Mr. Lin's Clubhouse

I need your help!

This is my 15th consecutive year participating, and I invite YOU to consider donating and/or sharing my link to help raise funds for the "Yes Way, Jose" fundraiser for the St. Baldrick's Foundation and its efforts to beat Childhood Cancer. I do this first and foremost in honor and memory of our fellow Clubhouser, Jose Andres. And yet, the fight is so much bigger.

Admittedly, this is the latest at which I have signed up for this annual fundraiser, so time is fleeting. We can do this!

Steven Lin | A St. Baldrick's Participant I'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research and stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer! Make a donation to support my fundraising efforts!

[PLEASE SHARE! It's that time of year again!]

Friends and family, while I am admittedly late with setting this up, it is that time of year once again.

This is my 15th year raising money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Many years ago, it was to honor our fellow Clubhouse students and friend, Jose Andres. Since 2009, we have worked to honor his memory, which remains alive and well.

As I always do, I encourage you to either consider making a donation, or to spread aware of this annual fundraiser by sharing this post. Perhaps one day, these fundraisers will no longer be needed. But until then, consider helping us support researchers and doctors helping those battling pediatric childhood cancer.



https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/Clubhouse2021?fbclid=IwAR3aVEiofmUiP37m5KUlynjMhZVuzmS__zwPRhKbZVLLIl15ELTL0RVlxog

Steven Lin | A St. Baldrick's Participant I'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research and stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer! Make a donation to support my fundraising efforts!

Stay Home. Stay Safe. Stay Well.

Governor Northam orders all Virginia schools remain closed through end of school year Under a new order from Governor Ralph Northam, all Virginia K-12 schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year.

It's that time of year again!

"As a teacher, all of your students will make an indelible impact on your life. Occasionally, however, one will change your life. For me, one of those students was Jose. It wasn't so much that he was an outstanding student that changed me, but rather in the way he lived his life. After multiple bouts with rhabdomyosarcoma, Jose left our presence in 2009. If he was the great Alexander the Great, I fancied myself as Aristotle, for I have continued to tell stories of my student for years to come. And it is for him, and many other students who have battled the scourge of cancer, that I continue to advocate for the fight against childhood cancer.

Please help me in this endeavor by either donating to our team "Yes Way, Jose" benefiting the St. Baldrick's Foundation or sharing this post.

With much gratitude ..."

Steven Lin | A St. Baldrick's Participant I'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research and stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer! Make a donation to support my fundraising efforts!

Found some oldies. Letters from our Clubhousers in 2006, 5th grader advice for my then-GF (now-wife), who was graduating college to be a teacher.

“Be the best you can be and show your kids confidence and excellence ...”

Sometimes the kids give the best advice.

“Use hands on activities. It’s more fun, and kids get the idea more easily. Remember, everyone learns differently ... Keep it simple. A complex concept can be made simple ... and don’t forget to listen to their stories.”

I remember getting my hair cut at Great Clips by the Chesapeake Square Mall. I was talking about all of “my kids.” Eventually, the stylist stopped and finally asked what must have been dominating her mind. “How many kids do you have?!” At that moment, it dawned on me that I was speaking as though my students were my actually children.

I often chuckle when I think back to that episode. The stylist and I a wonderful laugh once it was all cleared up!

Once You're My Student, You're Always My Student I'll be there for you...if you need me.

. Define and redefine it for yourself. Metrics are important, but they do not, should not, and will not define you.

HEY ALL, I INVITE YOU TO READ THIS TESTIMONY. And then please consider donating. Or at the very least, please consider sharing this message and link to others on your timeline!

Once again, and for my 13th year, I am shaving my head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. It all started in 2005, my rookie year as a public school teacher at Chittum Elementary School in Chesapeake Public Schools (Chesapeake, Virginia). On the first day of class, I met all of the students in my class, except for one.
You see, Jose Andres was officially on my roster, but was not physically present. He was homebound due to cancer treatments for . For most of the year, I left schoolwork in a blue plastic basket for his amazing homebound tutor to gather up and review with Jose Andres at his home.

Over time, I too became close with his lovely family, especially in the springtime when Jose Andres was finally cleared to return back to class. We affectionally self-nicknamed our group of students, "The Clubhouse." And as part of the Clubhouse, we held tightly to certain ideas, such as the notion that a Clubhouser was an ideal way to live confidently and in excellence. Our motto was simple:

"Once a Clubhouser, always a Clubhouser."

That motto was never more relevant for all us the following school year. Sadly, Jose Andres' cancer returned. This time, I wanted to contribute more deeply to his education and offered to serve as his next homebound tutor, to provide the 6th grade curriculum at his home everyday after school. Graciously, Jose Andres and his family agreed. And for the 2007-2008 school year, I had the distinct honor and privilege of teaching a true Renaissance man, a student who was interested in all aspects of life itself, who wanted to interact about ideas from the curriculum and beyond, who pushed me as a tutor, who lovingly challenged me to think deeply about the purpose of my profession, and who inspired me on a personal note as a friend.

Over the next few years, Jose battled cancer on and off. But in 2009, there was nothing more that the great doctors could do. He passed away in September of that year, but not before he made a point to wish us all farewell. With pure grace and strength, he said goodbye with an everlasting smile on his face and some profound questions to perplex us for some time.

He was a warrior, a great one.

He was my Alexander the Great, and I would have hoped that - even for a few minutes - I was was his Aristotle.
The St. Baldrick's Foundation has always been one of Jose Andres' favorite cause. Needless to say, it was a meaningful cause. But as my person testimony would have it, he enjoyed its silly revelry every year as well, and his laughter during those events will remain seared in my memory for the rest of my life.

13 years later, this is why I shave. And this is why I humbly ask you, once again, to contribute even a little bit to the cause of defeating pediatric cancer once and for all.

Once a Clubhouser, Always ...

Steven Lin | A St. Baldrick's Participant I'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research and stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer! Make a donation to support my fundraising efforts!

Realized that I never officially shared on this page that, with the new baby girl, we decided to leave Floyd County (heaven on Earth) and move home to Pennsylvania, where I accepted the principal position at Fort Zeller Elementary School in Eastern Lebanon County (think Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish, and Mennonite country).

We made a video highlighting why we all continue to embrace the idea of being educators. Thought I’d share it with the community that gave me my first shot in the field. Stay excellent y’all!

#WhyImAnEducator: Eastern Lebanon County Primary Schools Fort Zeller and Jackson Elementary teachers and staff kick off the school year with a reaffirmation of why they are educators and what aspirations they have ...