South East Asian or S.E.A. Club raised $3,989.45 passing their goal of $2,000 for club fundraising at the Neenah Craft fair on Nov. 4. 

Throughout the food sale, customers asked what is S.E.A. Club? Everyone is welcome.

“It’s a place to share our culture, to have a voice of our culture and who we are. A place to have fun and do things our parents can’t do for us,” Adviser Mrs. Hli Xiong Lee said.

Hmong students at NHS started Hmong Club to feel and sense of welcome and inclusivity. Years later, they changed the name to South East Asian Club or known as S.E.A. Club.

S.E.A. Club is meant to be more diverse with all the other different Asian ethnicities at NHS. Many members of S.E.A Club come from first generation or second generation immigrants, or refugees. From the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, 52,000 students are first and second-generation immigrant students from Wisconsin. S.E.A. Club allows those who feel out of place to feel welcomed and understand the hardship of adapting to American life.

“I joined S.E.A. Club because it was a cool club at the club fair. I felt like I would feel welcomed and nobody would judge me for who I am,” Freshmen Jaidyn Lo said. 

The week before the craft fair, students of S.E.A. Club voted on what food they would make for the craft fair, and they voted for Hmong style egg rolls, the Barbie of Hmong food.  They would make pork and vegetable egg rolls with a sauce. Members of the club set a goal to sell at least $2,000 and for everyone to be there. Students had to be at the craft fair at 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. 

6 a.m. 

The first half of students were at the Neenah Middle School waiting for the doors to open. Students had to prepare the filling for the egg rolls consisting of cutting cabbage, carrots, onions, adding seasonings, adding the noodles and mixing it all together.

7 a.m.

The second half of students showed up and started right away helping out. The students were split up into three groups: group 1 for peeling the wrappers and rolling the egg rolls, group 2 for mixing the filling and bringing it to the rollers, and group 3 to organize the work area and make the sauce. 

8 a.m. 

Parent volunteers took over mixing the ingredients and making the sauces. Students focused on rolling egg rolls. Parent volunteers guided the students through the egg roll process of wrapping egg rolls properly, to mix the filling, and to fry the egg rolls. 

9 a.m. 

Fresh batches of egg rolls were out of the fryer, cooling in the selling area like pies on a window. The smell of fresh fried egg wafting in the air and the smell of egg rolls could be smelled at the entrance, causing a line to form at the S.E.A. Club stand. 

11 a.m.

The cash register needed to be emptied out 4 times by 11 a.m. The students were rotating positions of rollers to sellers. The parents finished making all the filling, students could only practice rolling egg rolls. Some students’ egg roll rolling skills were horribly fantastic and some greatly horrible. But with practice and guidance from others, the egg rolls turned out to be perfect at the end. 

12 p.m. 

Pork egg rolls sold out, only vegetable egg rolls were left. 

1 p.m.

The S.E.A. Club food stand closed shortly after selling out of everything. Students cleaned their work areas, wiping the tables, sanitizing the work areas, sweeping the floors and putting away their stand as well. After cleaning, members were tasked to count the money made, and take a group photo.

At S.E.A. Club’s meeting on Monday, Nov. 20, Mrs. Lee revealed how much the club sold this year from the craft fair. In total $ 3,989.45, profited $2,914.17 with expenses of $1,075.28.

When S.E.A. Club first formed, students could not fathom a fundraiser making almost $4, 000. S.E.A. Club would not have been able to profit without the support of the parents dropping off students or helping prep the egg roll, the Neenah Craft Fair patrons, and the students of S.E.A. Club.