The second-year club at Oakdale High, “because I said I would”, is based on an inspiring non-profit organization. This organization is all about making and staying with promises while helping people.
Club Advisor Ronald Socash explained that the club “expands into [our] culture as far as how we take care of our promises on a societal level.”
Club President and Founder Hebsiba Kim mentioned that, “I really think it’s important that when you say something, you keep your word for that promise. It’s important for everyone to value promises.”
Kim believes that it’s important to make promises bigger than, “I’m going to do my homework,” and instead make a promise to stop a bad habit you may have.
Club Member and Sophomore Tasimba Parirenyatwa, thinks the club is an inspiring place because you can help people who are in need. The program sets up service projects including teaching honesty, accountability, and self-control. Last year the club did a sock drive and a candy drive at our school to help people in need.
“because I said I would” is a program that is not just at Oakdale, but in schools and places all throughout the nation. When creating this movement, the founder Alex Sheen, was inspired by his father, who was a man of his word.. The idea started out as something small, like sending promise cards to people, but ended up turning into something a lot bigger than Sheen could have imagined.
Kim was inspired to bring the program to Oakdale when she saw a TED talk while at a leadership conference. She says, “We saw the video and I recognized it touched a lot of people at the conference, so I thought why not bring it to Oakdale.”
Both Socash and Kim liked how the first meeting went because everyone got to know each other. However, they couldn’t do everything they wanted to since the meeting location changed from the cafeteria to the gym. Socash noted, “Normally, it would be in the cafeteria, so we’ll have more time to display some things and run a video if we have one for them to watch.
The “because I said I would” club is a great way for students to learn accountability while helping others. The club meets during fifth block on club days, so if you don’t already have a fifth block club, and want to make a difference, contact Socash today.
