Club Meetings- Every other Tuesday, Room 239 How to become a member- 10 hours a year, mandatory meeting attendance Email- [email protected] Instagram-@lowelljoinjade
Previous Events
Giants Run 8th Grade Night Back to School Night Bake Sale Hot Chocolate Run Chinese New Year Festival Bilingual Presentation at Chinatown Library Bilingual Presentation at Richmond Library Donation to a child in need of financial assistance for hepatitis B treatment
Hey Lowellites!
Who are you? We are the Lowell Join Jade Club, directly affiliated with Stanford’s Asian Liver Center. Our club focuses on raising awareness of the disproportionately high prevalence of hepatitis B through fundraisers and presentations.
What is hepatitis B? Hepatitis B affects 1 in 12 Asians worldwide, with over 270 million people suffering from chronic hepatitis B. Although a vaccine exists, many people remain unaware of hepatitis B mainly because the virus shows no symptoms, so people don’t realize they have hepatitis B, and mothers often inadvertently pass it to their children. If left untreated, chronic hepatitis B could result in cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer, and ultimately, lead to death.
Why should I care? The San Francisco Bay Area has the highest incidence of hepatitis B and liver cancer nationwide due to the large Asian population, and many of them are unaware that they are carriers. Your loved ones may be carriers as well. Make sure they get vaccinated (3 shots over 6 months) to be protected for life. After vaccination, a simple blood test indicating to test for hepatitis B antigens or antibodies will be sufficient to confirm one doesn’t have hepatitis B.
Why is your club name Join Jade and what’s with the lopsided green ribbon? #JoinJade is a campaign started by Dr. Samuel So, the founder of the Asian Liver Center. Through social media campaigning and this catchphrase, we hope that people will help us reach our goal of the complete elimination of hepatitis B. The lopsided green ribbon is actually a jade-colored ribbon, because, in Asian cultures, jade represents luck and longevity. As for why it’s lopsided, it is meant to look like the Chinese character for people (人) and represents unity.
What does your club do? During the fall semester, we focus on volunteer events such as marathons and other volunteer opportunities. During our meetings, we often present basic hepatitis B knowledge to familiarize our members with key terms and facts. During the spring semester, our focus is on presentations throughout the community. Last year, we presented two bilingual presentations (English and Cantonese/Mandarin) at the Chinatown and Richmond Library. By presenting in two languages, we were able to reach a wider audience. However, it is absolutely not necessary to know how to speak Chinese to join our club. At our meetings, we practiced presenting and gave tips on how to best deliver to an audience, whether that was improving voice projection or posture.
Why should I join? Ideally, everyone would say “out of the goodness of my heart.” But, we know you want to know what’s in it for you.
Leadership opportunities!
All of our board members (except Sydney, our co-historian) will be seniors this year. That means next year, almost all positions will be open for anyone who is interested. Especially for the underclassmen, this is a great opportunity to show your leadership skills and have something to write on your resume. Colleges will be impressed by your initiative to challenge yourself and lead a club.
AFFILIATED WITH STANFORD
This needs no further explanation. Stanford’s reputation is renowned worldwide.
Community service
Especially in our fall semester, we will have many community events, which is a great way to give back to your community.
I’m in! How can I help? The easiest way is… JOIN JADE. By joining our club, we equip you with the knowledge necessary to spread the word, and we have many opportunities to practice presenting and communication! Outside of the club, the Asian Liver Center often asks for volunteers for their charity events or community fairs, so please volunteer at their events if you’re interested in further involvement with the Join Jade Movement.
If you are interested in further leadership opportunities, the High School Advisory Board (HSAB), who helps connect clubs to the Asian Liver Center, lead Outreach Committees (OCs) focused on certain aspects of outreach. Stay tuned for more information later on in the year.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our club, and we hope that you #joinjade.