Last year, senior Abigail Alvarez noticed that her senior friends wanted to get involved in clubs and volunteering but “didn’t really know how to.” Her peers all had the same problem: with the pandemic and the new building, it had been hard for them to adjust to high school.

Alvarez saw this and thought, “You know what, let me do something that could help you or benefit you.”

So she started the Beautification Club, a volunteer-based club focused on helping kids. The name for the club was inspired by the joy Alvarez finds in service.

“I realized what a beautiful act it was to help others,” Alvarez said. “It’s such a wonderful thing for people to take time out of their day to help the community in need. It’s a beautiful service, a beautiful action. And so that’s where ‘beautification’ came to my head. Beautifying our soul and beautifying the school and just overall making these good decisions and helping other people, even when we may be in need ourselves. The name ‘beautification’ rang, and it stuck. I couldn’t have chosen any other name.”

Alvarez posted about her new club on her Instagram story toward the end of last school year, and her friends soon began to express interest in joining. Senior Samantha Corona, one of Alvarez’s friends from middle school, was immediately ready to help her, and Beautification Club members later elected Corona as the club’s secretary on Sept. 30.

“I saw [the post] and was like, ‘I’m going to support her,’” Corona said. “‘Whatever it is, I am going to support you either way.’ I think that most of us take everything for granted, so I want to help other people have what I have.”

The club’s focus came after seniors in the club expressed excitement about revisiting their old elementary schools.

“I love little kids, and I noticed a lot of people do too,” Alvarez said. “A lot of seniors would ask what we’re going to do, and I saw that a lot of things that involve working with children inspire them more. It’s more heartwarming to work with kids, and it gives more drive and motivation.”

This was Alvarez’s first time starting a club, and she said the process has been both “stressful” and “scary.”

“I didn’t want to fail anybody,” Alvarez said. “I don’t really have much guidance. Like the first fundraiser, it didn’t go as planned. We didn’t have as many people who were able to come. Some elementaries weren’t able to pass out flyers, and our sponsor had a meeting she had to go to, so we had to cut it short. But I didn’t want anyone to not enjoy it or to feel like all the effort we put into it was not enough.”

To relieve some pressure, Alvarez has been transparent with her club members about potential mistakes she might make as she navigates this experience.

“I told them at the very beginning of the school year that we were starting this club from scratch and that this is my first time starting a club,” Alvarez said. “Even if there were some mess-ups, at the very least, we would be able to do it together and learn together.”

Alvarez brainstorms ideas with her club members and sponsor and reaches out to local elementary schools to decide Beautification Club’s activities and events. So far, the club raised money through a Halloween fundraiser, set up a face-painting booth for Project Santa and made goodie bags and volunteered at an event called Navidad en el Barrio for children in need.

The club started off with a “high number” of about 40 members, but the meeting attendance has since dropped to a “loyal few” of 10-15 students at every meeting. However, Alvarez considers this a good thing, especially as club members prepared for their fundraiser.

“We were all there throwing ideas at each other, sharing supplies, talking and laughing,” Alvarez said. “People even took time out of their lunch to come work on [posters]. It was nice to see. We get to know each other one-on-one. Everyone’s involved. You grow together.”

Despite the wavering attendance to meetings, Alvarez continues to be patient with her club and its members.

Sophomore Yanelis Ayala said that Alvarez’s personality has made the club helpful, fun and entertaining.

“Abby’s always a fun and open-minded person,” Ayala said. “She makes people comfortable around her.”

Alvarez is still finding ways to “put the club out there” and emphasized that the Beautification Club is inclusive. She hopes that students who consider joining her club see it as an opportunity to join a community, build their college applications and do something for the greater good.

“You get to work with other people,” Alvarez said. “You get to make bonds. We try to do things during school and on the weekends so everybody can participate. It’s also a good way to find your crowd. We have all types of people. We don’t have any requirements to join. It’s what comes out of your heart to do it.”

The Beautification Club meets every other Friday during all of Cardinal Hour in Room 3721. Its Remind code is @gkdka9 and its Instagram is @the.beautificationclub.