Middle School Students Make Dublin a Better Place 'One Hug at a Time'

By Ashley Kim

On December 13th, 2013, Fallon Middle School students offered loving support 
to one another by creating a "Hugs for Hope” day, where students offered hugs and high fives to other students before and after school as a token of unity for Fallon school and for the Dublin community. The event was planned and coordinated by students in CJSF (California Junior Scholarship Foundation) and FPT (Fallon Pride Team/Leadership).

Students made posters to hold up and hung white ribbons around school 
to symbolize hope for today, peace for tomorrow. Ms. Zummo, the Dean at Fallon 
and one of the CJSF advisors, stated, “Hugs for Hope was a huge success thanks 
to a few dedicated individuals: Ms. Terri Sharbach (Leadership teacher and CJSF 
advisor) and students Megan Hebert (7th grade) and Liliana Ogden (8th grade).” 

Students volunteered to stand outside the school in the morning to joyfully greet 
students as they were dropped off at school offering hugs, high fives, and other 
forms of encouragement like signs saying “Fallon loves you.”  The Hugs for Hope 
gathering continued after school leaving the students with positive thoughts as they left for the weekend. The students felt energized by the show of affection for Fallon and the community.  Student Martin Arambulo stated, “I didn’t think it would go as well as it did - it turned out to be great!”

This day was a milestone for Fallon- the first day in Fallon’s history where hugging 
was allowed at school. But the power behind the event was that is was planned 
and coordinated by the students. Terri Sharbach, CJSF advisor and a Leadership 
teacher, stated, “This event was successful because the students wanted to do it. 
They felt the need to do it and made it come true.” 

Liliana Ogden, FPT student leader, came up with the idea for a hug day. Liliana 
states, “The hugs of hope idea started as a spark. I always thought that hugs brings joy, peace, and happiness and I wanted to spread those feelings all over Fallon and the community. I lit the spark with a few matches and bam- it was a huge success.” 

Liliana goes on to add, “It would be fantastic to do again soon.”

Caroline Hall, an eighth grader and active CJSF member, declared proudly, 
“One hug can change a person’s day, which can change the world.”
Overall, Hugs for Hope was a great success and many students expressed 
a desire to repeat the event again soon. As FPT student leader and CJSF member 
Abigale Kim put it, “It was hugalicious!”