Key Club

Open those cupboards, grab some peas, beans, rice and or pasta, and get them over to the Salvation Army. That simple act could be the first step to making a difference in people?s lives. Just ask Salvation Army representatives, who are seeing a 60% increase in the volume of clients coming to the army?s relief center for food and are running low on supplies. The bottom line is, at a time when economy is taking a sever dip, the Salvation Army is hurting, and needs food staples to keep up with the demand.

Campus clubs and organizations gathered together Saturday to hold Glendale High School's first Think Blue Concert for UNICEF. Arranged by members of the school's newest club, Friends Across Borders, the concert, car wash and cookout was part of the club's continuing and singular effort to raise money for UNICEF, a charity focused on service to children around the world. "We just started this club not knowing what it was going to be like," said Friends Across Borders Co-President Viannca Montesino, 16. "We had these big, major ideas, not knowing if it was going to be possible, but we have made it possible."

Crescenta Valley High School's Key Club members help distribute toys to needy children.Ellen McNeill put a variety of toys ranging from trucks to stuffed animals in a plastic bag and waited to hand it out to boys and girls. "I really like helping kids," the high school freshman said. Ellen and 16 students from Crescenta Valley High School's Key Club volunteered their time on Saturday to help distribute toys to needy children and their families at the Salvation Army in Glendale.

Kiwanis program in the mountains aims to train local children to be leaders at home.GLENDALE -- Despite summer's passing, local children are still going to camp. That's what 16 students from Rosemont Middle School will be doing this weekend in the San Bernardino mountains as part of a Kiwanis International leadership program. "The Key Leader program is really for youth who take school and community service seriously," said Laura Rivera, co-advisor of the Rosemont Middle School Builders Club.

Benjamin Blackburn, 14, the son of Regina Robinson and Gary Blackburn of Glendale, recently won an essay contest on "Tolerance," sponsored by the Glendale Sunrise Rotary, in cooperation with the Japanese American National Museum and the Glendale Unified School District. Benjamin will be a 10th-grader in the fall at Crescenta Valley High School. He also won the Distinguished Student Award for English for all of ninth grade at CV this year. Benjamin also received a Scholar Athlete Achievement Award for Cross Country for students who have a 3.5 GPA and higher, and have lettered in a sport.

Robert Chacon Carly Naples is no stranger to the spotlight. As a dancer, the La Canada High School junior has appeared on stage, screen and in music videos with the likes of Will Smith, Fiona Apple and The Wiggles. Her latest role, however, is a little closer to home. She was crowned last month as Miss La Canada Flintridge by the La Canada Flintridge Chamber of Commerce. The 16-year-old doesn't dance professionally anymore, opting instead to devote more time to her school work and social life.

KEY CLUB COLLECTS FOOD FOR NEEDY Key Club members from Burbank High School recently went door to door throughout Burbank collecting nonperishable food items for Project HOPE (Helping Other People Eat). Key Club is the high school group of the Kiwanis Club. The Key Club will be helping to pack the canned goods and donating $200 to Project HOPE. People who want to contribute to Project HOPE can mail checks to the Burbank Coordinating Council, P.O. Box 10126, Burbank, CA 91510.

Five Foothill-area high school seniors-Artia Moghbel of Clark Magnet High School, Seong Jin Moon of Crescenta Valley High School, and Michael Caswell, Katherine Hurlbutt, and Jessica Luttkus, of La Cañada High School-will be presented as the 2004 recipients of the Christopher A. Burrows Memorial Scholar-ship at a dinner following the foundation's annual golf and tennis tournament May 18. These students were chosen because of their high level of...

Gary Moskowitz This fall, when Nayiri Gharibian enrolls at USC, it won't be the first time she will be the new kid on the block. Gharibian, who has a 4.6 grade-point average, was Glendale High School's Class of 2003 valedictorian. Before enrolling at the school as a freshman, she attended St. Gregory's Alfred & Marguerite Hovsepian Armenian School in Pasadena, so when she walked down Glendale High's hallways for the first time, she felt like a stranger.

Laura Sturza Though foot pain had curtailed regular walking activities, Cheryl Marsh was trekking the three-mile route of La Canada Flintridge Preparatory School's Sunday American Cancer Society fund-raiser. "Probably half my friends, more than half, have breast cancer," said Marsh, the parent of Flintridge sophomore Evan Smith. But her feet were holding up well, and she was enjoying the exercise and time with her son, Marsh said. Some of the 35 participants said they appreciate the support they received from the community.