credit slips will also be available at our next meeting on Wednesday in room 259.

There will be sign ins in the courtyard when you arrive at school at 9AM, but we may not get a copy of this sign in sheet, so to ensure that you get credit for this event, please remember to get an adult's signature before you leave.

Volunteers can turn in their signed slips at our meeting on Wednesday, October 18th. If you cannot make it to that meeting, please write my name and reg (Karen Li 0701) on the back of the slip and put it into my reg box by no later than Friday, October 20th.

To sign up to volunteer at Lowell Beautification Day, please send an e-mail to me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "LOWELL BEAUTIFICATION DAY 2006" in the subject line, and your name and reg in the body of the message by no later than Tuesday, October 10th.

If you signed up for the Walk for Hope, but would rather do Lowell Beautification Day, don't despair! The first fifteen (15) people who originally signed up to volunteer at the Walk for Hope to e-mail me at makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com with "SWAP: LOWELL BEAUTIFICATION DAY 2006" in the subject line can do the swap with no penalties.

I will update with a list of the first fifteen people to switch, the revised Walk for Hope volunteer list, and the final volunteers list for Lowell Beautification Day by Tuesday, October 10th.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

Walk For Hope - Volunteers

2006-10-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

Helloo there, MAD Clubbers! As you all know, we've had an overwhelming number of sign-ups for the Walk for Hope, so we closed the event to new volunteers last week.

The following people signed up to volunteer at this event:

Giang Pham 0905
Anna Chen 0904
Annie Yan 0913
Angel Huang 0917
Stephanie Yee 0817
Amy Zhou 0819
Cynthia Lee 0813
Helen Zhang 0812
Victoria Wong 0914
Sonia Chan 0916
Lianna Hinh 0916
Carol Mamon 0916
Jonathan Koo 0801
Kalvin Chin 0820
Telly Cheung 1004
Calvin Chin 1006
Connie Tran 0905
Eva Luo 0909
Thurston Zhu 1018
Latisha Chan 0902
Sanday Diao 0906
Aileen Luo 1010
Allison Nguyen 0801
Jason Jee 0802
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Danna Hong 0913
Paula Fon 0914
Judy Cheng 0906
Lily Wong 0919
Emily Wang 0909
Odalis L. Mandereau 1015
Amy Yan 1003
Jonathan Siu 1013
Natasha Sadikin 1016
Serena Luong 0810
Janelle Guillermo 0916
Johnny Zhou Chen 1013
Jenny Fong 0907
Wendy Kwan 0914
Erica Chin 0911
Karen Chen 0914
Vickie Chung 0912
Tina Liu 0914
Melissa Sylvester 0920
Susan Lim 1019
Diana Liem 0903
Anne Yan 1015
Kelly Tam 1014

You must let me know by Friday, October 6th if you will not be able to make it to this event. Remember - if you cut an event you signed up for, you will get negative credits equal to the number of credits the event is worth. For example, if you cut the Walk for Hope, which is worth five credits, you will get negative five credits added on to the required eight for the Fall semester.

I will send out another e-mail with details about signing in, responsibilities, etc. at the Walk for Hope sometime next week.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Nike Marathon - Signing Up

2006-10-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up to all you wonderful MAD Clubbers - the last day to sign up to volunteer at the Nike Marathon (worth five credits, details here) will be on Sunday, October 15th through e-mail. Please send all your e-mails to makeadifferenceclub@gmail.com and put "NIKE MARATHON 2006" in the title line. Don't forget to include your full name and reg in the body of the message. :)

This means the last day to sign up in person will be at our next meeting on Wednesday, October 11th at 3:30 in room 259. Please spread the word to all your friends who might be interested!

October 15th is also the last penalty-free day to let us know if you won't be able to make it to the event, so be sure to tell us in advance if you know something is coming up.

Feel free to contact me with any additional questions. Thanks!

Memory Walk 2006 - Volunteers

2006-10-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! The Memory Walk 2006 is coming up on Saturday, so we have some more information for all you wonderful volunteers.
The following people are currently signed up to volunteer at the Memory Walk; if you signed up and don't see your name on the list, please e-mail me with your name and reg immediately. Similarly, if you see your name on the list and you didn't sign up for this event, contact me right away!

Frances Yan 0911
Serene Ho 0911
Vickie Chung 0912
Emily Kuang 0814
Janell Bascara 0802
Sonia Chan 0916
Viktoriya Figlina 0905
Judy Chen 0906
Carol Mamon 0916
Lianna Hinh 0916
Shelby Li 0805
Odalis Lourdes Mandereau 1015
Priscilla Yip 1016
Kelley Lundquist 1012
Lisa Wong 1016
Eva Luo 0909
Connie Tran 0905
Aileen Luo 1010
Victoria Wong 0803
Danna Hong 0913
Katie Louey 0708

There are four important documents from the volunteer directors that all Memory Walk volunteers should read through thoroughly; all four are available for download here. If you encounter any problems with downloading the four word documents (they are clearly marked with "MEMORY WALK 2006" in the title), please contact me ASAP.

Volunteers should arrive at the Volunteer Registration area (marked with a star on the map) by no later than 8:00 AM. Officers will be in the area signing members in, so please be on a lookout for them! Volunteers must sign in with the race directors (they will be wearing cowboy hats!) and with a MAD officer in order to receive credit for this event. This rule applies to ALL of our events. You will receive your specific assignment from the race coordinators after you sign in with them, but if you fail to check in with a MAD officer, you will not receive credit for this event and it may be counted as a cut that will result in negative credits.

The bottom line? Don't forget to sign-in!

Breakfast will be provided at the volunteer registration area, but bring a little money for lunch! Dress in layers because it can definitely get a little chilly out on Treasure Island, and please try not to bring any unnecessary bags or expensive personal belongings because our club cannot be responsible for any lost/stolen items. We have never had a problem with this in the past, but please keep don't bring anything you will miss if it gets lost because it can get really chaotic at these huge events and there will most likely not be a secure area for you to drop you bags off at while you are working your shift.

If you have trouble finding out where you're supposed to go or if you don't see any MAD officers around when you get to Treasure Island, please don't hesitate to give me a call - 415-830-2371. Sometimes I can't hear my cell phone ringing, so if I don't pick up, try calling again! I will try my best to answer your questions.

Let's make our first event of the year a great one! :)

Nike Marathon - Sunday, October 22nd

2006-09-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! The 2006 Nike Women's Marathon will be on Sunday, October 22nd, and our club has been assigned to help the race start off smoothly at the Start Area located in Union Square. Our shift will be from 5 AM to 9AM (I know it's early!), but as an extra thank-you for getting up super early to come out and support a great cause, we'll be giving out FIVE credits for this event instead of four.

Ever other volunteering club at Lowell will be doing the Nike Marathon, so what makes volunteering with MAD so great, you ask?

Well, for one thing, you'll be done with your shift by the time most people are just starting, so you will have the rest of the day free to do whatever you want. Last year, we did the same shift and we were finished by 7:30 AM, so the people who volunteered got five credits for doing less than three hours of work! Plus, by volunteering at the start area, you'll have the opportunity to meet all the great runners before they get sweaty and exhausted from the run.

All we ask is for you to bring a positive attitude, a great smile, and maybe an extra sweater because it will be very cold!

If you haven't signed up to volunteer at the Nike Marathon yet, please come to our next meeting on Wednesday, October 4th at 3:30 in room 259 to sign up and ask questions. If you can't make it to the meeting, please e-mail me to sign up, and be sure to include your full name, reg, and e-mail address.

Memory Walk 2006 - Saturday, October 7th

2006-09-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hello there MAD Clubbers! We've got another great event for you to take part in. The annual Memory Walk, the signature event of the Alzheimer's Association, will be on Saturday, October 7th at Treasure Island this year.
Our shift will be from 8AM to 11AM, so volunteers will be THREE credits for volunteering at this event.

MAD Clubbers will be responsible for giving our information and answering questions people may have at the Walk, and most importantly, we'll be cheering on the Walkers as they support the Alzheimer's Association by completing the course.

This is a great cause, so come out and help out if you can!

The last day to sign up for this event will be at our next meeting on Wednesday, September 27th at 3:30 in room 259. If you know you can't make the meeting in advance, but still want to volunteer at the Memory Walk, please e-mail me before Wednesday, and we'll work something out.

Remember, next Wednesday's meeting is mandatory for all the people who submitted officer applications because we'll be announcing our new officers then. If you're not at the meeting, your application will be voided.

If you have any questions about anything, feel free to contact me by e-mail and I'll get back to you ASAP. Thanks!

CREDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FALL 2006

2006-09-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! Here are some recaps for those of you who missed our meeting yesterday or who just need a little refresher with all the information we threw at you guys yesterday:

You will need a minimum of EIGHT (8) credits to receive active credit on your transcript. We suggest that you try to pack in as many credits as you can during the Fall semester because with our club's "rollover" policy, you can transfer any extra credits over to the Spring semester to make up for any missing credits at the end of the year. There are fewer events, and people are generally busier with SATs and APs in the spring, so earn your credits now!

Please check your e-mail or our blog regularly to stay updated with all club business. If you cannot attend a meeting at school for whatever reason, the information presented will be posted on our blog within a week.

Another reminder - officer applications are due on Thursday, September 21th . You can turn in completed applications at our meeting on Wednesday, September 20th at 3:30 in room 259 or you can put them in my reg box, 0701, with my name (Karen Li) and reg (0701) written clearly somewhere on the application. You can get more information about the different positions here and you can download and application here. there's nothing to lose, so please don't hesitate to apply!

Feel free to contact me with any questions you have - our club's contact information is listed on our blog.

First Meeting of the Year - Wednesday, September 13th

2006-09-07T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers! The first meeting of the 2006-2007 school year will be on Wednesday, September 13th at 3:30 in room 259.

This year is a year full of changes for MAD - we're moving to a new meeting day (Wednesday), and into a new room (259). We also have lots of awesome events lined up for you, so be sure to come to our meeting next Wednesday to hear all about them, and the new requirements for active membership in the Fall semester!

If you haven't done so already, it's still not too late for you to download an application and apply for a MAD officer position. Please turn completed applications at our meeting next Wednesday, or you can put them into my reg box - 0701. The last day to turn in your application will be Thursday, September 21st, and we will announce our new officers at our meeting on Wednesday, September 29th, so if you applied, be sure to show up on that day!

Spread the word, and please show up at our first meeting on Wednesday, September 13th at 3:30 in room 259!

P.S. There will be free food. :)

First Day of School Reminders

2006-08-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, I hope everyone had an awesome first day of school!

Please keep an eye out for e-mails/bulletin announcements/posters about MAD's first meeting of the year, and help us spread the word about our club!

And as a reminder, the 2006-2007 Officer Application can still be downloaded here. There is currently no set deadline for the apps to be turned in, but the sooner you fill it out and submit it, the better! Please clearly label completed applications with my name (Karen Li) and reg (0701) before putting them into my reg box (box #0701).

We have lots of great volunteering events and activities planned for the year, so be sure to come to meetings and participate in the fun!

If you would like to be removed from our mailing list for whatever reason, there should be a link at the bottom of this e-mail, or you can contact me and I'll get you off the list right away.

Good luck to all with the 2006-2007 school year!

Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer - October 14, 2006

2006-08-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Depending on how early we can get our club set up again for the Fall, the Walk for Hope to cure breast cancer will most likely be our club's first event of the year. I know it's a little early to announce volunteering events for the fall (school starts in 21 days!), but if you're definitely interested in participating in this event, please let me know ASAP so I can get a rough estimate back to the race directors.

