By Jessica Nguyen & Brian Pham
For many clubs, old and new, COVID-19 has brought plenty of challenges. From difficulties in recruiting new members, coming up with ideas for events and more, many things that don’t come as easily because of the pandemic. Despite this, Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) HALO has been able to work through these struggles and be recognized as January club of the month.
HALO was founded this year by sophomore co-presidents Isabella Greenbaum and Aditi Sharma.
“[Aditi and I] were not originally planning on creating a club during this pandemic but [I] sparked interest in creating this club after I saw my sister perform in the annual dance show, HALO’s major fundraiser,” Greenbaum said.
HALO stands for “Healing Autism Through Learning Opportunities.” The organization is dedicated to raising awareness and money for children with autism.
“After putting in some research about the organization, we decided that we really adored the organization’s mission to raise money that went straight to families with autistic children, and not through any other council and wanted to bring it to our school,” Greenbaum said. “With this, Aditi and I educated ourselves about the spectrum disorder and searched for those who wanted to spread this same awareness and acceptance to be part of this new and everlasting journey.”
The club has faced some troubles throughout the year; but even so, they have made a name for themselves and attracted members who share the same willingness and passion to help others.
“Especially during the pandemic, I think having a nice and aesthetically pleasing social media feed is crucial in drawing the attention and interests of FVHS students,” HALO secretary and activities chair junior Tracy Nguyen said.
According to Nguyen, the club has been able to connect with its members by using the Discord messaging platform and recognizing its members every month “to keep the club tight as well as to ensure our club’s purpose is being served.”
Like many other clubs, HALO has had a variety of events, such as raising money for charities through apps like Charity Miles and Freerice. Despite the pandemic, they also organized events to educate members about autism, such as arranging a meeting with Tuyen Trinh, a LOLA Foundation member, and donating baskets to people with autism in Orange County.
“Being a new club certainly comes with its challenges and makes it difficult for clubs to find engaging, impactful events for their members to participate in,” HALO treasurer junior Katie Ho said. “Nonetheless, we want to make a difference and strive to shed light in an otherwise dark tunnel.”
This hard work eventually paid off in the end when FVHS Associated Student Body (ASB) announced them as January’s club of the month at an ICC meeting.
“We were ecstatic when we received the title of club of the month,” Sharma and Nguyen said. “It was extremely heartfelt to know that all of the hard work and dedication that our board and members have put into HALO club has been recognized. We hope to continue doing what we do and to keep the legacy of our club alive for years to come.”
Since this is HALO’s first year being active, they have not been able to have the full experience in an in-person club but are still excited for when the time comes where they can meet up face-to-face and “host social events that would allow us to create more personal connections with our members,” HALO club publicist and activities chair junior Zanvious Thantrong said.
Thantrong added the club would like to continue their “interactive community events such as our activity baskets event and participating in the HALO Dance for Autism Showcase held by the organization.”
For any students who are interested in joining, HALO is always welcoming to new members and encourages anyone who wants to learn more about autism to join.
“I would definitely recommend for everybody to come join our club. My younger brother actually has autism, and I’ve been learning about it my whole life and how it affects a person and the people around them,” HALO secretary sophomore Zaina Alayyan said. “There is also a stigma put towards neurodivergent people where many believe that they are incapable of living like normal people, and we are here to break that stigma.”
HALO club meets on Fridays every other week on Google Meets. To keep up with their activities, Barons can follow them on Instagram @fvhalo.
