Nadia Clarke- Contributor
Next year, the Global Organization club plans to go to Panama in January 2025, the first trip they are going on to supply health and medical supplies since shutting down in March 2020.
Since COVID, the club has faced hardships in reaching engagement and student involvement to aid their cause, which has been their main setback since 2020. The club hosts bake sales twice and sometimes once every month depending on the resources they have, aiming to recruit students and raise money through their bake sales.
For the club, recruiting members through the club fair and their bake sales is all they have. Club President and sociology major Gabriella Santana, a senior said, “I transferred here in 2020 and wanted to find a club that was based on helping people and volunteering.”
Due to the setbacks COVID has had on the club, there have not been any real travel opportunities.
“I joined in the peak COVID time when we had just gone into quarantine, and we have been struggling a little bit especially after we got back from quarantine,” Santana said. “Since then, we have been trying to get back and get our numbers and just get overall engagement back”
Since the early afternoon, Santana and student colleague, communications major Gillian Hess, a sophomore, has been selling homemade baked muffins, cookies and doughnuts to raise money for their medical brigade to Panama, as well as recruiting members to join the club.
The club is open to anyone joining, they take students’ info during the times they do their bake sales, and their main event recruiting members is during the club fair.
Hess had this to say when asked about her experience so far in the club and why students should join, “I heard about the club through the club fair and joined this way. Anyone can join so it is not a private club that is exclusive, which is good because you get to volunteer, and you get to travel. I have not gone on my first brigade yet, our 2025 Panama trip hopefully depending on the funds, will be my first time.”
New students who join the club can be a helping hand stretching itself to Panama; bringing in more medical supplies to help in this community and serving as a student advocate, all the way from Southern.
The bake sale is hosted by the club to raise money and engage with students who don’t know the club offers a chance to volunteer and travel.
Hospitality major Ta’ Mia Mackins, a freshman, purchasing goods from the bake sale said, “I wanted a snack after class and stopped to purchase a baked good. Now I am going to join the club and help volunteer, and maybe even get to travel.”
Panama will be the first Global Brigade travel expedition the club will experience in a long time. Despite the obstacles that have affected the Global Brigade club, they will continue to host their bake sales every month; raising money for medical supplies going to Panama and seeking new members to join.
