Club Focus: Around the World

The Around the World Club, currently advised by Ms. Catherine Plecenik, donates money to causes all over the world. In October, they collected money for Breast Cancer Research by putting pink donation cups in classrooms throughout the school.

The club began a few years ago when history teacher Mr. TJ Sugimoto and Armijo student Jackie Elder developed it. Elder graduated and Mr. Sugimoto moved so students approached Ms. Plecenik and asked her if she would take over.

While Ms. Plecenik is the adviser, the club is completely student-focused. They do the research on the organizations and then vote on which ones to represent and collect donations for. The students currently running the club are President Lucia Munoz, Vice President Aaliyah Glasper and Officer-at-Large Leila Walton. The Around the World Club “meets on Mondays so it’s always a good ending to my day,” said Ms. Plecenik.

The Around the World Club donates 100% of its funds to the cause that they are focused on. While they generally do some research to select the organizations they want to support, the club members do have some traditions. Collecting for October’s Breast Cancer Awareness, for example, provides a free mammogram for every $100 donated and the collections at Armijo have provided many of these over the years.

Ms. Plecenik said that the Around the World Club teaches students empathy, organization, communication, and friendship. It’s a very close club even though it’s a large one, with over 30 members. The students dedicate their Mondays to finding new organizations to donate to and potentially save lives.