by Marcia Claudia Garcia-Rada ’14

Give. Love. Hope., a club that promotes volunteerism, arrived at Sherwood this past November when sophomores Jamilah Silver and Julia Gajewski-Nemes established it.  “The club started when [we] realized that not enough students actually go out to the community and volunteer,” said Silver.

The club was designed so that students make a difference in the community by actually volunteering in it, rather than simply arranging several fundraisers, as the majority of clubs at Sherwood do. “I really enjoy this club because I am able to get service hours, while hanging out with my friends.  It feels good to know I’m helping the community,” said sophomore Sonali Gupta.

Give. Love. Hope. has already organized and completed several activities including delivering canned goods to homeless families in the area and gift wrapping at a local mall to raise money to support National Institute of Health (NIH) research. “My favorite activity was wrapping presents at the mall because we got help raise funds … while getting in the Christmas spirit,” said Gupta.

Throughout the year, the club hopes to  make trips to several different soup kitchens and homeless shelters around Montgomery County.  They also intend to volunteer at Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, which is a nonprofit organization that distributes food and educates and advocates to eliminate hunger.

“Our hope is that starting this club would not only bring the students at Sherwood closer together, but bring them closer to the community,” said Gajewski-Nemes.

The club meets approximately one to two times a month in club sponsor, Xaviera Gutiérrez’s room, G242.