This was our first event of the year last Fall, and the volunteers all had an awesome time working the booths, so don't miss your chance to help this awesome organization!

Walk for Hope is a fundraising event sponsored by City of Hope, an institution dedicated to education, treatment, and research of life-threatening illnesses, like Breast Cancer. The event will take place on Saturday, October 14 at Justin Herman Plaza (across from the Ferry Building) from 6am-11am.

Heads up for seniors: October 14 is also the date of the first SAT of the school year.

There are a variety of fun activities for volunteers at the Walk for Hope such as, setting up, helping register the walkers, working at the sponsor give-away booths, cheering on the participants at the finish line, handing out medals and more. Volunteers are needed from 6am to 11am, working a minimum of 3-hour shifts. All volunteers will be given a Walk for Hope t-shirt, a goody bag, and will be recognized in the event program for their support.

A three hour shift will be worth three volunteering credits, and for every hour you work beyond the minimum, you'll get an extra volunteering credit. Our shift will start at 6AM, so you can get up to six volunteering credits at this event if you work until 11AM.

I'll have more details available once we start meetings again and we get closer to the date of the event, so please watch out for that!

And if you haven't checked it out already, please visit our LJ community and introduce yourself!

Introducing the MAD Livejournal Community!

2006-08-06T23:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a great summer vacation, especially since school starts again in just 22 days!

In preparation for the new school year, I've created a new MAD Livejournal Community! This Blogger blog will still be the club's main news bulletin since all posts will be automatically sent to members on our mailing list, but the LJ community will be here to serve as a place for quick Q&A and discussion about club events between club members and club officers. I created the LJ community was because I've noticed a lot of members have been e-mailing us with the similar questions. While we are always more than happy to answer your questions, I've realized that a lot of members probably have the same questions, so it would be helpful to have the questions and answers posted in one place for quick reference.

So if you already have a LJ, please join the community so you can receive full posting privileges. If you don't have a LJ, you can sign up for an account for free! Or if you'd rather not sign up for your own account, you can still get full posting privileges by logging in using our club's username and account: lowellmad The password is lhsmad! (Yes, with the exclamation mark at the end!)

Once you log in with our club account, you will have full posting privileges in the community because I've already joined our community with that username.

Just be sure to put your name and reg (or some other contact info) somewhere in your post when you're posting anything with the club account so we know who you are!

Important news posts will be reposted in the LJ community, but rest assured that all news will still appear on this blog (and in your e-mail inboxes!) first.

If you have any questions about how to do things on LJ, please e-mail me and I'll try my best to answer your questions. I'll try to get a mini-guide up sometime soon to help those who are unfamiliar with Livejournal.

If you want to become an officer next year, please download this application. There is currently no set due date, but the sooner you get it done, the better!

Calling All MAD Officers To Be!

2006-06-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers!

A heads up for next semester - we will be having open "elections" for all the officer positions except for President and Vice President. Instead of holding a "democratic" election (because friends usually vote for their friends and it turns into a big popularity contest), we will have an application process where the most qualified candidates will be chosen.

Download 2006-2007 Officer Application here.

Current freshmen and sophomores are especially encouraged to apply! Current juniors may apply, but priority will be given to underclassmen because new officers need to be trained to take over club business before all the current officers and I graduate.

All future MAD officers are expected to help run meetings, attend all events, and help organize/keep track of our volunteers at our volunteering events on top of their own officer responsibilities.

As you can tell by our system of blog communication, our club relies heavily on email as the mode of communication. All future MAD officers must check their emails regularly (at least once a day) and reply in a timely matter.

Here's a brief description of the different positions:

Secretary: The MAD Secretary will be responsible for keeping our online blog mailing list updated. It is also the secretary's job to handle sign-ins at our events and to keep good, organized records of our members' volunteering credits. This is a very important job, and organization is the key!

Treasurer: The treasurer is responsible for all the club money! Handling reimbursement forms for club purchases, depositing grant checks, and counting Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF money are among the treasurer-specific responsibilities. The treasurer deals with the school's accountant on a fairly regular basis, so having free mods that fit into the accountant's schedule would be ideal.

Public Relations: The PR is responsible for designing/putting up posters and fliers around school. The PR is also the one who writes all the bulletin and Radio Lowell announcements; these have strict deadlines, so you must keep on top of these things! Creativity and good grammar are important here!

Club Rep: Club Reps must attend Club Rep meetings every Tuesday during 14/15, so naturally, all club reps must have 14/15 off. We will be needing two Club Reps. The Club Rep is responsible for keeping me and all the other officers updated with the latest info from the SBC. It is very important that Club Reps attend these short meetings every week because our club is punished for poor attendance.

Becoming a MAD Club officer looks great on your transcript, and you learn valuable leadership skills along the way; you won't lose anything by applying, so download and print an application now! You'll meet some awesome people and you'll have a say in what kinds of events our club will be participating in next year.

Download & Print Transcript Recording Sheet

2006-06-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! From what I've been hearing, not many people have received the transcript credit recording sheet from their reg teachers yet. The school year is coming to an end quickly, so to make sure all you wonderful volunteers get your activities recorded on your transcripts in a timely matter, I've uploaded a scan of the recording sheet.

Click here to download the transcript credit sheet.

Please try to download and print your own copies of the recording sheet to bring to the party on Wednesday if you want us to sign it off for you now (you can wait until the beginning of the Fall semester if you forget, it's not big deal) because very limited numbers will be available at the meeting.

Good luck with finals!

Summer "Extra" Credit Opportunity: Run in a Marathon!

2006-06-01T22:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Our club has volunteered in a fair share of marathons and triathlons in the past year, but have any of you wonderful volunteers wondered what it would be like to actually run in one of those?

Well, here's the perfect opportunity to earn some "extra" MAD volunteer credits while trying it out!

The Stadium to Stadium Five Mile Run/Walk will be on Sunday, August 13. While Cindy and I were at the Presidio Sports Basement picking up the t-shirts, we noticed the applications and picked up a few. The Student Applications say that this "marathon" is "FREE TO EVERYONE AGE 17 & UNDER!" You will be running/walking from Monster Park to AT&T (Formerly known as SBC Park, which was formerly known as Pac Bell Park) Park, hence the "Stadium to Stadium". All participants will receive a t-shirt and a goodie bag from the sponsors, as well as free food at the starting and finish line.

This marathon is to raise money for underprivileged schools in San Francisco, and to raise awareness for the importance of having an active youth population.

Since this marathon is happening so close to the beginning of the new school year, you will receive two volunteer credits just for participating! Just bring in your shirt and some other proof of participating (like your Bib number) to a MAD meeting next semester and you can get credit for it!

If you are interested in participating in this marathon with Cindy and me, please e-mail me before Tuesday, June 6th, and I will have applications ready for you at our End of the Year Bonanza.

Don't worry if you aren't the best or fastest runner; while it seems like just about everyone at Lowell is in/has been in Track or Cross Country, this marathon is more about having fun and getting active. Cindy and I are definitely not the most athletic people in the world, and if we can do it, so can you!

(This is a Run/Walk, so we'll be walking a lot.)

Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon: Final Volunteer Confirmation & Details

2006-06-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just got back from the informational meeting at the Presidio Sports Basement with loads of new knowledge and lots of cool t-shirts! Did you know that the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon is the #1 triathlon in the entire world?? The triathletes are shipped out by boat to Alcatraz island at 6 in the morning, and will have to swim one and half miles back to shore in the icy San Francisco Bay. And that's only 1/3 of the triathlon! The president of Tri-California, the company that puts this triathlon together, explained the bike/run course to us at the meeting today, and just watching him point and hearing him describe the course was mind boggling. There will be 1800 participants and the triathlon organizers want them all off the boat and into the Bay in no more than SIX MINUTES. That's insane! This year, the triathlon will be televised all around the world! The first broadcast in the United States will air in the last week of June, so definitely watch out for that! You could be on TV in Australia!!

So as you all know, MAD will be working at the coveted Finish Line Food Tent. If you've volunteered at other marathons and triathlons with MAD, you may be familiar with the food setup; well, this is completely different! Finish Line Food for the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon won't just be a dinky table with a few Power Bars and bananas, oh no! The food tent is sponsored by Whole Foods and will feature a variety of international, absolutely organic, delights! Think organic turkey sandwiches, specialty wraps, and I heard mention of authentic Indian Food! This is the good stuff.

Our volunteer coordinator for Finish Line Food is Kathleen Cruise. She is extremely friendly and is very excited about having Lowell kids as volunteers! She knows our reputation well, so let's try to live up to the Lowell image.

I have received volunteer waivers from the following people:

(If you turned in a waiver, but your name is not on the list, I probably just forgot to type it. Show up at tomorrow's meeting anyway.)

Victoria Wong
Andrew Yang
Cynthia Lee
Wing Cheuk
Jason Jee
Ning Xia
Karen Perez
Alyssa Saquilayan
Peter Yu
Mindy Yee
Katie Louey
Angela Lau
Eleana Hsu
Alex Tam
Chris Zhou
Elizabeth Choung

But here's the thing - we just found out from the race directors that the old waivers are no longer acceptable because their legal staff looked over the contract and decided that it needed to be updated. So all volunteers will receive a new waiver that must be signed and brought along with you on the race day at tomorrow's MANDATORY meeting. Please remember to bring your waivers with you on race day because if you don't, you may not be able to volunteer. Keep in mind that this is a very high profile event, so the organizations responsible for putting all of this together don't want to take any chances.

Please remember to come to our MANDATORY meeting tomorrow after school in room 233 to get your t-shirts and race day details (like specific meeting times/location, etc.). If you know you can't make it tomorrow, contact me NOW (if you haven't done so already). It would be best if you could send somebody (a friend or a sibling) to get the details and your shirt for you at the meeting, but you can also arrange to meet an officer during our free mods by emailing me.

You will be receiving a newsletter with maps and all sorts of other information for the race day at tomorrow's meeting. I'll be sending out another e-mail later tomorrow night with detailed map images telling you exactly where to meet (but the maps are already in the newsletters you will receive tomorrow).

This event will last from 7AM - 3PM, though if clean-up goes quickly, we will get out of there sooner! The awards ceremony starts at noon, so the triathlon will be well over by 3PM. I can't make any guarantees as to when exactly you can leave, so please just plan to stay until three with the possibility of leaving early.

We will be meeting at the Finish Line Area located on Marina Boulevard and Scott Street, though our Food Tent is closer to the other end of the Marina Green. Please refer to the general map below (I will have a more detailed one online by tomorrow night):

Marina Blvd is an extremely busy street, so it is suggested that your parents drive on Marina, and when you see the big arched sign indicating the entrance (near Fillmore Street), turn off Marina Blvd into one of the smaller side streets, such as Retro Way, Casa Way, Avila Street, or even Cervantes Blvd to drop you off. After your parents drop you off, you can walk back toward Marina Blvd, and cross the street carefully (It is a very busy and dangerous street, so ONLY cross at the crosswalks when the signal is correct!) and walk toward the entrance. Kathleen told us that there will most likely be a huge "Whole Foods" banner where the Food Tent will be, so you can't miss it once you get into the Finish Line area.

Once again, I'll have a detailed map (and you will also receive one at the meeting tomorrow) of the Finish Line area up tomorrow evening with even more instructions/details, so don't worry!

It is estimated that there will be over 24,000 spectators anticipating the triathletes and they come into the finish line, so it will be a very busy and crazy area! It'll be a blast.

Cindy and I won't be at the meeting tomorrow, so please give the rest of the officers your utmost attention as they try to run through the details and get all the information and shirts distributed to all you wonderful volunteers. If you have any additional questions, feel free to call me on my cell phone, 415-830-2371 (after 8:30PM on Friday, please).

