Manos Unidas puts their club on display at the homecoming tailgate.
Many social clubs at Watauga High School allow students to get involved in wonderful opportunities. Manos Unidas (United Hands) is a unique club that focuses on giving Hispanic students service opportunities and helping them get community service hours they may need for their future.
Manos Unidas has done service projects with organizations from Hunger and Health Coalition to the Immigration Justice Corps. Along with movie nights and kickball games, junior Kimberly Salinas helps organize these events and is co-president of the club.
“To me, this club means that we finally get a safe space for our minorities,” Salinas said. “Members can get the service hours they need and the club helps them find new opportunities.”
This year, the club is planning to focus on service hours and making connections with others. Naomi Escobar, junior, is founder and co-president of Manos Unidas and has high hopes for this year's adventures.
“We want to bring our community together,” Escobar stated. “We want to bring more awareness to Watauga while also bringing more resources and service projects to our students.”
Meetings, every two weeks on Thursdays, allow students to grow together through shared experiences.
“We enjoy having guest speakers,” Salinas said. “We [also] like talking about upcoming events and opportunities while playing games.”
“There are people from different programs that come talk to us,” said Escobar. “They come from summer programs or scholarship programs to give students different opportunities to add to their resume.”
Manos Unidas is not only a club trying to connect people of Hispanic heritage, they are also attempting to influence students to excel in school.
“One of the main reasons we created the club was to increase our graduation rates,” said Escobar. “I hope all of my seniors who are in the club graduate and go to college.”
Manos Unidas is bringing Hispanic students together, helping students become well-rounded using service opportunities, and providing a welcoming space.
“Being a Hispanic student can mean it can be hard to find others to relate to,” Escobar said. “So I think our club has been able to find those people that can all relate to each other.”
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