Pockets of goodness
By Vishaka Priyan ‘26
Courtesy of Elise Kim and Audrey Tsai (Left most and right most)
In 2023, we faced various challenges, from international conflicts to growing political divides. While it's easy to be absorbed in the negativity, as we enter the new year, I aim to focus on the positive aspects of each day. According to this article by the Greater Good Magazine, “being exposed to fear-inducing stimuli over and over again can make us feel helpless, which is not good for our personal well-being or for society as a whole.”
Despite being overshadowed, there are pockets of goodness around us—things or people we may overlook. To kick off the new year, let's focus on something good by highlighting remarkable individuals and groups in our community who dedicated their time to serving others and their community this year.
Alex Tran
On September 26, 2022, sophomore Alex Tran co-founded Comfort Quilt, a Discord-based suicide hotline that evolved into a broader online mental health resource and virtual community.
Comfort Quilt was created to address the need for free mental health resources that would allow anonymity and be easy to access. Tran created and maintained the server, oversaw its outreach, and, alongside the rest of the team, talked to those who contacted them for help.
Even in the early stages of Comfort Quilt the need overwhelmed the team, with calls coming in from countries such as Iceland, Romania, Japan, Nigeria, Brazil, and Australia. To make the load more manageable, the team created an informal schedule where volunteers would be responsible for different time zones. However even with the improvement they still had a small team on a rapidly growing server.
Eventually, Comfort Quilt partnered up with a second organization called Mental Health Server (MHS). The two organizations would take calls from newcomers and then refer them to one of the two organizations based on its strengths. This worked until MHS was disbanded and the majority of the volunteers transferred to Comfort Quilt.
Even when facing personal challenges, Tran continued to show up for Comfort Quilt, both for the passionate community it provided and the clear impact it was making.
It was, “seeing people return and learning that they were in a much better state after we had helped them” that Tran said kept them motivated.
Since its creation, Comfort Quilt has helped over 1,840 people from all over the world. It has prevented suicide attempts, intervened in and successfully stopped a potential homicide, helped people escape homelessness and governmental oppression, advanced networks representing minorities in the arts, and brought increased media attention to school censorship.
Tran’s work has made an impact on the lives of so many and showcases a profound commitment to mental health and community support. If anyone reading would like to get involved, they are more than happy to connect you with the organization if you email them at trana@catlin.edu.
Audrey Tsai the Saint of St. Vincents
In just one semester, sophomore Audrey Tsai has exemplified an admirable commitment to service, contributing over 65 hours of her time to working at St. Vincent’s.
Every Tuesday following a full day of classes, Audrey walks rain or shine to St. Vincent’s Hospital and spends 4 hours meticulously organizing rooms and patient items. Beyond the organizational tasks, Audrey extends her compassion by providing a listening ear to patients who find themselves without the comfort of visiting family.
Every week, Audrey makes a steadfast commitment to set aside her worries and school-related stresses, channeling her undivided attention and time into the service of those at the hospital.
In her own words, “volunteering is something I look forward to, no matter how long or tiring a day has been. It always makes me feel happy knowing I have helped someone.”
However, it is unsurprising that Tsai has made such contributions to her community, as service work is something that has been a part of her life for many years.
In 6th grade, Tsai began dedicating her time in service to her community, volunteering 2 days a week at a local animal shelter. Her efforts were justifiably recognized when she received the Presidential Volunteer Service Gold Award, which is an award given to those who have spent 100 hours or more volunteering over the course of a year.
Clearly, Tsai has a passion for helping those in need that will extend beyond her youth, “I definitely want to volunteer for the rest of my life, I love helping people.”
REquip Soccer -
In their 2021-2022 school year, juniors Inari Watkins, Elise Kim, and senior Campbell Swaim took the Palma Seminar: Revolutionaries. Their final project in the class was to make a lasting impact in the world, much like the revolutionaries that they had learned about all year. The three teamed up to create the starting stages of what would become the non-profit REquip Soccer.
The initial idea was born after Kim, Watkins, and Swaim had noticed the equipment waste in their respective sports. Perfectly good equipment that had been barely used such as soccer cleats and shin guards were outgrown and then thrown away. The group wanted to reuse that equipment and redistribute it to kids who couldn’t afford it.
They felt that sports were a crucial part of their development. According to Kim, “When I think about how important soccer was for me not only for my physical health but my mental health as well, I am thinking about what I would be like if I didn’t have all that, I just don’t know who I'd be.
Kim said that she, “couldn’t imagine being denied those opportunities simply because they [kids] couldn’t afford the basic equipment.” Thus REquip Soccer was born.
However, it wasn’t always just soccer. Initially, the group had wanted to collect dance and soccer equipment, but after seeing the declining need for dance equipment, the group decided to just focus on soccer.
After the Palma Seminar had ended, they decided to keep doing the work. “We all collectively decided that we were gonna build this from here on out until we graduated,” said Kim.
Since its creation, REquip Soccer has collected and donated around 2,000 pieces of soccer equipment to those in need. They have run over 3 major drives and taken on the brutal task of cleaning, sorting, organizing, and redistributing every single piece of equipment all over Portland.
Despite facing unseen challenges, like being unable to use a garage because of how much equipment was collected or having to clean year-old dried mud off of cleats. They have stayed consistent with unwavering dedication to make soccer accessible for all youth. To get involved or learn more, either contact Kim, Swaim or Watkins directly or visit their website.
Ari Wilda -
Every year the Catlin Gabel Middle School (CGMS) produces a fall play. This is a chance for middle schoolers to explore many different roles in theater and identify their interests. This year, sophomore Ari Wilda, chose to go back to the middle school production that he had participated in over 2 years ago as a Teacher’s Aid (TA).
He served as a third adult, easing the workload on the acting teachers, helping students to be their best selves, and acting as a role model to look up to in the upper school. Over the course of the fall play, Wilda volunteered 82 hours of his time in rehearsals and weekend meetings, helping these students and their play run as smoothly as possible.
When he was in middle school and acted as a stage manager in a theater production he felt he was pretty much working on his own, nobody had a clear vision for his role. So he chose to go back to the middle school this fall to provide direction that he lacked.
It could have been assumed that someone like Wilda who volunteered many hours of his time to help the middle schoolers with their play would be passionate about working with kids or even passionate about theater in general. But according to Wilda, “It’s not really about either of those things.”
Wilda viewed the play as an opportunity to be a role model to kids who were very passionate about what they were doing, he said, “It's incredible to see and witness and to be a part of.”
Beyond the CGMS fall play, Wilda has taken an active role in his community, as a member of EAT running the whiteboard marker drive to properly recycle, is an active member of the HOPE club where he helps the community members care for their lawns, and volunteers at the food bank once a month.
Wilda is no stranger to community service and his passion for serving his community is both refreshing and infectious
As we bid farewell to 2023 and step into a new year, let these stories be a reminder that amidst the challenges and negativity, there exists an unwavering spirit of compassion and service within our community.
Each of these individuals has chosen to lead with kindness and to prioritize service to others. It inspires us to look beyond our struggles and appreciate the pockets of goodness that can be found in unexpected places.