If you get lost on race day or just have more questions, don't hesitate to call me! I'm not the best direction giver, but there will probably be someone around me who can explain things more thoroughly, so you will be helped!

So if you cannot make it to tomorrow's meeting, by now if you should have already contacted me and arranged a meeting with an officer earlier in the day to get your t-shirt and other information. If you haven't done so already, DO IT NOW. Sending a reliable friend or sibling to the meeting to get your shirt/info is also fine with me.

This triathlon will be an awesome way to end our year! Thanks again to all those who will volunteer this Sunday.

Be sure to RSVP to our End of the Year Bonanza, which will be next Wednesday, June 7th and 4PM in room 233. There will be fabulous raffle prizes!

Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon: Volunteers, Waivers, Meeting Reminder

2006-05-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I finally found a reliable server to host my files! (Yay, and it's FREE too. If you need a place to host your files too, you can sign up by clicking this: )

For those who still want to volunteer for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, please go here to download the waiver and put it into my reg box (0701) before mod 1 on Thursday, June 1st. You may also turn in your completed waiver to any MAD officer you see running around school.

I have received completed waivers from these following people:

Victoria Wong
Andrew Yang
Cynthia Lee
Wing Cheuk
Jason Jee
Ning Xia
Karen Perez
Alyssa Saquilayan

If you think you turned in a waiver, but your name is not on the list, please email me with your name, but also print out another waiver and turn it in by Thursday just in case I don't find yours.

Please remember that there is a mandatory volunteers meeting on Friday, June 2nd at 3:45 in room 233. Contact me now if you know you won't be able to make it.

Thanks!

MAD END OF THE YEAR VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION BONANZA! (RSVP Required)

2006-05-27T00:13:00.000-07:00

That's right folks; the end of the year bash is almost here! The party date is tentatively set to be on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7TH AT 4PM IN ROOM 233. Please RSVP either by replying to this original message, or by sending me an email with "MAD PARTY RSVP" in the title field. I will disregard any intents to attend that are not sent following these guidelines because they are too difficult to find and are practically unsearchable in my inbox. Please RSVP by no later than Friday, June 2nd.

What makes this particular club party so special that it deserves the title "bonanza," you ask?

Well, while we will definitely be having our typical MAD party fare (pizza, tortilla chips & salsa, etc), there will be many more "special" foods served in honor of a year of volunteering and to celebrate the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

This party will be full of surprises!

There will also be a RAFFLE for prizes at the party. For every volunteering event you attended, you will get one slip of paper with your name on it placed in our "bucket." So, if you volunteered a lot this year, you'll have more chances to win! We will have some super fantabulous prizes, so it is definitely worth it to come and stay to check it out.

Why does the party start at 4PM, you wonder?

Well, from experience, we realized that room 233 isn't nearly large enough to accommodate the number of people who attend our parties. In order to make all the yummy food equally accessible to everybody who shows up (and not just the people who were lucky enough to sit near the desks we put the chips on), we officers will be setting up and rearranging the room a bit in that half and hour period between the end of school and the beginning of our party.

NO NON-OFFICERS WILL BE ALLOWED IN ROOM 233 BEFORE 3:50PM. SO PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK THE HALLWAYS TOO EARLY IN ADVANCE.

In addition to all the food and fun we have planned for this party, we will also be dealing with transcript credit sheets then. Please keep in mind that it's your registry teachers who are responsible for recording your clubs and other activities on the back of your transcript, so it doesn't really matter when you come to get the white sheet signed; most reg teachers do not deal with transcripts until the beginning of the Fall semester because they are too busy with finals and other end-of-the-year obligations. So if you end up not getting your sheets signed at this party, please do not panic! Just contact me when school starts up again, and we'll deal with your credit sheets; as long as you get the credit sheets signed before you graduate, everything will be okay. It might actually be less stressful if you do it in the Fall, since there won't be 100+ other people clamoring to get their sheets signed at the same time!

To reiterate: PLEASE DO NOT PANIC IF YOU DO NOT GET YOUR CREDIT SHEETS SIGNED AT THE PARTY.

This party is supposed to be fun, so don't get too stressed over something as trivial as a signature on a piece of paper!

Please RSVP ASAP so I can get a rough estimate as to how much food we should have at the party.

Thanks!

Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon: Waivers&Meeting

2006-05-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

If you are interested in volunteering for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon (Sunday, June 4th) but did not turn in a volunteer waiver yet, please do so by Wednesday, May 31st. If you did not sign up online (online registration is now full), I cannot guarantee that you can volunteer on June 4th, but I will try my best to get everybody who turns in a signed waiver a spot at the event.

A MANDATORY meeting for all Escape from Alcatraz volunteers (and prospective volunteers who turned in their waivers before/on May 31st) will be held on FRIDAY, JUNE 2ND AT 3:45 IN ROOM 233. We will have important details and information regarding race day procedures for you guys then. T-shirts will also be distributed at this meeting, so be sure to come!

If you know you cannot attend the special Friday meeting, you must notify me at least two days in advance so we can work something out.

If you need a waiver, please email me with your name and reg and I will put one in your reg box ASAP.

Thanks!

Your vote counts!

2006-05-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hey MAD Clubbers, we want your opinion regarding a semi-big change to our club in the coming 2006-2007 school year.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, our club can no longer hold our occasional meetings on Tuesdays. MAD Club meetings will be moved to either Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Please go to the main page of our blog and cast your vote for the day our MAD meetings shall be held.

Please keep in mind that we will continue to communicate mainly through e-mail and that we will not have frequent meetings. We will only meet to sign up for new events and to give important updates/pass out shirts for upcoming events.

Since we are a volunteering club, our members and their willingness to lend their time and energy to help worthwhile causes are the heart and soul of our organization. We officers may work hard to organize these events, but we would be nothing without you enthusiastic volunteers! That's why your vote matters so much; the officers could easily make a quick decision, but since our club is all about the members, we want to make certain this change will accommodate the wishes the majority.

Please do not forget to vote; it'll take less than a minute of your time!

By to way, if anybody, current freshmen and sophomores in particular, is interested in becoming a MAD officer for the 2006-2007 school year, all positions, with the exception of President and Vice President, will be open in our Fall semester elections (most likely some time in September). It looks great on your transcript, and you'll gain valuable leadership skills. More details will be available in the coming months; I just wanted to mention it now to peak your interests. :)

Bay to Breakers Marathon: Follow-Up

2006-05-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hey Bay to Breakers volunteers:

I apologize for the confusing Sunday morning! The organization we were in contact with didn't give us clear enough details about who to contact once we got to our meeting areas, so I thank everybody for getting up super early to get to their posts despite the bad weather. Everybody who showed up will get their full three credits for this event.

Thanks again for your cooperation!

Bay to Breakers: Final Details

2006-05-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! You should have received an email with all the details about the marathon from the volunteer director, Kristen Eckhoff.

The following volunteers will be working at the Finish Line water stop (Great Highway and Lincoln Way):

Volunteers
Cynthia Lee
Elizabeth Choung
Tiffany Au
Anna Tran
Jason Jee
Serena Luong
Anissa Chen
Andrew Yang
Katie Louey
Gordan Chan
Wing Cheuk
Julie Liang
Shelby Li
Stephanie Yee
Victoria Wong

Officers Present:
Karen Li
Cindy Lin
Raymond Wu

These volunteers will be working at the water stop on Polk and Hayes:

Volunteers
Kevin Tang
Jonathan Li
Christopher Zhou
Deanna Truong
Mindy Yee
Cindy Luo
Cindy Tse
Scott Silverman
Karen Perez
Ning Xia
Alyssa Saquilayan
Yanick Alder

Officers Present:
Susan Lau
Lucy Deng
Alan Lam
Elaine Li

All volunteers must be present at their assigned locations by no later than 6AM this Sunday. Our shift starts at 6AM, so it would be best to arrive around 5:50AM to allow for time to sign in with the officers.

Please dress in layers and do not bring any unnecessary belongings or valuables with you; we cannot guarantee there will be a safe place to store them while you work. We are not responsible for any lost or stolen items. (In other words, leave those iPods and mp3 players at home!)

Be prepared to work from 6AM to about 12 Noon, though the Polk and Hayes water stop may end a little earlier because of its location on the course. We will be setting up the water stations and passing out cups of water to the runners.

If you have any questions, please contact me ASAP. I will be selling food at the Chinese Club table (we're selling chicken-on-a-stick and chow mein; all profits go to the Foreign Language Department!) during Kermesse tomorrow, so you can find me there if you have any questions.

Thanks in advance for volunteering!

Bay to Breakers Marathon: Polk&Hayes

2006-05-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! A quick reminder: the Bay to Breakers marathon is THIS SUNDAY. About half of our group will be at water stations near the Finish Line and the other half will be at a water station on Polk and Hayes (near downtown). I still haven't received a detailed confirmation email from the volunteer director yet, but she told me she will be sending out reminder emails to all volunteers later tonight. Don't worry if you signed up and don't receive an email from them tonight: they probably read your email wrong (some of them were kind of messy on the volunteer forms...). Keep checking your inboxes in the next two days because we will be sending out a lot of last minute reminders and details.

The following people will be situated at the Polk and Hayes water station:

Kevin Tang
Jonathan Li
Christopher Zhou
Deanna Truong
Mindy Yee
Cindy Luo
Cindy Tse
Scott Silverman
Karen Perez
Ning Xia
Alyssa Saquilayan

The officers that will be there with you guys (and gals) are:

Lucy Deng
Alan Lam
Susan Lau
Elaine Li

Be sure to sign in with them on race day!

Everybody else will be working near the finish line.

I will send out an email later tonight, with a full volunteers list, when I have all the details. Times, exact locations, and specific sign-in procedures will also be included in my next email, so be sure to watch out for that!

Thanks again for volunteering. Sorry about all the last minute details; we're doing the best we can to relay all the information as soon as we receive it!

If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact me.

Escape from Alcatraz: E-mail from Kathleen

2006-05-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! If you signed up for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon online, you should have received an email that looks something like this:

You do not have to go to the June 1st meeting at the Presidio Sports Basement. Cindy and I will be there to represent our club and to pick up our t-shirts. However, all volunteers MUST show up for a meeting afterschool on Friday, June 2nd to get details and to pick up shirts.

If you can't show up for that meeting, please contact me in advance and we'll try to figure something out.

I'll have a final list of volunteers soon, so look out for that! :)

Bay to Breakers Marathon: Volunteers List Update

2006-05-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Here's the final volunteers list for the Bay to Breakers marathon. If you put a form in my reg box or emailed me a form and your name is not on this list, please contact me right away!

Alyssa Saquilayan
Cindy Luo
Deanna Truong
Julie Liang
Shelby Li
Chris Zhou
Mindy Yee
Jessica Wong

Stephanie Yee
Karen Perez
Ning Xia
Kevin Tang
Scott Silverman
Jonathan Li
Wing Cheuk
Jason Jee
Serena Luong
Anissa Chen
Katie Louey
Cynthia Lee
Anna Tran
Andrew Yang
Elizabeth Choung
Cindy Tse
Victoria Wong
Tiffany Au
Yanick Alder
Gordon Chan

People who have emailed me about volunteering, but have not turned forms in yet:
(Victoria Wong)
(Melanie Yabut)

If you two still want to volunteer, please email me immediately. (You'd better have a good excuse!)

A majority of our group will be together at the Finish Line, but the volunteer director told me that they may need extra volunteers down by Polk and Hayes Street, so a few of you may be sent there instead. I will definitely try my best to keep you all together with your friends, so please don't hesitate to tell me if we accidentally try to split your group up!

