By Soleil Shah
Among the many clubs offered at Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS), Giving Hope is a club that holds sentimental value to its founder. Dani Conk, a senior at PVHS, founded Giving Hope during her junior year. Although Conk knew starting a club from scratch would be time consuming, she believed forming this club would be an excellent use of her time, and a great way to participate in an activity she enjoys: making cards. Conk first got the idea when she found out her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Conk remembers times when she was little, and her grandmother would look after her. They would often craft together and do sewing projects because of their natural creativity. Conk recalls making houses for her dolls as a child as well as other hands-on projects. Conk treasures the bonding time that she had with her grandmother, especially now that her grandmother is incapable of spending quality time with her due to the worsening condition. Since the diagnoses, making crafts have become more difficult for them to do together. Conk’s grandmother is no longer able to use her hands to sew and craft.
Conk’s club originally started off as a card making club, where members would make handmade cards that would be sent to places such as the senior citizens’ homes and Wolfson’s Children’s Hospital. Service hours would be given according to the number of cards produced by the member. Conk said the most difficult part of starting the club was “getting it out of my head.” Once she got her sponsor Dr. Chen, Conk was set to start recruiting members. Currently, Giving Hope has ten members. Conk even uses incentives such as food to get members to come. During the week before Thanksgiving break, Conk partnered with one of her teachers and offered students the opportunity to make cards in place of their attendance on the last days before break.
Recently, Conk has been able to merge her club Giving Hope with her position as secretary of the National Honor Society (NHS). By combing the two, members of NHS can now participate in projects with NHS and Giving Hope, all while receiving community service hours. Conk’s current project is the Daniel Kids Event. NHS members are required to donate items for the giving tree, and they also have the option to make cards “to have an even greater impact on Daniels Kids.” Conk hopes this Christmas event will have a great effect in the community and expose more PVHS students to making cards for Giving Hope.
Conk is very proud of her achievements as secretary of NHS and founder of Giving Hope. She says that she especially enjoys “the fact that you get to do something out of your comfort zone” and make a positive impact on people. Conk has no officer positions in her club because she likes the idea of having all her peers equal in the club. Conk is excited about the new possibilities of higher impact projects now that Giving Hope has partnered with NHS. Conk began crafting early in her life just as a hobby with her grandmother, and now her talent has been transformed into a successful cause at Ponte Vedra High School.
Pictured: Cards from Giving Hope members
