Through a friendship made at an internship, Diamond Bar High School senior Katrine Lee procured a leadership role in the humanitarian organization, Raising Awareness to Improve Species Existence Humane Foundation. 

Lee became involved with the group through her friend David Chan, who is the founder of this organization. 

“We worked together on Congresswoman Young Kim’s campaign in the summer and he introduced me to RAISE,” Lee said. “Working on Congresswoman Young Kim’s campaign fuelled my desire to pursue more community-based work.”

According to the website, RAISE is a high school-run non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving species, the environment, and society through methods of sustainability, humanitarian projects, campaigns, and education. It is based in Orange County, and now has seven chapters, in Diamond Bar, Fullerton, Chino Hills, Yorba Linda-Placentia, Torrance, Corona del Mar, and Cerritos. 

In late September, Lee began working with RAISE.  She first joined to serve as the group’s  Diamond Bar district executive. Chan later nominated her to the Humanitarian Committee chair position. With her position, Lee established a chapter of RAISE at DBHS, and is responsible for overseeing this chapter of the organization. It should be noted that RAISE is not a club at DBHS, just an organization that works in the DB area. 

Her job involves planning events for the community.

 “I manage the Diamond Bar RAISE chapter and I oversee different school districts and chapters that are part of the Humanitarian Committee as well (Diamond Bar, Ayala/Chino Hills, Corona del Mar, etc),” Lee said. 

In addition, Diamond Bar RAISE has served as host to an educational event in partnership with the Beekeepers’ Association of Southern California to teach members of the community about beekeeping and the environment. 

Lee said that working with RAISE helped develop her leadership skills, while  helping the environment. 

“I’m fully committed to furthering my own knowledge of the environment and the issues regarding our planet and local surroundings,” Lee said. “The environment is such an imperative part of our daily lives, so I believe there should be greater emphasis on raising awareness for critically endangered species, pollution, and artificial climate change.”

Lee said that U.S. Rep. Kim has inspired her to be an active member of her community and give back whenever she can. Kim has also worked with RAISE to donate hundreds of PPE and medical supplies to local hospitals in the CA-39 district. 

“I’ve always had a really strong pull towards humanitarianism,” Lee said in an article for the Los Angeles Times HS Insider. “I don’t know enough about our environment but I’m working on it because it’s definitely a huge part of our lives.”

Furthermore, Lee said that her hope is that other California high schools gain exposure to RAISE and the work that they do. In addition, Lee said that she would like RAISE to become an official club at DBHS. She said that this process will be completed by the end of this year. 

“RAISE has two upcoming initiatives, one of which I am leading as Humanitarian Committee Chair–I am very excited to see the outcome of both projects,” Lee said

While these projects are still in the works, Lee said that no further information can be disclosed. Updates regarding RAISE will be posted on both their website and Instagram page. Information regarding future events will be posted there.