Volunteers at Polk and Hayes will also be working in a water stand, so we'll all be performing the same tasks no matter where we're stationed.

If you have any questions, please be sure to come to our meeting on next Tuesday, May 16th at 3:35 in room 233. You can pick up/turn in Escape from Alcatraz forms at the meeting.

Hopefully I'll have all the finalized details by Tuesday, but if the volunteer director doesn't contact me by then, we may have a second mandatory volunteers meeting sometime later in the week (probably on Thursday or Friday).

Either way, please check your emails often during the next week because you can be sure that I'll post any information I receive right away.

Thanks for signing up to volunteer! It'll be a blast.

A little heads up: the tentative date for our End of the Year Volunteers Appreciation Bash is the second Tuesday of June. We'll have lots and lots of food (suggestions are welcome, but I can't make any promises!), and maybe a fun movie to show you all. We will also be taking care of all the service sheets you have to turn in to get club credit/volunteer events credit on your transcript on that day, so if you know you can't make it to the party, please email me in advance and we'll work something out.

Including finals and self-scheduling day, there are exactly 24 days until summer vacation. Let the countdown begin! :)

Bay to Breakers: Volunteer Confirmation

2006-05-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! The Bay to Breakers forms were due today, and I've received forms from the following people:

Stephanie Yee
Karen Perez
Ning Xia
Kevin Tang
Scott Silverman
Jonathan Li
Wing Cheuk
Jason Jee
Serena Luong
Anissa Chen
Katie Louey
Cynthia Lee
Anna Tran
Andrew Yang
Elizabeth Choung
Cindy Tse
Victoria Wong
Tiffany Au
Yanick Alder
Gordon Chan

If you would like to volunteer, please scan a completed form to me by this Sunday. I will be sending the forms in on Monday morning, so this is the last chance to sign up for this event. You can download the form here.

Good luck with AP Week #2! :)

Trick or Treat for UNICEF 2005: UPDATE

2006-04-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Do you remember collecting money for Trick or Treat for UNICEF last October? Well, for those of you who forgot, our club managed to collect almost $800 for UNICEF!

The people at UNICEF sent us a ribbon today for our extremely generous contribution:

Our club is a 2005 TOP FUNDRAISER!

We also received a cool certificate:

I just wanted to keep everybody updated with the whole UNICEF thing and thank all the participants again for putting in an amazing effort.

Are you guys up for another round of trick or treating for UNICEF this October? Let's see if we can break the $800 mark this time, shall we?

Thanks again everybody! You guys are awesome. :)

A quick reminder: we're having a meeting next Tuesday at 3:45 in room 233 with details and forms for both Bay to Breakers and Escape for Alcatraz. You can turn in forms or get forms from us at that time. See previous posts for the specifics!

Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon: Volunteer Waiver

2006-04-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Hope you had a nice first day back from break. xP

On to club business: if you had your little heart set on volunteering for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, in addition to registering online and printing the volunteer confirmation page for us, you need to download the official GGTC volunteer waiver and have your parent/guardian sign it. Sorry for all this legal stuff, but even volunteer organizations are trying to be super safe these days.

Please turn the volunteer waivers in with the print-out of the confirmation page from the online registration. Paper copies of the waiver will be available at our May 2nd meeting, but you may also e-mail me if you want me to drop a copy off in your reg box.

Try to get the registration/signatures done ASAP!

As always, e-mail me with questions. (And please tell me if the link for the form expires.)

Thanks. :)

Bay to Breakers Marathon: Form Re-uploaded

2006-04-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! It's come to my attention that the old link for the form download has expired; sorry about that! I've re-uploaded it here.

Please let me know if the link expires. Thanks!

A quick reminder; we have a meeting tomorrow at 3:45 in room 233. Hope to see you all there!

Kind of off topic, but...

2006-04-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day is coming up! :)

We don't have a meeting planned for April 25th (Tuesday), so why not grab a few friends and head to the closest B&J's for some free ice cream?

How to Sign Up for the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon

2006-04-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! To sign up for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, please go to http://www.impex.com/Alcatraz and follow the step-by-step instructions I've compiled below:

This is what you'll see when you click on the link. Please ignore the "Under 18" thing for the time being; I'll have more information about the parent signatures later.

Read the waiver, scroll down, check the "I Agree" box and click "Continue".

Fill in "Lowell MAD" under the "How did you hear about this?" section and check the box for 2005 if you volunteered at the Treasure Island Triathlon. Fill out the rest of the information on the page, and click to continue. (I think it asks about Health insurance - if you don't know, just leave it blank.)

Fill out all your personal information on this page. When they say "All fields are required," they mean it! When you're done, click to continue.

You'll see this page next. Scroll down until you see this:

Check the box next to "Finish Line Food" and click to continue.

This is the final page. PRINT THIS PAGE AND BRING IT TO ONE OF OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS. This will be your volunteer confirmation; if you do not have this sheet, you may not volunteer at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Please also write your reg number (and last name) somewhere on the print-out before turning it in.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Thanks!

Bay to Breakers Marathon: Reminder

2006-04-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your Spring Break.

Just a little reminder, we will be meeting this Tuesday, April 18th, at 3:45 in room 233 to start the sign-ups for Bay to Breakers and Escape from Alcatraz. You'll need to get a parent/guardian to sign this form before you can volunteer. We will be handing out copies at the meeting, but feel free to download it online. I must receive all forms by Friday, May 5th. So the last day you can put it into my reg box is Thursday, May 4th. You may also turn the forms in to any officers you see wandering the hallways if you miss the reg box deadline. Just be sure I get the info by Friday! (You can even scan the form with the signature and e-mail it to me if it comes down to it.)

We will also be meeting on Tuesday, May 2nd at 3:45 in room 233. More forms will be distributed, and you can also turn in completed forms at that meeting.

Good luck with last minute homeworking, everyone! See you all on Tuesday.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Thanks!

Bay to Breakers: DOWNLOAD FORM

2006-04-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I have some more information about the Bay to Breakers Marathon for you. We will be volunteering at the water station at the Finish Line on Great Highway from 6AM to NOON.

We will be distributing the volunteer waivers at our next club meeting on Tuesday, April 18th, but you can download and print the form here: Download Form We will also be meeting on Tuesday, May 2nd for further sign-ups/discussion of the Bay to Breakers Marathon and the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.

Volunteer forms, completely filled out with a parent signature, are due no later than Friday, May 5th in my reg box 0701. Please attach a note (with a post-it that won't fall off easily or something similar) with my name and reg number (Karen Li, 0701) clearly written to your form before putting it into the reg box.

Also, PLEASE WRITE YOUR REG NUMBER NEATLY ON THE UPPER-RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE VOLUNTEER FORM. This will help us contact you if anything comes up.

You may also turn your forms in at our meetings or to any of the other officers if you happen to bump into them in the hallways.

If you would like me to send you a copy of the form, please reply with your name and reg number.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Spread the word about the Bay to Breakers Marathon, the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, and our future meetings!

Enjoy the rest of your Spring Break. :)

Bay to Breakers Marathon - Sunday, May 21, 2006

2006-04-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Presenting another fabulous volunteering opportunity... the famous San Francisco Bay to Breakers Marathon!

(Click for additional details)

You all have the opportunity to be a part of another huge city event, so take advantage of it by signing up early and getting ready for a fun-filled day! We will be working with the Team in Training, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at their water stations situated around the course of the marathon. The location of our water station is yet to be decided, but our shift will be from 6AM to Noon. Participating in this event will get you a whopping three volunteer credits, a super cool free t-shirt (you can actually vote for the design of the t-shirt here), and lots of fun memories! Why not bring your friends and spend a Sunday morning supporting a great cause?

We will be passing out volunteer forms that must be signed by a parent (if you're under 18) for you to volunteer at the marathon during our next meeting. The form will also be posted online, for you to print at home in case you lose your copy (or decide on a whim to do a good deed), sometime soon.

Our next meeting will be after Spring Break, so please keep your eyes and ears open for further announcements! Also, please reply to this message if you're interested in volunteering so I can get a rough estimate of the number of volunteers we will be responsible for.

Feel free to contact me with any additional questions. Thanks!

One more day until Spring Break!! :)

Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon - Sunday, June 4, 2006

2006-04-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long lull of inactivity, but we have another big one for you. The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon is sponsored by the same people we did the Treasure Island Triathlon with and will be on Sunday, June 4th this year.

(Click for more details)

It's still early in the game, so practically all of the volunteering positions are still open. Please reply if you are interested in volunteering, so we can have a rough estimate of how many people will be going. This event will be worth 3 volunteer credits. There are different meeting locations depending on the shift. Most of the activity is at Crissy Field, but there are other volunteer areas that are in the Richmond, Golden Gate park, and near Baker Beach.

All volunteers will be receiving a free t-shirt and free food.

A majority of the shifts are from 7AM to 2PM, so the earlier we reserve our spots, the least likely we will end up with a super early shift. Please reply soon!

A little heads up for those who have yet to complete their volunteering credits - this will most likely be the last event for this semester.

Thanks. I'll have more details soon. :)

CNY Parade: Reminders&Confirmation

2006-02-10T18:03:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Just a quick reminder, the Chinatown Community Fair and the CNY Parade are both happening tomorrow, so if you signed up, please be on time! Volunteers for the Parade should get to Columbus and Pacific by no later than 3PM. We have small snack packs for volunteers; supplies are limited, so first come first serve!

Everybody will meet at Columbus and Pacific to sign in and to get some food, but the following people are assigned to work with the Asian Art Museum's float in the parade with our Club Rep, Raymond. He will lead you guys (and gals) to PeetÂs Coffee & Tea at 22 Battery Street to get ready.

Tiffany Pang
Cindy Tse
Joanne Kong
Michele Chui
Christine Trinh
Yvonne Kong
Scott Silverman
Kevin Tang
John Li
Raymon Kuang
Serena Luong

Does anybody remember Zheng He from Modern World? Well, the Asian Art Museum float theme is going to be the voyage of admiral Zheng He, a Chinese court official during the Ming Dynasty who sailed from China to many countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Four of the volunteers will stand on the float and act as crew members of the admiral, holding maps, compasses, telescopes, and other maritime equipment. The other eight will march alongside the float as locals of the countries the admiral visited. Your specific assignments will be determined tomorrow.

As for the rest of the volunteers...

Alex Tam
Andy Pang
Henry Tran
Peter Yu
Donald Van
Natassya Tossany
Eleana Hsu

you guys will remain at Columbus and Pacific with the rest of the Chinese Club volunteers (about 50 people). All other volunteers are basically fillers for the other floats in the parade. You may be on a float waving to the people in the side lines or walking along a float carrying some kind of advertisement (flags, banners, etc.). Be flexible!

All Chinese Club and MAD Officers will also be in the parade, so please do not bring anything valuable; there may not be anybody trustworthy to watch your belongings. We are not responsible for any missing or stolen items!

Even though we have small snack sacks ready for our volunteers, you may still get hungry sometime during the parade. Like I said in earlier e-mails, there will most likely be a lot of downtime. Last year, many people were able to sneak off to some fast food place to buy some food. Bring some money, just in case!

The parade will end around 8:30 PM. Even though it is likely that you will all end earlier, please plan to stay until 9PM - it takes time to return all the costumes, props, etc.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will also be at the Community Fair during the morning shift, so you can find me (and Raymond) there too.

