On Friday, February 13, the Lucky Ducklings fortunately redefined the day, welcoming two speakers to a pep rally for 8th-12th grade. The Lucky Ducklings ended the pep rally with a golfing game, called Putt For A Purpose. This well-being assembly followed Lucky Duckling’s annual UKnighted Against Homelessness and Hunger Week, filled with food drives, flyers, and service projects, uniting the community through helping the homeless. Overall, this pep rally was a success for the community — the school donated over 700 cans of canned food, hosted four service events, and held lunchtime activities that included activities such as as quizzes on homelessness and the making of a Chain of Commitments to help get students thinking about what they can do to help our community, according to the Lucky Ducklings. 

The Lucky Ducklings is a youth-led movement whose mission is to “alleviate the suffering of those experiencing homelessness throughout San Diego.” It serves as a part of the original foundation it arose from, the Lucky Duck Foundation, according to their website. 

The well-being assembly started off with the Chief Executive Officer of the Lucky Duck Foundation, Mr. Drew Moser, speaking about how to achieve the Lucky Duck Foundation’s purpose through leading and funding events and programs to have immediate, meaningful effects on those who need it.

Ms. Dana Williams, a member of the Leadership Team from Feeding San Diego, shared a surprising fact about homelessness: a large percentage of the present homeless population had been homeless since they were kids. Her words exemplified the meaning behind what the Lucky Duck Foundation, and the Lucky Ducklings, are trying to do, explaining how many people facing homelessness had been homeless since they were the same age as the students sitting in the assembly. 

After the speakers, Lucky Ducklings held an activity for the 8th-12 graders. From each grade level, four students competed, trying to putt closest to the center target. The makeshift putting green was formed by placing canned food, donated by students throughout the entire week, on the gym floor. At the end of the game, JT Cochrane (‘28) putted closest, giving 10th grade the win. 

Claire Stallings (‘26), a Lucky Ducklings leader, said, “[The leaders] really pondered about how we could make a community meeting that commends service but also keeps everyone’s attention.” 

“Creating a balanced community meeting with some fun and education was the best way to raise awareness about service and the homeless population here in San Diego,” she continued.

The pep rally was a way to get not only Lucky Duckling’s members, but a large part of the school, focused on homelessness. Sasha Ponnam (‘28), a member of Lucky Ducklings, stated, “This was a really great way to get the community involved and excited about what the club is trying to do.” 

Dante Pilarowski (‘28) enjoyed this well-being block. “I love how they encouraged us with the game; it showed the results of all our efforts,” he said, referencing the large numbers of cans stationed on the gym floor that students had donated. 

Director of Service and Social Innovation Mrs. Jaqueline Gomez reflected on the event as a whole, saying, “It was a great celebration of all the hard work and projects that we did for Lucky Ducklings Week, and the speakers tied it all together with the education that our school needs to understand the crisis that’s going on in San Diego.”

One student, Ethan Yang (‘27), criticized the putting game as “tone-deaf” in an DU article published a few days later, to which Emma Baluja (‘27), one of the leaders of Lucky Ducklings, responded, in the DU Issue 104’s article, “We are trying to ensure long-term involvement — making service fun rather than just another task to do.” Ms. Gomez commented on Ethan’s article, saying, “It is my hope that people can see how well-intentioned the assembly was to showcase the great work we did during the week, as well as have some fun as a community.”