“Make a Pledge” positively impacts campus
Sponsored by Saddleback’s Associated Student Government (ASG), the “Make A Pledge” Campaign that took place on Sept 23 was created to encourage students to better themselves, their school, their communities and the world.
The goal was to provide students with volunteer & educational opportunities and to get involved in the world around them.
“I am unsure how many people participated in the event itself, but after speaking with the various organizations present, there was a good amount of students who signed up to volunteer with the organization,” Shay Sharp, ASG’s director of clubs and organizations said. “There wasn’t an organization that didn’t receive at least one sign up, which is awesome and organizations that received a good ten-fifteen signups,” Sharp said.
She added that Saddleback clubs also received a lot of interest from students. Clubs received anywhere from five to thirty sign-ups.
“I’d call that a success! Even if only one student was inspired to join an organization or club, there is no way of telling what their ripple effect could be so, I think it was a great success!” said Sharp. “About forty people participated in making a pledge and there were various different types of pledges.”
She says that some of the categories of pledges covered : personal addiction, life long goals, careers, travel and volunteering.
“Personally, I think it was a success in that many students took the initiative to ask about the pledge wall and write a pledge,” sharp said.
She explained that showing their interest indicates that they care about the school community and their environment.
“It’s not so much the amount of people who pledged or participated that made it a success but that those who did participate appeared to take the pledge seriously and with deep thought,” Sharp said.
She mentioned that many students took five or ten minutes to come up with their “pledge.” With each “pledge,” students picked a color of fabric that best matched their “pledge” and pinned it to the wall. For example, one student chose a dark yellow, symbolic of the sands of the desert, to represent their “pledge” to continue to help our troops. Many students chose red to signify love. The concept was to show students how, by making a pledge, they were adding their “little” piece to the fabric of society.
“Our hope in providing students with a “take away” of a piece of paper and a swab of fabric was to keep them thinking about their pledge even after the day of the event and the hardest part of any pledge is to put it into action,” Sharp said.
She says that ASG is planning on hanging the pledge wall in one of the windows that is visible from the quad and the idea is to remind students of their pledge throughout the rest of the semester and the year.
“Congratulations, Saddleback Students! Making a pledge and signing up to participate in a club, organization, or cause is the first step in producing change and making a better difference in our world! It might sound cheesy, but really, it’s true. Excellent job, Gauchos!” Sharp said.
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Pledges
“I pledge to volunteer my time to make a difference for others, and prioritize my goals” -Michael
“I pledge to devote my life to my husband and the environment” -Drew
“I pledge to make a difference in this world in honor of Professor Merrifield” -Shayan
“I pledge to make my family proud” -Ethan
“I pledge to give HUGS not drugs” -Jered
“I pledge to get a job” -Christie
“I pledge to help make a diference in people’s lives” -Isabel
“I pledge to give myself a chance” -Kristen
“I pledge to bring clean water to all villages” -Lydia
“I pledge to make someone simile everyday” -Sarvy
“I pledge to treat my community with value and give those who seek a hand my help” -Margarette
“I pledge to be a lover not a hater” -Mike
“I pledge not to snort cocaine & proceed with my education” -Anonymous
“I pledge to stay involved in life” -Joe
“I pledge to help our nations’ veterans!” -Ransom
“I pledge to get a 4.0 GPA Fall 2013” -Robert
“I pledge to spread awareness and equality around the community” -Shaylee