New Members of December, 2023

Sean Wang, Lucas Wang – Class of 2025

Audrey Tang, Richard Guo – Class of 2026

Abigail Ly – Class of 2030 and Beyond

Welcome our 5 new members of December 2023! GLIFY now has 445 active members. We hope you all will enjoy the volunteering opportunities and exciting programs GLIFY offers. As a reminder, feel free to invite your friends to volunteer together by filling out the member registration form.

Holiday Greetings from the Co-Presidents

As 2023 draws to a close, we would like to thank everyone for their efforts and dedication this past year. 2023 has been an amazing year for GLIFY and our members. We’ve seen a lot of growth, not just in numbers, but also in everyone’s enthusiasm to serve our community. We continued to partner with local organizations for volunteering, fundraising, and hosting events, but we’ve also gained new initiatives and projects as the year progressed. New projects included the Coding Club’s STEM kits, Debate Camp, and Eco Alliance etc.. Over 400 GLIFY members volunteered more than 8,000 hours this past year. We also had 73 GLIFY members qualify for the President’s Volunteer Service Award, and their accomplishments were celebrated at the annual PVSA ceremony in October. In addition to volunteering, GLIFY continued to donate to various non-profit organizations while also starting new initiatives to fundraise. Through the FUNDrive Fundraiser program in the spring and fall, we’ve been able to raise over $1,000 for our organization. We’re very grateful for the support we’ve received from other organizations this year, as well as our members’ hard work and dedication throughout 2023. We wish everyone a happy New Year, and we’re excited to continue our work in 2024!

– Eric Xiao and Victoria Xu

Eco Alliance

Eco Alliance is a new initiative within GLIFY that focuses on collecting and recycling CRV bottles and aluminum cans to improve our local environmental conditions. With the collection period of 1/1/2024 – 1/12/2024 right around the corner, 37 volunteers have gathered around 80 bags of bottles and cans. There is still time to sign up to donate bags, and in the future, we plan to host around four Eco Alliance donation drives per year, so make sure to be on the lookout for that in 2024!

News and Updates

Adopt a Senior

This year, GLIFY members adopted 36 seniors. Some volunteers made crafts and bought gifts for the seniors, then other volunteers hand-delivered the gifts. This year, several volunteers helped CityServe assemble gift bags as well. The seniors were all very happy and greatly enjoyed GLIFY members’ creative gifts and thoughtful cards. We hope you will join us next year to help spread holiday joy to seniors!

– Sophia Henningsen

Family Giving Tree

During this holiday season, GLIFY volunteers helped spread joy by volunteering for Family Giving Tree. 35 GLIFY members donated gifts, then for 6 shifts in December, around 40 members helped sort, wrap, organize, and pack gifts. These gifts were then sent to many places around the Bay Area to low-income families and children to fulfill their Christmas wishes!

– Francesca Lin

Fertile Groundworks

GLIFY had 5 volunteers at Fertile Groundworks in Livermore on the 9th of December. In the last session, the volunteers prepared plant beds. First, they used pitchforks to turn the soil. Then, they scattered fertilizer over it and added a layer of compost. Afterward, they turned the soil again and spread mulch over the top. Finally, they watered down the bed. Overall, the event was pretty successful, and the volunteers accomplished a lot in those three hours. Thank you to all who came and we hope to see you next time!

– Eric Xiao

Winter Math Workshop

The GLIFY Winter Math Workshop, led by a team of 4 high school volunteers, offered targeted support to middle school students preparing for the AMC 8 and Mathcounts competitions. The program covered a variety of topics ranging from algebra to geometry to counting and more. For example, in the last session we covered basic algebra principles such as Vieta’s formulas and quadratics. The program also focused on instilling a passion forompetitive math and building a strong foundation for success. We hope you will join us next year!

– Alex Liao

Featured Projects

Placement Test Workshop

The Math Placement Test Workshop is here! The workshop will serve as a crucial foundation for students seeking to build a strong mathematical skill set and prepare for more advanced mathematics. The workshop is designed to bridge the gap between basic arithmetic and more complex algebraic concepts, providing students with the essential knowledge and problem-solving skills necessary for success in mathematics and the middle school placement test students take in 5th grade. Throughout the course, students will be tested on their knowledge and will be able to develop critical skills in Prealgebra and Algebra to use in their math placement test for most middle schools. During these sessions, instructors will encourage active participation and make sure that all students can gain a thorough understanding of the concepts taught. Students can sign up at this link.

San Lorenzo Family Help Center

San Lorenzo Family Help Center was founded over 30 years ago. Since then, it has been feeding those in need on a near-daily basis. This non-profit is not like any other food distribution. Led by Joshua Wu, it runs off of a pick-what-you-need type system, where all the available products are laid out in a row, with volunteers guiding those in need to select which types and quantities of each item to pick up. There are events on the first Saturday of every month, with a total of 9 volunteers. GLIFY volunteers have fed over 100 families in just the last event. It is an extremely fun and informative experience.