Asset building is alive and well in the Pleasanton Unified School District of Pleasanton, California. The district’s asset-building organization, Club 40, involves students of all ages that volunteer to help organize events and programs throughout the district to help spread the word about assets and teach about service-learning. Jennifer Roush, a counselor at Foothill High School and the Got Assets? initiative leader, says that the club is “not just a leadership group. We want everyone to be able to be involved, all different types of students—-doesn’t matter who you are, we want you.”
Abby Johnson, the organizer of Club 40 and a counselor at Lydiksen elementary school, has watched the program grow from a few elementary school classes and middle school service-learning groups to a district-wide initiative that has global aspirations: “We decided that, as an initiative, this year we would do something that would be local, [something] a little bit outside the community, and then something worldwide.”
Read a profile of Club 40 from ABC News
When the club was given an opportunity to make a difference in the world outside of their school community, the students and staff reacted with enthusiasm. Roush found out that Sergeant Jim McGuirk, a veteran who had attended Lydiksen elementary, was looking for someone to make holiday cards for veterans that would be distributed through Veterans Affairs. Johnson, thinking that this project would be a great fit for Club 40, helped organize a district-wide project to provide the VA with letters and cards to distribute to veterans. The level of coordination was impressive, requiring students of all ages to participate; it was “really neat that everyone came together,” said Roush of the project.
Soon, elementary school children were writing cards for the veterans and middle schoolers were writing poems and “Dear Soldier” and “Dear Veteran” letters. High school students planned and coordinated the event, in addition to making a scrapbook to commemorate it. Johnson also brought the asset-building message to the classroom by teaching the “Care Package” lesson from Building Assets Is Elementary in several classes. According to Johnson, every eighth-grade student in Mrs. Comstock’s class at Pleasanton Middle School wrote notes and poems, and made cards for the veterans.
Thank a veteran with an electronic message
But the students didn’t stop there. Fourth- and fifth-grade special education students made a welcome sign and a handprint wreath for veterans visiting the school. One young student and his sister, after hearing the “Care Package” lesson, baked a cake and made cards for their next-door-neighbor, a Vietnam veteran. “No one has ever done anything like this for me,” said the neighbor, in tears. “This is the 40 asset message,” said Johnson of the compassion shown by the two Pleasanton students. “This to me is just the icing on the cake where I say to myself ‘it just doesn’t get any better than this.’”
When Sergeant McGuirk came to Lydiksen to pick up the cards and letters, some were read aloud. Johnson describes the scene as being very emotional: “There was not a dry eye in the room. It was just so awesome and so meaningful and so touching.”
Club 40’s positive effect on the community—-and the world—-is a superb example of the power of youth and adults working together for a common cause. This district-wide program has the students and the teachers excited—-Johnson reports that the club has not missed a week of meetings. “The kids are so hyped up and so looking forward to it.” This excitement and enthusiasm is what keeps the club going strong.
Though the club has made a significant impact through its events and programs, Johnson sees even greater things for Club 40 in the future. “My dream job is to be doing 40 assets my entire day,” she said when asked if she faced any challenges facilitating the group. She envisions getting the asset message out to an even greater audience: “The community needs to know, in these difficult economic times, we’ve got to spread the assets. Kids need us now more than ever.”
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