I hope everybody has fun tomorrow! :)

CNY Parade - Saturday, February 11th

2006-02-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! A few people e-mailed me asking about how to sign up to volunteer at parade - I'm really sorry I didn't make this clear in the initial post! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 7th and 3:45 in room 233. We will be doing parade and food bank sign ups then. As always, you can sign up with me through e-mail. If you want to sign through e-mail, please put "Chinese New Year Parade" in the subject line or reply to this post only (please do not reply to the Community Fair posts to sign up for the CNY Parade - it gets really confusing!).

Everything you need to know about the parade can be found here.

Volunteers must meet on Columbus and Pacific by no later than 3PM on Saturday, February 11th. We'll try to bring some small snacks for you super cool volunteers because 3PM-9:30PM is a long time to go without food!

Please sign up ASAP!

E-mails not your thing?

2006-02-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

While e-mail is the most efficient way of keeping in touch and communicating with all you members, a few people replied earlier telling me that they do not have reliable internet connection in their homes. We want to keep everybody updated with the latest news, so if you or somebody you know has trouble accessing the internet, please contact me with their name and reg. We will try to communicate with them through their reg boxes. If you have internet access, please save trees (and our time/effort!) and check your inbox more often! The reg box delivery system is not very reliable at times, so e-mails are still preferred!

Chinatown Community Fair (2/11 - 2/12): Volunteer Confirmation

2006-02-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Just a little reminder: the Chinatown Community Fair and the Chinese New Year parade is only a week away. The Flower Fair was extremely hectic and poorly organized due to the fact that (way) too many volunteers showed up, so a strict limit has been placed on the Community Fair. If you did not sign up for the fair earlier, it's too late now! You can still volunteer at the Food Bank or at the CNY Parade though. Please make sure I got you down for the right day/shift!

Remember, the morning shift is from 9AM-1PM and the afternoon shift is from 12:30PM-5PM.

Morning shift people - meet on the corner of Grant and Pacific at 9AM sharp!

As for the afternoon shift, the transition between morning/afternoon is extremely chaotic, so please bear with us! We will all be on the same block, so look for an officer holding a clip board (probably look extremely frazzled and stressed out!) to sign in. It would be very helpful if you all show up on time (or a little early as possible)!

I'll have a list of the officers' contact information posted later in the week.

Here's a lovely map of our meeting area:

Saturday AM
Amy Zhou 0819**
Anissa Chen**
Alvin Wong
Natassya Tossany
Julia Au-Yeung 0620
Emily Wong 0609
Melody Wang 0612
Joanne Kong 0801
Tiffany Pang 0805
Tiffany Wong 0805
Tiffany Au 0815
Wing Cheuk 0820
Cynthia Lee 0813

Saturday PM
Amy Zhou 0819**
Anissa Chen**
Carmen Ly
David Ma
Jack Liu
Leslie Cheung 0717
Alex Tam
Michelle La 0714
Tiffany Lam 0713
Rowena Xu 0712

Sunday AM
Carmen Ly**
David Ma**
Michelle La 0714**
Tiffany Lam 0713**
Rowena Xu 0712**
Jack Liu**
Leslie Cheung 0717
Stephanie Yee 0817
Joanne Kong 0801
Tiffany Pang 0805
Tiffany Wong 0805
Kristina Dinh
Winnie Tse

Sunday PM
Carmen Ly**
David Ma**
Michelle La 0714**
Tiffany Lam 0713**
Rowena Xu 0712**
Jack Liu**
Chase Cho
Natassya Tossany
Amy Zhou 0819

(** means you are working all day.)

Please e-mail me with any corrections!

Chinese New Year Parade - Saturday, February 11th

2006-01-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! We finally got confirmation and details about the parade! The CNY parade will be on Saturday, February 11th. Participants must meet at Pacific and Columbus by no later than 3PM.
The parade doesn't officially start until around 5:30PM, but with hundreds of participants they'll need all the prep time they can get! It will be extremely chaotic! Expect to be put into some kind of costume - don't worry, it's usually just something simple like a Chinese-style shirt or a black sweatshirt (to ensure homogeneity amongst the people in the parade). Your attire will differ depending on which section of the parade you are assigned to. While the official duration of this event is from 3PM to 9:30PM, most of you will be done by seven or eight by the latest. It all depends on where you are in the parade! If our entire group shows up on time (or preferably, EARLY!), we will most likely be put into the beginning sections of the parade, which means less down time and an earlier finish. With this in mind, please try to show up early by all means. Our biggest competitor for the early spots is probably Washington High School (and their group leaders are notorious for being very persistent about these kinds of things!), but there will be volunteers from many high schools all across the Bay Area present. It's an awesome opportunity to make some new friends!

We can't make any guarantees about the end time though, so don't make any plans for before 9:30PM on the 11th - just in case!

Some of you may be not be familiar with the parade, so here's a brief description (it's aimed at tourists!):

Named one of the world's top ten parades, Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco is the largest celebration of its kind outside of Asia. Over 100 units will participate in the parade, many of the floats and specialty units will feature the theme of this year's Chinese zodiac sign. Nowhere in the world will you see a lunar new year parade with more gorgeous floats, elaborate costumes, ferocious lions, and exploding firecrackers. Some of the parade highlights include elaborately decorated floats, school marching bands, martial arts group, stilt walkers, lion dancers, Chinese acrobatics, the newly crowned Miss Chinatown USA and the Golden Dragon. The Golden Dragon is over 201 feet long and is always featured at the end of the parade as the grand finale and will be accompanied by over 600,000 firecrackers! The Golden Dragon was made in Foshan, a small town in China. The Foshan dragonmasters formerly made all the costumes for the Cantonese opera, and the Golden Dragon bears many operatic touches, such as the rainbow colored pompoms on its 6 foot-long head. It is festooned from nose to tail with colored lights, decorated with silver rivets on both scaly sides and trimmed in white rabbit fur. The dragon, made on a skeleton of bamboo and rattan, is in 29 segments. It takes a team of 100 men and women to carry the Golden Dragon. This is also considered an honor to be chosen for the grand finale.

While our group will not be carrying the coveted "Golden Dragon," you'll probably get a chance to see all the props featured in the parade up close! If you're lucky, they might even put you on TV! Regardless of whether you'll be making your television debut or not at this event, you'll definitely be noticed by the hordes of locals and tourists alike watching along the parade route. Volunteers will either be on floats, waving to the audience, or walking alongside the floats carrying flags advertising the various sponsors of this event. The parade route can be seen on the image below - follow the arrows on the black lines!
This event is currently worth three event credits, but there is a (very big) possibility that it will be bumped up to four. This is a great opportunity for you to get a big chunk of your FIVE CREDITS done!

The actual amount of time you spend in the parade is miniscule compared to the amount of down time there will be. As you can imagine, parades move at very, very slow speeds. There are often performances (like special dances, etc.) in the middle of the street, so all the floats stop every few feet for the performers to do their thing. You will most likely spend a majority of the time waiting for your turn to enter the parade. In the meantime, you'll get to watch the parade from its starting point - while all the performances are still fresh! I would highly suggest you get a few of your friends to volunteer with you at this event because you guys will have a lot of time to hang out and chat together while you wait. You can earn almost all the credits you need and catch up with your buddies at the same time! It's an awesome opportunity.

If you're volunteering for the parade, you cannot sign up for the Saturday PM shift for the Community Fair! Sorry, but the events overlap too much.

We're teaming up with Chinese Club for this event once again. (Don't we make a great team?! :D) You may not receive double credit for volunteering at the parade, but if you would like to split the credits (two for CC and one for MAD, for example), please contact me personally and we'll see what we can work out.

Alos, please don't hesitate contact me with any additional questions - I'll be glad to answer them!

I hope to see you all at the parade! It'll be a blast.

San Francisco Food Bank - Saturday, March 18th

2006-01-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! We will be volunteering at the San Francisco Food Bank on Saturday, March 18th from 9AM to 12PM. This event will be worth one volunteers credit. We need at least 15-20 people, so please sign up if you can!

We will be working in the main warehouse located at 900 Pennsylvania Avenue (Click to view map). The volunteer coordinator suggests dressing in layers because it gets quite chilly in that warehouse! Our main job will be to sort/organize food for distribution. Open-toed shoes are not allowed, which means NO FLIP FLOPS. =(
MUNI lines 15, 22, and 48 all have stops within walking distance to the warehouse. Here are some more directions (though I suggest you use Google or Mapquest to map out your exact route):

FROM HWY 80/580 SOUTH:
1. Take the Bay Bridge to San Francisco. Stay in the left lane.
Exit at 5th Street/Golden Gate Bridge, and go straight (slight left) onto Harrison Street.
3. Turn left on 6th Street.
4. Take 280 South (6th street dead ends into the on-ramp).
5. Exit at Cesar Chavez Street/25th, and immediately turn right on Pennsylvania Avenue.
6. Continue for less than one block on Pennsylvania. The Food Bank is on the left just before the intersection of Pennsylvania and 23rd Street.

FROM HWY 101 NORTH:
1. Exit at Vermont Street. Go straight through intersection onto Mariposa Street.
2. Turn right on Pennsylvania Avenue, traveling until you reach 23rd Street. The Food Bank is on the right.

Note: If coming from the airport or other locations south of the city, exit from 101 North onto 280 North and follow the directions below.

FROM HWY 280 NORTH:
1. Exit at Cesar Chavez Street.
2. Go straight through Cesar Chavez Street intersection onto Pennsylvania Avenue.
3. Continue until just before you reach 23rd Street. The Food Bank is on the left.

FROM HWY 280 SOUTH:
1. Exit at Cesar Chavez Street/25th, and immediately turn right on Pennsylvania Ave.
2. Continue until you reach 23rd Street. The Food Bank is on the left.

FROM DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO (Surface Streets):
1. Travel south on 4th Street until it intersects 3rd Street.
2. Turn right on 3rd Street.
3. Continue on 3rd Street until it intersects 23rd Street.
4. Turn right on 23rd Street.
5. Continue on 23rd Street until it dead-ends into Pennsylvania Avenue. The Food Bank is in front of you and slightly to the left.

Note: An alternate route from downtown is to travel south on 6th Street until it dead ends into the 280 on-ramp, then follow the directions from 280 South as listed above.

The San Francisco Food Bank works to end hunger in San Francisco. They provide donated and purchased food to over 450 non-profit agencies, enabling them to give nutritious meals or supplemental groceries to thousands of low-income families and individuals in our community. These agencies range in size and mission, from the cityÂs largest soup kitchens to smaller agencies such as after-school programs, AIDS service providers, battered women's shelters, child care centers, food pantries, health clinics, homeless shelters, residential programs for people in recovery or transition to independent living, senior lunch programs, and street outreach programs. They are the largest distributor of food to non-profit agencies in San Francisco; for many agencies, they are their only source of food. This year, they will distribute nearly 25 million pounds of food, or enough to provide 53,000 meals a day.

Please help out if you can!

Chinatown Flower Fair: Volunteer Confirmation

2006-01-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

Hello there! If you signed up to volunteer at the Chinatown Flower Fair, please check the list below to make sure all the information is correct. You may still sign up/make changes by e-mailing me by no later than Friday, January 20.

A ** next to your name means you signed up to volunteer for the entire day.

The MAD/Chinese Club officers present at each shift:

PLEASE SIGN IN/OUT WITH THE PERSON UNDERLINED FOR EACH SHIFT.

