In the middle of last school year, Gavin Wittreich and his sister Ava started TEEEM at River Dell with the help of Ms. Seiss and Mr. Small. It started as a small group of around fifteen students, but this year they came in hot at the club fair having people who signed up, pose with a fun and interactive cardboard cutout as a “welcome” to the TEEEM family. Their idea helped them gain over 100 new members and they are more excited than ever to see how their club will grow.
Mr. Small, who had worked with an organization in the past called TEEEM (The Empathy Equality Entrepreneurship Mission) and thought it would be a great opportunity to bring to the River Dell community proposed the idea to Wittreich.
TEEEM is an organization dedicated to helping countries and communities in need around the world, after natural disasters. Each school that is a part of TEEEM has a “pod” connecting them to a country or community. River Dell’s pod is Uganda.
Through partnership with the Nyaka Organization, TEEEM is focusing on improving the quality of education for children in Uganda.
During their first meeting, TEEEM connected with Sneha Harsh from Nyaka “who shared insights into Ugandan culture and society” said Wittreich, helping members to connect deeper with their mission.
At that same meeting TEEEM also discussed their year-long outlook and planned for future fundraisers, although their movie night from last year may be hard to upstage.
To raise money for their pod last year, the up-and-coming group held a movie night at Westwood Cinemas where they were able to host an early screening of the Minecraft Movie.
TEEEM member, Haylee Villacis, recalled “It was a huge success, so much fun and such a great way to bring the community together through our club!”
This year they hope to host many more events and bring awareness to their cause. TEEEM is planning for a volleyball tournament.
TEEEM meets every other week, after school, in either Mr. Small’s or Ms. Seiss’s room. If you’re interested in joining, email Ava or Gavin Wittreich, Ms. Seiss, or Mr. Small and make sure to follow their Instagram @teeem_rdhs for updates on future events.
