Club Kindness

Group 6

Our Mission: Spread Kindness Around Like Confetti !!

Children immigrants in our community should feel welcomed.

The Issue:

Our issue is about making immigrant children in our community feel welcome. In other words, we want to help these children feel included at schools and in their homes. As an example, some immigrant students at school don’t feel like others care about them, which can lead to potential drop-outs and bad grades. This causes them to not have a complete education, therefore the chances of getting a good job are low for these particular situations.

The main issue, also called our root cause, is that these immigrant children don’t feel safe in our community because their life is completely different than it was before in their home countries, and children who already live here are not making it any easier on them. With this in mind, we want to help these children in any way we can.

The Evidence:

Over three million immigrant children struggle to cope with things that most children find trivial. They also have a difficult time getting back into school.
According to the 2015 U.S census data, 25% of students are immigrants.
Immigrant students account for 30% of public school students fall below the poverty line.
Immigrant families often forego health inspections because they are scared.
From 2007 to 2011 immigrant children in poverty increased by 42%.
Child immigrants are at a greater risk of abuse, trafficking, and exploitation.
The amount of people under 19 living in a country that they weren't born in rose by 8 million in the last 20 years.

Take Action:

For our project, we have decided to take action in our community to organize a club that offers friendship, mentorship, and opportunities for immigrant children. Our organization is named 'Club Kindness.' The mission of Club Kindness is to bring children of different cultures together. This club will provide a safe environment for immigrant and American children to understand each other and become friends. The club will take place at lunch or after school. We will need student volunteers, and a translator if necessary. The volunteers in this club will help plan fun activities for the children to bond over. To implement Club kindness, we will need the help of school principals, PTA, and the school board. We hope that this club can bring children of all cultures together, help them learn, and understand each other. So please help us “spread kindness around like confetti!”

The Interviews:

We also interviewed people in our community to gather more insight about our issue:

| Sarah-Accounting Major-22 years old |

-How would you solve our issue?

“ I think doing a club or something like a support system is a good idea. I think incorporating student volunteers who are not immigrants would be important so it is more of a together thing. “

-Who would you ask to help solve our issue?

“ I would say a principal but mostly a counselor because the counselor works more on the kids experience and feelings. “

-What are your questions about our issue?

“Will you have this in all schools? Like Elementary, Middle, and High school?”

| Rachael-Accounting Major-20 years old |

-What do you know about immigrants?

“Well I have friends that are immigrants and they are bilingual because their parents are immigrants.”

-Do you have any questions about what we are doing?

“Yes. What are you going to do to solve this issue in your school?”
We are going to organize a club and organize a class to help them understand English and to make friends. Also anyone who wants to join can but it’s mainly for the immigrant children.

-If you were in our situation who would you ask for help?

“I would ask the parents for help and the principal because I think they would be able to help the most.”

What We Learned:

Lydia: "This week I learned that it is very important to help everyone feel welcome in their community, whether that be immigrants, or just regular citizens in the community."

Madilyn: "I learned that immigrants in our community aren't always feeling welcome. Their life has changed completely. They need friends, mentors, and opportunities. WE CAN HELP THEM!"

Kendal: "I learned that immigrant children do not always feel welcome in our community. A lot of people overlook immigration and don't think it is an important issue."

Avery: "I learned that immigrant children are sometimes separated from their parents. I also learned that there are over 3 million immigrant children in the United States."

Amelie: "I have learned that a lot of people overlook immigration and think that it is bad. I have also learned that we need to inform others that immigration isn't bad."

Josilyn: "I learned that immigrant children sometimes feel different and lonely in their new school."

Avy: "This week I learned about being an advocate in our community and learned that we have a voice. Coming to camp was a lot of fun, and I really want to come back next year."