Saturday, January 21
AM:Anna, Victoria, Karen
PM:Cindy, Alan, Susan

Sunday, January 22
AM:Raymond, Tiffany, Andrew, Lucy
PM:Ken, Jennifer, Elaine

Volunteers:
Saturday, January 21
AM Shift: 9AM - 1PM
Andy Pang 0702**
Raymon Kuang 0715**
Henry Tran 0706**
Serena Luong
Michelle La 0714**
Eleana Hsu 0907
Peter Yu 0907
Jessica Wong 0815
Shelby Li 0805
Joanne Lee
Kelly Yee
Victoria Wong 0803
Patrick Lee
Alvin Wong
Jonathan Kyi

PM Shift: 12:30PM - 5PM
Raymon Kuang 0715**
Henry Tran 0706**
Andy Pang 0702**
Michelle La 0714**
Carmen Ly
Jack Liu 0708
David Ma 0714
Donald Van 0707
Rowena Xu 0712
Tiffany Lam
Wendy Yang
Ann Xiao
YanYan Wu
Carla Siu
Selina Lee

Sunday, January 22
AM Shift: 9AM - 1PM
Leslie Cheung 0717**
Jackie Leung**
Stephanie Yee 0817
Kristina Dinh
Angela Quach
Katie Louey 0708

PM Shift: 12:30PM - 5PM
Leslie Cheung 0717**
Jackie Leung**
Amy Zhou
Victoria Wong 0803

With everything going on at the fair, it may get extremely chaotic at times. I ask everybody to please cooperate with the officers' requests, regardless of which club they are from. Feel free to come up to any of us with questions - we'll be happy to answer them!

Please remember to sign in AND out with the designated officer at the start of your shift and before you go home. If you are working both shifts, you only need to sign out when you leave. You do not have to sign out at the end of the morning shift and sign in again for the afternoon!

Lunch will be provided. (Yay!) We will be rotating groups in and out for their lunch break so we can keep things under control in our area. Please bear with us when we attempt to do so because it will be extremely hectic!

We are not responsible for the loss/theft of your possessions, so please do not bring any unnecessary bags or valuables. We will be working in a high traffic area, so definitely think twice before you bring anything you might miss!

If you have any questions or corrections to make, please contact me ASAP. More details about the fair and the kind of work you will be doing can be found here.

Our blog is a huge source of information and we spend a lot of time keeping updates regular, so please take advantage of it!

Thanks to everybody who's volunteering! See you this weekend.

BTW, we will be out there on Pacific and Grant (MAP) RAIN OR SHINE. Please dress appropriately. :D

San Francisco Food Bank: Early March?

2006-01-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

How many people would be interested in volunteering at the San Francisco Food Bank on a Saturday from 9AM to 12PM sometime in early March? If we get enough interest, we may make this a regular event.
The Food Bank's volunteer community provides vital support to our mission of ending hunger in San Francisco. They provide donated and purchased food to over 450 non-profit agencies, enabling them to give nutritious meals or supplemental groceries to thousands of low-income families and individuals in our community. Throughout the year, they rely on the support of more than 7000 volunteers to sort community food donations, stock pantry shelves, repackage bulk items, label cans, glean produce, and pack food boxes. This year they will distribute 25 million pounds of food, enough for 53,000 meals each day!

Volunteer duties involve organizing cans of food, packing groceries, etc.

Wouldn't you love to take part in that?

Each Saturday will be worth one volunteers credit.

Please reply if you're interested!

Chinatown Fairs - UPDATE + Map!

2006-01-17T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

Thanks to everybody who showed up for our meeting today. While everybody was eager to sign up for the upcoming Chinatown fairs, nobody noticed that I forgot to give you guys to exact Chinatown intersection where we will be meeting/volunteering at! Kudos to everybody who read all the details through e-mail/on our blog and signed up with me early! Judging by the limited number of responses I got through e-mail, however, I think it would be safe to say that a majority of you do not bother to keep up with our blog posts. I mentioned this at our meeting today, but I'll say it again.

IF EVERYBODY CHECKS THEIR E-MAIL REGULARLY, WE DO NOT NEED TO HOLD AS MANY REGULAR MEETINGS AT SCHOOL!

We all lead busy lives, so it would be best if we could try to keep things efficient by communicating through e-mail!

Anyway, here's a map of our meeting location:

We will be working on Pacific Ave between Grant and Kearny. Please gather at the Grant end of the block to sign in with a MAD officer. Details regarding which officer to look for at each shift will come later in the week, so keep checking those inboxes!

I will also have a final volunteer confirmation list posted later this week. Please check to make sure you are signed up for the right shift! Our no-show policy still stands.

IF YOU SIGN UP FOR AN EVENT AND FAIL TO SHOW UP, YOU WILL RECEIVE NEGATIVE CREDIT FOR THAT EVENT.

For example, if you signed up for two shifts (worth a total of two credits), but do not show up for either, you will have negative two credits.

We will most likely not have as many events available compared to the Fall semester, so please take advantage of these easy events!

On a brighter note, the Chinese New Year Parade is on! We have received confirmation for our participation. Details about that will also be coming soon. Remember, it will probably be worth two or three credits!

Be sure to contact me with any questions you may have. Good luck with finals!

Next Meeting - Tuesday, January 17th

2006-01-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 17th at 3:45 in room 233. We will be doing sign ups for our upcoming events. You can also sign up by e-mail if you can't make it to the meeting. We also have a few important announcements, so be sure to show up!

And the winner is...

2006-01-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Number 6!

If you submitted an entry, please contact me with your name, reg, and entry number ASAP! Thanks to everybody who participated. I'm sure your thoughtful cards brought some much needed holiday cheer into somebody's life!

CREDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR SPRING 2006

2005-12-31T17:03:00.000-08:00

Remember our Fall Requirements? You had to get a minimum of three volunteers credits to get credit for the fall semester. Most of our members completed the requirement, so congratulations! We also mentioned our Rollover Program at the beginning of the semester. If you got more than three credits from the Fall semester, you can rollover the extras to the Spring semester. There was one catch though - you have to be present at at least one event in the Spring to receive active credit. The rollover program will not be in effect for the transition between Spring 2006 and Fall 2006. A new school year deserves a clean slate!

For Spring 2006, you must get at least five (5) volunteers credits in order to get active credit. The bar has been raised! As you all saw, it was ridiculously easy to get your three credits last semester. Five won't be much of a challenge either! In addition to the Chinatown fairs (Flower and Community, the Chinese New Year celebrations continue with participation in San Francisco's famous television-broadcasted Chinese New Year Parade. The details for that one are still in the works, so please keep checking back for updates! One thing for sure is that participation in the parade will count for at least two credits. You get to wear fun costumes, possibly be on Live TV, and earn easy credits? Too good to be true!

Remember, each shift at the Chinatown fairs count for one credit, so there's your chance to rack up easy credits!

If you have any suggestions for organizations or events for MAD to volunteer at, please feel free to contact me. All suggestions and comments are welcome!

Chinatown Community Fair - SAT, 2/11 & SUN, 2/12

2005-12-31T16:46:00.000-08:00

Hello! I'm giving you guys almost two months notice for this one, but it's closely tied to the Chinatown Flower Fair, so I thought I'd mention it now too.

The Chinatown Community Fair is pretty much the same as the Chinatown Flower Fair, the only exception being the Flower Fair is before Lunar New Year and the Community Fair is after. The Flower Fair's main purpose is the sell New Year's related things while the Community Fair hosts more sponsor booths, which means one thing - MORE FREEBIES!

The shifts and the duties for the Community Fair are the same as those for the Flower Fair, as we will be working in the same area.

There will be two shifts available per day. The morning shift will be from 9AM - 1PM and the afternoon shift will be from 12:30PM - 5PM. MAD will be collaborating with Chinese Club again for this event. Each shift will count as one volunteers credit for the Spring semester. You may sign up for more than one shift.

Volunteers must meet in Chinatown on Pacific Ave, between Grant and Kearny at least 15 minutes before their shift to sign in with a MAD officer. Duties involve making cotton candy, supervising the food/ticket booth, selling popcorn and water, making/selling balloon animals, and supervising other kid-friendly activities like the bouncy houses and petting zoo. Volunteers should be flexible with their job assignments, as rotations will happen about every 30 minutes. More details concerning rotations will be available soon. Please keep in mind that all jobs involve interaction with young children.

Lunch will be provided. Please do not bring any unnecessary bags or backpacks - we cannot assume responsibility for any stolen or missing items at the end of the day!

Volunteers must sign out personally with a MAD officer before leaving to receive credit.

The same rules apply - you cannot receive double credit for volunteering at one shift. If you are also a member of Chinese Club, you may volunteer for two shifts and receive one credit for each club, but you cannot receive credit for both clubs by volunteering at one shift. Anybody who tries to take advantage of the collaboration with CC will receive no credit from MAD for volunteering at this event, so please think twice before trying to pull anything!

You can sign up for this event by leaving a comment or replying with your name, reg, and preferred date/time.

Please don't hesitate to email me with additional questions!

Reminder: Next Meeting TBA. It will not be on January 3rd!

Chinatown Flower Fair - SAT, 1/21 & SUN, 1/22

2005-12-31T16:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Just a heads up, but our next big volunteering event will be the Chinatown Flower Fair on Saturday, January 21 and Sunday, January 22. There will be two shifts available per day. The morning shift will be from 9AM - 1PM and the afternoon shift will be from 12:30PM - 5PM. MAD will be collaborating with Chinese Club again for this event. Each shift will count as one volunteers credit for the Spring semester. You may sign up for more than one shift.

Volunteers must meet in Chinatown on Pacific Ave, between Grant and Kearny at least 15 minutes before their shift to sign in with a MAD officer. Duties involve making cotton candy, supervising the food/ticket booth, selling popcorn and water, making/selling balloon animals, and supervising other kid-friendly activities like the bouncy houses and petting zoo. Volunteers should be flexible with their job assignments, as rotations will happen about every 30 minutes. More details concerning rotations will be available soon. Please keep in mind that all jobs involve interaction with young children.

Lunch will be provided. Please do not bring any unnecessary bags or backpacks - we cannot assume responsibility for any stolen or missing items at the end of the day! Things tend to get quite chaotic, so I'd think twice about bringing that iPod! Volunteers must sign out personally with a MAD officer before leaving to receive credit.

The same rules apply - you cannot receive double credit for volunteering at one shift. If you are also a member of Chinese Club, you may volunteer for two shifts and receive one credit for each club, but you cannot receive credit for both clubs by volunteering at one shift. Anybody who tries to take advantage of the collaboration with CC will receive no credit from MAD for volunteering at this event, so please think twice before trying to pull anything!

We will have a meeting soon for sign-ups, but you can sign up now by leaving a comment on our blog or replying to this e-mail. Please include your name, reg, and preferred date/shift. Thank you!

There will be no meeting on the first Tuesday back (January 3rd), so please keep checking back for updates on our next meeting date!

Happy New Year!

2005 Holiday Greeting Card Contest

2005-12-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Happy Winterbreak!

We had nine entries in our 2005 Holiday Greeting Card contest! You can view them below. Please visit our blog and vote for your favorite! Remember, winners get a $5 gift card!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Happy holidays! Have fun and stay safe!

See you all next year!

Last Meeting of 2005!

2005-12-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hey there MAD clubbers! Our last meeting on 2005 will be tomorrow at 3:45 in room 233. Let's try to keep it short by showing up on time/early okay? It's the week before winter break - we're all uber busy!

The Holiday Greeting Cards and the Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives pink lids are both due tomorrow. Late submissions to either project will not be accepted as they are both time-sensitive issues. Remember, the winner(s) of our Holiday Greeting Card contest will win a $5 gift card! Get your creative juices flowing!

To keep our meeting short, winners will be announced sometime over (maybe after) winter break, so check those inboxes for the results! Prizes will be awarded after winter break. All cards will be featured on our blog! Remember, there is no limit on the number of submissions, though they must be meaningful submissions. Fellow officers and I reserve the right to determine which entries are acceptable and which are not. Please refer to previous post on Holiday cards for details.

