The San Diego Youth Care Club Participated in the Recent Rice Drive and Distribution

By Angela Liu

On Saturday, Nov. 18th, members of the Youth Care Club (YCC) were fortunate enough to join members of the San Diego Police Department and volunteers from the San Diego Asian Youth Organization (SDAYO) in distributing rice to the less fortunate and senior citizen groups in the El Cajon community at the SDPD’s Multi-Cultural Community Relations Office. 

​SDAYO and the Pan Pacific Law Enforcement Association were in charge of organizing the rice drive this year. SDAYO was founded by the San Diego Police Department in 1995, and it is a non-profit organization located inside the Multi-cultural Community Relations Office. This is SDAYO's eighth year hosting the Rice Drive, and this year an unprecedented 36,000 pounds of rice was collected, including 245 pounds of rice from the YCC, which was collected by Angela Liu, a junior high school student and the president of the Torrey Pines High School branch of the YCC, over the past week. The first year the Rice Drive was held brought in 300 pounds of rice, and so the organizers are proud to see the growing success of the drive. 
 

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The day of distribution started off with opening remarks made by Sergeant Al Ambito and Captain Dave Nisleit of the SDPD's Western Division, council members Georgette Gomez and Chris Cate, SDAYO advisor and Police Service Officer Phet Guiney, and Mayor's Office community representative Anthony George. SDAYO advisor Thanh Ly and Police Detective Jose Mercado were also present to help with distribution. Reporter Allie Wagner from KUSI News covered the event as well. YCC members were able to lift rice bags and pass them to recipients or place them on carts for recipients to wheel, and they also carried bags of rice to recipients' cars parked outside if they were physically not strong enough or unable to carry the rice. YCC members also helped distribute breakfast food and pastries to recipients, along with greeting everyone with a welcoming smile. About 1,150 families in need were able to receive rice that day.

Torrey Pines High School YCC president Angela Liu, Canyon Crest Academy YCC president Annie Lu,
​and YCC member Andrea Liu represented the YCC at the rice distribution event on Saturday, Nov. 18.
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Sergeant Al Ambito and KUSI reporter Allie Wagner stand in front of the many volunteers and inform viewers of the rice drive and distribution events
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Angela Liu passes off a bag of rice to a man who arrived at the rice distribution event. Other volunteers are ready with bags of rice for other recipients. 
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Andrea Liu carries a bag of rice to a recipient at the event
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Angela Liu would personally like to say a huge thank you to everyone in the YCC, as well as other generous donors, who donated and supported the YCC’s participation in the rice drive this year. The YCC would like to thank everyone involved in organizing this year's rice drive and the distribution process, and is looking forward to participating in this rewarding event next year with further support from ACA. 

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About the author:   Angela Liu is the News Editor of the Torrey Pines High School newspaper, the Falconer.​
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​Disclaimer:
Unless clearly specified, the views expressed in this article only represents the opinion of the author and does not reflect the official opinion of ACA.