Rise Kohyang High School’s Scholars Serve the Community

Written by Ms. Chae, RKHS Connector

One of Rise Kohyang High School’s core values is service to others. Although a mandatory 50 hours of community service per year may seem daunting to students at first, many of our Tritons have already met or exceeded this goal. After opening in fall of 2016, our students have joined Koreatown Youth & Community Center monthly to plant trees, clean up streets, remove graffiti, and paint murals. Our students have also worked tirelessly with the Cudahy City Council to bring awareness to issues facing the immigrant community. Other organizations our students have teamed up with include Big Citizens Hub, Dogs Without Borders, and the Rabbit Rescue Inc. Most recently, over 30 Tritons, including staff and parents, volunteered at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. In just half a day, we made a tremendous impact by sorting through and packaging over one ton of food items for delivery to thousands of individuals and families in need.

Ye Ji Park, 9th grade RKHS student, writes about her experience below:

“I volunteered at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank with some of my classmates and teachers. We were assigned to sort canned goods. At first, we were slow, but as time went on my friends and I gave each other roles and worked as a team so we were able to finish faster. All the instructors were fun and kind. It was very surprising how simple work, like sorting cans, could help feed hundreds of people throughout my community. I think that the food bank is a great place to volunteer with friends because you can work together as a group and help your community at the same time.”

We are extremely proud of the positive work our Tritons have done so far. As Ye Ji points out, volunteering can be both a learning experience and a team-building activity. We hope many of our students will feel inspired to go above and beyond our school’s community service requirement to continue to positively transform their communities.