The Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) celebrated its annual Servathon event on Jan. 25. Students and staff from all over the district came together to celebrate their communities and give back through volunteering and civic engagement, with each school having a variety of service events on their campus.
Servathon, honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, hosts students from clubs and organizations across AUHSD to organize and participate in community service events. Past Servathon events at Oxford have included blood drives, creating cards for senior citizens, and donating to animal shelters.
One popular event at Oxford this year was a collaboration between OA Key Club (OAKC) and Culinary Club to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for those in need. “[We] provide food for the homeless shelter in Long Beach…I know they don’t get as many donations during this time of year [so] they [are] really grateful for our donation,” said Culinary Club President senior Keerat Sidhu.
Similarly, another club that made food for those in need was the OA Japanese Club (OAJC), who’s event focused on making onigiri rice balls to donate to the Long Beach Rescue Mission. The club assembled over 100 rice balls in under two hours, using a strategy to make the rice balls efficiently.
“If you think about the people you’d like to help, and you want to support them to help out your community, that should give you a lot of motivation to reach the [service] goal,” said OAJC President sophomore Sakura-Iyota Nguyen.
Another event that attracted both students and local community members was an electronic waste drive hosted by OA Robotics, in collaboration with the Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO), which collected old electronics, used batteries, and other electronic waste to be safely disposed of or recycled.
“Servathon, as a whole, is a really good opportunity for volunteer hours, of course, but also it’s
like a way to help the community…A lot of the different clubs here offer opportunities for you to give back and support,” said OA Robotics Vice President junior Theodore Vang.
Other service events hosted at Oxford included a collaboration between OA Red Cross and HOSA–Future Health Professionals to assemble dental hygiene and first aid kits, a birdhouse-painting event hosted by OA Art Club to donate to Desert Christ State Park, and an event hosted by the Animal Care Team to make dog beds and toys to donate to local shelters.
Some highlighted service events from other campuses across the district were the creation of a community “zen garden” at Loara High School and a pet food drive for Los Angeles wildfire victims at Walker Junior High School.
These community service events serve to remind students and staff to be grateful for the opportunities and services that are available to them.
“Servathon is a great way to give back and is accessible towards a variety of service projects. I believe engaging in these activities on this special day helps bring our community together and really show what students could do despite the limitations or circumstances they’re in,” said OAKC President junior Angela Tran.
