by Riley Sandoval ‘22

Club creator, senior Anna Tovchigrechko, leads an interactive Helping Hands club meeting for members on November 5 during the lunch period in regards to its upcoming activities and events.

Helping Hands is a student-led organization run by senior Anna Tovchigrechko. The club aims to help marginalized groups in the community through their projects with twelve chapters in other schools. Helping Hands is currently working on a card making project to send to elderly homes impacted by the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Tovchigrechko started the club in April 2020 with her own family in mind, and initiated the first handmade cards project. During quarantine, the club sent over 1,000 cards to nearby nursing homes and raised awareness on Covid-19’s impact using infographics on social media. Helping Hands continued the handmade cards project by sending holiday cards to homeless shelters in 2020, and bringing it back to life with in-person card making.
As a club that was started during quarantine, being back in-person has been positive for the club. Tovchigrechko mentioned how online meetings often felt one-sided with little participation or feedback. Whereas, “It’s so much more fun making cards together in one room as opposed to sitting by yourself making cards during online school,” explained Tovchigrechko.

The club also raised almost $7,000 for the Angel Tree Program of the nonprofit Prison Fellowship. This project provided Christmas presents to children of incarcerated parents in the United States. Through more infographics on social media and an interview with actress Anna Sophia Robb on Instagram Live, Helping Hands helped spread awareness on the different factors contributing to incarceration and the impacts on the families of those in prison.

Tovchigrechko has shared her story of having had a loved one in prison with club members and hopes to hold another fundraiser with Prison Fellowship to spread more awareness now that school is back in-person. She intends to reach a wider audience in-person and help other students impacted by incarceration feel less alone.
The club also hosted a fundraiser in collaboration with the Alliance for Period Supplies and Future OB-GYN’s to provide menstrual products to those in need. In addition to another fundraiser with Prison Fellowship, Helping Hands plans to hold a clothing drive and send cards to hospitals.

“I really enjoy this club because not only am I helping people, it is an overall good environment … It feels people aren’t only helping just to have a club on their college application, but because they want to help,” said junior Abe Kesetebrhan. Helping Hands meets every Friday in the little theater with SSL opportunities. All students are encouraged to check it out.