Volunteering

Volunteering! When I am not dancing or doing school work, I volunteer. I work consistently with three main organizations: City of Hope, Kizuna, and Pasadena Humane Society. With City of Hope, I help educate kids on the great fun of science through simple home experiences (more found in my City of Hope page).

I started working with Kizuna about four years ago (since in eight grade), volunteering as a summer camp counselor. Everyday from 8am to 6pm for one week, I directed kids to their different activities for the day. I led workshops and kept the kids entertained during breaks and lunch. Through this, I met some amazing counselors, some of who I am still in contact with today. I also met some amazing children; I still keep my popsicle stick drawings in my keepsake box. Throughout the week, I watched some of the most shy kids open up around me, leaving the camp as a whole new person. This was definetely the most rewarding part of the entire journey. But most importantly, I learned to never underestimate the responsibiliities of children and how draining childcare is.

As for my work with the Pasadena Humane Society, I began working with the organization just prior to the start of the pandemic in Feburary of 2020. Given that circumstance, my work began solely with remote projects that I could complete virtually (sending emails to volunteers). Therefore as my volunteering continued, I naturally shifted into doing more internal work, like addressing letters to patrons and donors or volunteering at the PHS organized events, rather than directly working with the animals and the trainers. My volunteering with PHS stems from my love for animals, specifically dogs. When I was two years old, my family adopted a Pembroke Welsh Corgi which we named Kaiby. I grew up alongside Kaiby, being the same age as her (in human years). When I was in middle school and we were both around twelve years old, Kaiby passed. She truly inspired my love for dogs, and is the reason why I chose to work with the Pasadena Humane Society.