Learn how a youth-led organization is contributing to society in response to COVID-19.
June 21st, 2020 Writer: Mona Matsuda Editor: Aarti Kumar Study Tips
With the COVID-19 crisis causing many school closures, many students have found it difficult to prepare themselves for the upcoming exams like AP tests in such a limited environment. Read more to learn how a youth-led organization helped students across the nation to prepare for these meticulous exams and contributed money and resources for health-care workers during the pandemic.
Mona Matsuda: Tell us a little bit about your organization and its initiative.
Review for Relief: When we first thought of helping with COVID-19 relief efforts back in early April, it started off with the idea of providing PPE to medical workers on a local level. After all, Washington was one of the first areas affected by the outbreak in the United States. What started as a simple idea rapidly evolved into this organization. Together, we have co-founded Review for Relief which is an international youth-led organization making an effort to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.
This virus has impacted every facet of life, and our team is dedicated to improving two of them: education and healthcare. Review for standardized tests. Relief for healthcare workers.
M.M: What exactly does your initiative do?
R.f.R: In light of unforeseen circumstances, many students are now unable to properly review for their AP exams. As AP students ourselves, we along with a few million others struggled to find a way to review for the new 2020 FRQ-only exams and thus, Review for Relief was created.
Review for Relief’s mission is to aid students in college preparedness while simultaneously supporting healthcare workers in this time of uncertainty.
With our $5 for a 5 program, students donate a set amount to our GoFundMe in exchange for study sheets from any of 30 AP subjects. We have raised over $5000 with the support of over 400 donors and we could not be more thankful for the love and encouragement from our community.
M.M: How can people get involved?
R.f.R: We have an Instagram account (@reviewforrelief), a Facebook page (Review for Relief), a website (www.reviewforrelief.org), and a GoFundMe page (www.gofundme.com/f/review-for-relief). To get involved, people can donate to the GoFundMe page – every dollar counts! Furthermore, people can help make study sheets, as that is our primary domain; we will work in the coming months on study sheets for finals and for the ACT, SAT, and SAT Subject Tests. The best way people can get involved is to become a representative though! Representatives spread the word and encourage others to help out with the organization.
M.M: What are some of your team’s favorite study tips?
R.f.R: Quieter music – especially classical – is amazing when studying; a nice cup of coffee keeps us awake whenever our eyes begin to droop. Studying is also more fun when more colors are used – we love creating personal study guides with brush pens and Zebra mildliners. We love taking notes and having scratch paper ready to just jot down facts that seem important or interesting.
Organization is key when it comes to studying! We like to plan out our week on a big whiteboard, assignments in one color, due dates in another, and it’s just so satisfying to wipe them all away when we’re done. Also: mind maps.
M.M: Any favorite self-care tips during this tough time when social interaction is limited?
R.f.R: Sheet masks are a go to for us – what was originally a weekly or biweekly luxury has now become a daily or every-other-day event. It’s easy to make your own sheet masks too – just use cotton pads and toner.
Working out can also be a great form of self-care. Some of us have started going on daily runs and doing full body workouts to distract ourselves from the stresses of testing. After a good work-out, we love cooking and baking our favorite comfort foods and calling up friends so that we can share a meal together, even if not in person.
M.M: Any favorite movies/TV shows/Netflix series?
R.f.R: Some movies that we recommend are To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Before I Fall, A Monster Calls, The Darkest Minds, and Every Day. TV shows that we’ve been loving lately are NCIS, Friends, Full House, That 70’s Show, The Middle, Avatar the Last Airbender, and Fresh off the Boat.
M.M: What are some of your team’s favorite activities during quarantine?
R.f.R: Some of us love Chloe Ting’s workouts, or running, but others of us love baking and eating and eating. Yes. Have we mentioned eating? We’ve definitely discovered some of our favorite recipes over this quarantine. Learning to play a difficult piece on an instrument is also a fulfilling feeling while drawing and doodling is relaxing and calming.
We also love reading a good book; with all the new free-time we have, it’s a fantastic opportunity to take the time to develop a new skill or learn some more information about the world around us.
Thank you Review for Relief for doing an interview with us!
If you are interested in contributing or joining the organization, please go to www.reviewforrelief.org or visit their instagram and facebook page - instagram: @reviewforrelief; facebook: Review for Relief. If you are interested in donating, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/f/review-for-relief for ways to contribute!