This will most likely be our last meeting for the Fall semester. Please keep your eyes and ears open for announcements around school for upcoming MAD meetings! Check your e-mails often and spread the word!

Thanks again for everybody who helped make MAD's Fall '05 events successful. We're going to have even more fun next semester! =)

See you all tomorrow at 3:45 in room 233!

MAD Yearbook Photo!

2005-11-18T21:59:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! At our party last Tuesday, I said that our next meeting will be on Tuesday, December 13th, but I recently received a note from the Yearbook staff asking us to meet on Tuesday, November 22nd to take our Yearbook photo. Please try to attend - you all deserve recognition in the yearbook for all the volunteering you've done!

The meeting will be a short one, so I hope everyone will attend!

Trick or Treat for UNICEF: Final Count

2005-11-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I have some mind blowing news for you all! Our super fantabulous treasurer, Lucy Deng, has finally finished counting the UNICEF money. Lucy has been counting EVERY penny day in and day out for over a week now. Please thank her when you see her!

Do you know why it took her so long? We raised exactly $781.93 for UNICEF! It's unbelievable! Thank you all very much for contributing so much! In case you were wondering, Lucy counted 2383 pennies, 537 nickels, 604 dimes, 585 quarters, 224 one dollar bills, 16 five dollar bills, 9 ten dollar bills, 4 twenty dollar bills and 1 fifty dollar bill. That's right, almost 2400 pennies passed through Lucy's hands! She even double-checked her calculations!

On your behalf, we will make an even $800 to donation to UNICEF. I can't thank you guys enough! Be sure to come to our Fall Semester Party on Tuesday, November 15th at 3:45 in room 233!! We will definitely reward you guys! Remember to RSVP by Saturday, November 12th if you're planning on attending! (Include movie choice and suggestions for food, please!)

You guys went above and beyond and this money will definitely make a BIG difference in many people's lives. Give yourselves a pat on the back!

FALL SEMESTER PARTY!

2005-11-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Thanks for volunteering at all our events this semester! Almost everybody has their credits done and we're winding down for the semester, so I think it's about time we had our HUGE PARTY!

We will have a party to thank all our volunteers next Tuesday, November 15th at 3:45 in room 233. Please RSVP no later than Saturday, November 12th if you plan to attend because we need a final headcount to determine how much food to order! Also include your choice for a movie to show during the party (keep it PG13 and below please!). If you guys don't voice your opinions, I get to choose! (In case you were wondering, I love "chick flicks"!)

Please RSVP ASAP with your movie choice. Also include any suggestions of food you want us to serve on Tuesday. Keep requests reasonable!

I look forward to seeing you guys next Tuesday! Thanks again for being great volunteers!

Treasure Island Triathlon: Clearing Things Up

2005-11-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Have you missed my lengthy emails? Haha.

Well, Treasure Island Triathlon will be taking place in less than 12 hours. Some of you may have some last minute questions or concerns, so if I do not answer them in the email, please do not hesitate to call me. I'll try to help you to be best of my ability. Karen @ 4158302371. Brace yourselves - this will be a LONG one.

Like Lucy said in her last email, you guys will either be on the Bike Course or at an Aid Station. The details of each job aren't important right now - just remember to show up NO LATER THAN 6:45am tomorrow. It would be ideal if you could get to the island by 6:30AM because that will allow for all the nitty gritty details and last minute adjustments we may have to make. Let me warn you now, we're all (especially me!) going to be under a lot of pressure tomorrow so we will be stressed out. Please cooperate with our requests or there will be dire consequences! Be flexible - the Treasure Island staff are really unclear about what will be going on tomorrow, so there may be some last minute changes... On a brighter note: there will be free breakfast! Most likely bagels + coffeeee. YUM. Lunch will also be provided. Volunteers will also gain access to all the Finish Line Food at the end of the event. Awesome, no? Powerbars + Gatorade Galore! =)

Because we have a relatively large group and will be dispersed throughout the island, I've decided to assign group leaders to each of you. You must remain with your group leaders at all times, unless otherwise instructed. You will report to your group leaders and go to them with any questions. Please go to them with any questions on race day. The names of the group leaders are bolded:

Andrew and Ken
Alan Eng
Lucy Cai
Talent Tang
Lucy Huang
Mindy Yu
Frances Yan
Sabrina Pan

Susan and Alan
Long Wei
Danny Situ
Leslie Wong
Aaron Suk
Alex Tam
Tomas Sanchez
Henry Tran
Raymon Kuang

Cindy and Karen
Michelle La
Tiffany Lam
Rowena Xu
Carmen Ly
Gordon Chan
Jack Liu

Raymond and Lucy
Christopher Cheung
Jonathan Mui
Joanne Kong
Tiffany Pang
Jason Li
Tiffany Wong
Wilson Leung

Victoria and Anna
Vincent Lim
Jia Chang Huang
Michael Ullman
Melissa Nguyen
Sylvia Tam
Steven Wong

I tried my best to put friends together using educated guesses, but if you're separated from the people you want to be with, please notify me ASAP. (Call me if possible) IF YOU DO NOT SEE YOUR NAME ON THE LIST: CALL ME RIGHT NOW. We gotta get it straightened out!

Lucy included a map, but it wasn't very big/clear. The link for it is http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v191/poofietomato/islandmap.jpg (for easier viewing).

It'll most likely be cold at Treasure Island (I heard from a native that it "never gets hot; not even in July!"), so please remember to wear a sweatshirt ! Wear your lovely t-shirt over it so everyone will know you're a volunteer. That's uber important b/c your volunteer t-shirt is what gets you all the free fooood! =D

Most importantly, please try to have FUN. I tried to group you with your friends for a reason!

Once again, please don't hesitate to call me before/on race day! 4158302371. Officers will be at the Island eary, so call us if you can't find us at the Volunteers booth (it's the green square on the map... ), CALL ME. I will try my best to direct you to the right location!

That's all the info I can think of right now. Thanks again for volunteering - none of this could happen without you!

You will be on the island until about 1PM tomorrow, so please plan ahead!

MUNI to Treasure Island

2005-10-30T22:22:00.000-08:00

For the people that will be taking Muni to Treasure Island you must get to Transbay Loop & Macalla Rd by 6:25am to take Bus #108/Treasure Island at 6:30 because the next #108 will be at 7:15. To get the complete set of directions from your house to Treasure Island go to Transit 511 and fill in your information.

Also remember the mandatory meeting is on Friday and it is crucial for you to be there unless you have contacted and arranged something with one of the officers.

MANDATORY MEETING: Treasure Island Triathlon

2005-10-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Helloooo there! There will be a mandatory meeting for all Treasure Island Triathlon volunteers on Friday, November 4th at 3:45 in room 233.

You will receive your t-shirt, job assignments, and additional information regarding responsibilities and transportation. If you cannot attend the meeting, please contact me ASAP and find a friend to go in your place. There will be a lot of important information to go over, so please be on time!

Holiday Greeting Card Project

2005-10-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

Heyy there! Still need volunteer credit? Can't get a ride to Treasure Island? Not a big fan of yogurt? No worries! We've got another project up our sleeves!

Hospitals, by nature, are depressing environments. Missing out on all the holiday festivities will only make things worse. Knowing that somebody cares is a definite spirit booster. That's where we come in!

MAD will be participating in a nation-wide Holiday Card project. The cards you create will be distributed to five different hospitals across the United States and at least one international one. The idea behind the project is to simply try and bring a little cheer to those who are undergoing hospital stay. The cards will be distributed to the patients in person by locals, so your cards will surely bring a smile to their faces! The patients and their families are deeply touched by the kindness and caring from those who take time to create and send cards, so I hope everybody will get involved.

How much credit will I get for this?

Well, we hope that everybody will participate out of the kindness of their hearts! The holiday season is approaching fast. If you still fall short of the three credit requirements, however, we will definitely take the cards you submit into consideration. Please come to talk to us personally if you fall into this category.

Please remember that is is QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. We will carefully review each card upon submission. You do not have to be the world's greatest artist to submit a card, but we want everybody to show some real effort. It's the thought that counts. All cards are due no later than Tuesday, December 13th, as they must be postparked by December 16th. We encourage you to make cards at home on your own time, but we will give you some time and (limited) materials at our upcoming meetings.

On December 13th, you members will vote for your favorite cards and the winners will receive a $5 gift card to Starbucks, Jamba Juice, etc. So get your creative juices flowing!

Be as creative as you like. Just remember, the degree of illness for patients will vary from mild to terminal, so it is important to be cheerful. Some suggested greetings include, "Hope you're feeling better," "Thinking of you," or "Have a nice day." Try and stay away from "Get well soon" as it might not be appropriate for all patients. Remember to include a message of "Happy holidays" as the cards will be distributed for the holidays.

We will have more details available at our upcoming meetings, so keep your eyes and ears open! Please contact me with any additional questions.

Save Lids to Save Lives!

2005-10-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Because I've received many requests for more opportunities to fulfill the three volunteer credit requirements for the fall semester, I've been doing some major googling lately. The Treasure Island Triathlon is coming up, but the location/time might be a problem for some. That's why I've decided to introduce another collection event.

Save Lids to Save Lives, sponsored by the Yoplait yogurt company, is in its eighth year. For every pink lid sent in, Yoplait will donate 10 cents to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, up to $1.5 million dollars with a $500,000 guaranteed donation. Let's do our part to help them reach their goal!

For every 25 pink lids you bring in, you will receive one volunteer credit. Simple, no? You have until Tuesday, December 13th to turn in your lids. So grab a spoon and get ready to lick some lids!

NOTE: We will only accept CLEAN lids. Please do us a big favor and RINSE your lids before turning them in!

Please contact me with any additional questions!

A quick reminder: UNICEF boxes are due this Tuesday, November 1 at 3:45 in room 233.

NIKE VOLUNTEERS CONFIRMATION: UNION SQUARE

2005-10-22T01:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended our emergency meeting today! The following is a list of the intersection assignments you guys signed up for. For those who did not attend our meeting, please scroll down to see your assignments.

Sutter & Taylor:
Deanna Truong
Sheena Lau
Amy Huang
Cindy Luo
Winnie Huang

Sutter & Mason:
Joyce Lau
Denise Tan
Hatsue Lei

Sutter & Powell:
Elizabeth Choung
Kelley Yee
Vanessa Fong

Sutter & Stockton:
Andrew Yang
Anna Tran
Leslie Cheung

Sutter & Grant:
Angela Lau
Shaunna Louie
Elaine Li

Post & Taylor:
Anissa Chen
Tiffany Au
Wing Cheuk

Geary & Taylor:
Amy Zhou
Jason Jee
Cynthia Lee

Geary & Mason :
Katie Louey
Jonathan Kyi
Victoria Wong

Post St. between Taylor & Mason (Taylor End)
Stephen Zhang
Chase Cho

Post St. between Powell & Stockton (Powell end):
Alan Lam
Crystal (Sacramento)

Powell between Post & Geary (Post end):
Lincoln Lo
Evelina Vo

Powell St. between Post & Geary (Geary end):
Mandy Lin
Wendy Tong

Powell St. between Post & Sutter (Post end):
Alan Eng
Talent Tang

ASSIGNMENTS FOR PEOPLE WHO DID NOT COME TODAY:
Post Street between Taylor & Mason (Mason End):
Cally Leung
Cindy Tse

Post Street between Mason & Powell (Mason end):
Frank Bi
Hung Kam Hung

Post Street between Mason & Powell (center of block):
Jason Li
Joanne Kong

Post Street between Mason & Powell (Powell end):
Tiffany Pang
Tiffany Wong

If you guys have any questions before the race, feel free to call me at 415-830-2371. If I don't pick up, please leave a voice mail with your name, number, and the intersection you are working at and I will get back to you ASAP. Your Nike t-shirts must be completely visible at all times, so if you have to wear a sweatshir please put the t-shirt over it. You are not allowed to wear anything with any visible logos from the "competitors," Addidas, Reebok, etc. If you've got Nike gear, this is the perfect time to put it on! FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT COME TO THE MEETING: Please arrive at Union Square to sign-in at the Volunteers' Booth at not later than 4:45AM. You guys still need to pick up your t-shirts! ALL OTHER VOLUNTEERS: I would also suggest arriving around 4:45AM because the first group starts at 5:30AM. EXPECT TRAFFIC AND PARKING DELAYS. YOU MUST BE SIGNED IN AND READY TO GO BY 5AM. After you sign-in with the Nike booth, please find a MAD officer holding a large "MAD" sign to sign in with them too. IF YOU DO NOT SIGN-IN WITH US, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR THIS EVENT. Please refer to the picture in our previous post if you do not know who we are. On the day of the race, if you have trouble locating an officer, please call me on my cell 415-830-2371. I'll try my best to answer your questions.

Upon signing in, you will receive a colored map of the start area. You will then report to your intersections. Your duties include answering runners' questions to be best of your ability. The most commonly asked question will most likely be, "Where are the bathrooms?" followed by the close second "Where's the Bag Check?" If you are unsure of where either of these areas are located, please be sure to ask the Staff member who is handing you the map before you go to your intersection. Once you guys put that Nike shirt one, you open yourselves to all participants of the marathon. Always approach the athletes with a smile and a hearty "Good Morning." Remain calm and stay positive at all times. Hopitality is the most important part of your job, so please take this very seriously. If we receive any complaints about grouchy MAD volunteers, except serious consequences.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions!

ATTENTION ALL NIKE VOLUNTEERS!

2005-10-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for another last minute change of information, but the Nike coordinators are giving me a lot of last minute details! At our Tuesday meeting, I said that only Golden Gate Park volunteers have to come to meeting on Friday, but it turns out ALL NIKE VOLUNTEERS MUST BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING. I know this is really last minute, so if you can't make it please contact me ASAP. You have all my contact info! I'll try to meet with you beforehand to give you your t-shirt and your assignment.

I told some of you guys that there won't be assignments for Union Square, but the coordinator just emailed me with a list of assignments. Union Square volunteers will mostly be working in pairs, so please think about who you want to work with. All volunteers will be within walking distance of each other, so don't worry if you aren't paired with your buddies! You'll definitely have plenty of time to hang out with them!

Because we couldn't generate enough interest for the sock station, we will only be doing the Ghiradelli Chocolate Mile. It is crucial that the Ghiradelli and Golden Gate Park are at the meeting this Friday. If you guys don't show up, you can't volunteer.

I'll be sending many emails in the next three days, so please check your email often and ask if you have any questions!

Our Tuesday meeting was extremely hectic, and to make our Friday meeting more efficient and shorter, I'm asking for your cooperation in advance. When you arrive in room 233 at 3:45, please move completely into the room and do not block the doorway. If all the seats are taken, please move toward the center and the sides of the room. Do not stand in front of the board or the doorway. When an officer is presenting information, please give him or her your full attention. We all want to get home ASAP on a Friday, so let's keep this short okay?

Once again, I apologize for the last minute changes. Please contact me ASAP if you have any questions or if you can not make it to the meeting.

Who Are We?!

2005-10-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

With our club growing ever larger, some of you guys may not know who we officers are! Volunteers for the Union Square shift of the Nike Marathon will have to sign in with an officer to receive credit. Because you can't sign in without knowing who we are, here's a visual aid!

Please don't hesitate to approach us with your questions!

Additional Nike Marathon Opportunities!

2005-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry for the hectic meeting today. Here are two new volunteer opportunities for the Nike Marathon! You MUST reply by 10PM TONIGHT if you are interested. Please include your name, reg, and the location we have you down for right now in your reply.

"Pedi-Care" Station in Golden Gate Park
Near J.F.K. Drive & the new de Young Museum
10-12 people
6:15am-12:00pm
You will meet a production team in a nearby parking lot (in the Richmond outside of the park) and they will drive you together to the location in the park. Your volunteers will be giving out 1 pair of new socks to any runner who asks for them. One of our sponsors is organizing this one, so it is very very important that these volunteers are completely reliable.

Ghirardelli "Chocolate Mile"
Lake Merced (John Muir Drive, south side of Lake Merced)
10-12 people
7:15am-1:00pm
You will meet a production team in a nearby parking lot and they will drive you together to the volunteer location. Your volunteers will be giving out chocolate to any runner who asks for it. One of our sponsors has organized this, so again, it is very very important that these volunteers are completely reliable.

Free socks? Free Ghiradelli chocolate? Sounds good to me!

If you sign up and do not show up for these very important events, you will receive VERY severe punishments in addition to the negative credits. You have been warned!

I look forward to your replies.

Nike Marathon: UPDATE

2005-10-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hello there! I just got an update from the Nike Marathon coordinator. Volunteer spots are still open for Union Square from 5AM to 9:30AM. I would really appreciate it if you some of you guys would be wiling to do that shift. The shift is significantly shorter than the Golden Gate Park shift, but you will receive MORE credit! You will receive THREE credits for volunteering at Union Square. That's all the credits you need for this semester! Awesome, no?

UNION SQUARE VOLUNTEERS WILL ALSO RECEIVE A "SPECIAL GIFT" FROM OUR CLUB!

We feel horrible about the whole incident, so we want to make it up to the people who are flexible! I can assure you that the "special gift" will be uber yummy!

Keep in mind that volunteering at Union Square would mean you wouldn't have to deal with sweaty runners! Volunteers will be setting up the race area and helping the runners with their numbers, etc. You guys will also get first dibs on the goodies!

Again, I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. Please consider switching to the Union Square shift. Our club will get $600 if we can get at least 20 people to Golden Gate Park and 40 to Union Square. You guys can expect a big party afterwards!

Please e-mail me with your preference. If we do not get enough people to switch to the Union Square shift, I will have no choice but to cut people off the list. I really don't want to do that, so please be flexible! I appreciate your cooperation. Thanks in advance!

Sign Up for the Treasure Island Triathlon!

2005-10-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I was a little disappointed by the lack of interest in volunteering at the Treasure Island Triathlon. I'm sure the "mandatory meeing" made you guys apprehensive, but I solved the problem! I contacted the volunteers director, and she told me volunteers DO NOT have to attend the meeting. I will be going on your behalf. Now that we've got that issue solved, won't you guys please sign-up?

Let me remind you that this is probably the only chance you'll ever get to receive credit for two clubs for going to one event. Since we are collaborating with Chinese Club on this, you can get one credit for MAD and one for Chinese Club. If you would like, however, you can get both credits for one club.

The Nike Marathon coordinator also contacted me tonight. She only assigned us five intersections. Unfortunately, we have over 70 volunteers signed up. I e-mailed her immediately upon receiving the message, so hopefully we can squeeze in a few extra volunteers. It looks like I'll have to cut volunteers off the list though. If we only have five intersections, the maximum number of volunteers we can bring is 30. Priority will be given to those who have yet to complete their three credit requirements. I'm really sorry about this! Thank you all for your interest and enthusiasm. I will try my best to increase the number of volunteers we can bring. Please check your e-mails often and be sure to come to the mandatory meeting on Tuesday, October 18th at 3:45 in room 233.

If you would like to hear more about the Treasure Island Triathlon, please come to Chinese Club this Thursdays, October 13th at 3:30 in room 216.

Please contact me with any questions or comments. I apologize again for the Nike Marathon!

Nike Marathon Volunteer Confirmation Request

2005-10-11T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! There was some confusion at our meeting today, so we didn't get a chance to confirm with the people who signed up for the Nike Marathon last week. I need to let the coordinator know how many volunteers will be showing up, so please comment or reply with your name and reg if you know you can go for sure! Even if you signed up today, please reply! I need everybody to confirm with me before Thursday, October 13.

We will have a mandatory meeting for all Nike Marathon volunteers next week, Tuesday, October 18 at 3:45 in room 233. This meeting is really important! You will receive your specific assignments for the marathon. You guys will be working in groups of twos or threes, so please think about who you want to work with! If you do not form your own group, we will randomly assign you to a group. Volunteering is a great opportunity to hang out with your buddies!

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me! You can find all our contact information right at the very top of our blog.

Please reply soon!

Treasure Island Triathlon - Sunday, November 6

2005-10-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

HI everyone! I hope everybody's enjoying their four day weekend!! =D

We have another Sunday event for you all! The 2005 Golden Gate Triathlon will be on Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6.

Because the SAT and SAT II will be on Saturday, November 5, we've decided to focus our attention on the Sunday race.

Janet Kang (Assistant Race Director):

We are currently recruiting volunteers to help with all aspects of the course on race day. We'd love to have MAD Lowell get a group together to sponsor an aid station or certain area of the course on one (or both!) days.

I am aware that most of our members have already satisfied the three volunteers credit requirement for this semester, but everyone should keep in mind that there may not be nearly as many big event opportunities, like marathons, in the Spring. Everybody should take advantage of these fun opportunities while they still can!

For the first time ever, MAD will be collaborating with Chinese Club! Chinese Club meets every Thursday at 3:30 in room 110. To get active credit for Chinese Club, members must attend 70% of the weekly meetings and complete two volunteer projects per semester. Volunteering at the triathlon will count for two Chinese Club volunteer credits. Because MAD will also be giving two event credits for the triathlon, members of both clubs can split the credits - one event credit for Chinese Club and one for MAD! Awesome, no?

On the the week before the triathlon, all volunteers MUST attend an orientation at the Presidio Sports Basement, (610 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94129) across from Crissy Field. The date is TBA, so be sure to check back for details!

Go to the Treasure Island Triathlon homepage, scroll down the left sidebar and click on "Map and Directions" for the exact location. We will have specific directions (and maybe a map) available as the date of the triathlon draws nearer. Volunteers must stay at Treasure Island for the duration of the race, from 7 AM to 1 PM, as the roads will be closed. We will be working at aid stations, and our duties will include passing water and gatorade out to the athletes, etc.

Our club will receive a small monetary donation from Tri-California, the organization in charge of the Treasure Island Triathlon, so everybody should sign up!

We will begin sign-ups at MAD on Tuesday, October 11 at 3:45 in room 233 and at Chinese Club on Thursday, October 13 at 3:30 in room 216. If you have any additional questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Trick or Treat for UNICEF boxes are still available, so if you're interested please comment or reply with your name/reg or come to our meeting on Tuesday. You can still sign-up for the Nike Marathon, so be sure to attend our meeting!

You can also comment with your name/reg/email to sign-up for any of our events if you cannot attend our meetings.

I hope to see you all on Tuesday!

Trick or Treat for UNICEF: Box Shortage Update

2005-10-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hey there! I apologize for the shortage of UNICEF collection boxes at our meeting today - I hadn't expected such a large crowd! The more the merrier, so continue to spread the word!

A shipment of UNICEF boxes was sent to my house today, but nobody was home to sign for it. I'm afraid the people who didn't get their boxes will have to wait a little longer! The boxes will be sent to you through your reg ASAP.

If you did not put a "star" next to your name on the sign-in sheet to indicate not receiving the box, please comment with your NAME and REG NUMBER.

Thanks, and happy fundraising!

Reminder: The boxes are due at our Tuesday, November 1 meeting!