Duniway High Volunteer Squad

The **Duniway High Volunteer Squad** is a group that uses social media influence and competition to attempt to stand up for injustices. It consists of Nicky, Molly, Becky, Xuan, and Tamika.

## Summary

The Duniway High Volunteer Squad is popular on Instagram. They volunteer at soup kitchens, hospitals, and elderly homes. They are very sensitive to other people’s sufferings. It is not implied who the leader is, it could either be Molly or Becky-

## Biograph

### Season 1

#### “The Catfish”

Becky points out to Molly that she [Becky], Xuan, and Tamika now shop at Helping the Homeless Thrift Stores instead of wearing clothes from major trans-national corporate retailers. Nick then points out that Helping the Homeless only donates 9% of its profits to the homeless and that supporting clothes manufacturers in developing nations lifts people out of poverty yearly.

#### “The Money-Box Scheme”

> "*We can't give up the moral high ground to protect one relationship.*"
> ― Molly to Nick
>
>

Becky reveals that the Volunteer Squad once did a bake sale to raise money for the homeless before realizing that it was better to give the homeless the food.

After Molly reveals she’s going as a cat, Becky calls herself the “leader of the Volunteer Squad” before saying that the squad should wear socially conscious costumes. Nick then replies saying that her cat costume is an endangered Siberian tiger and lies about Molly getting the idea for the costume when she was “making a donation out of her own allowance to preserve their shrinking habitat.”

Molly, Becky, and Xuan are on their phones when they complain about a girl posting her outfit during a time when there’s income inequality going on in the world. Nick goes over to them with an idea. She explains that the Volunteer Squad should not allow people to wear “insensitive or even offensive” costumes to the dance. The other girls agree.

They talk to Jeremy. Jeremy allows them to send out an email blast about what people should and shouldn’t wear. Nick then replies that doing that can hurt attendance, since students already have their costumes picked out and the dance is soon. Nick then suggests that the Volunteer Squad should fine people $5 and use all the money they get to hire a cultural sensitivity trainer. When Jeremy disapproves of that, the Volunteer Squad protests against Jeremy. Jeremy reluctantly authorizes a $5 fine to avoid scandal and boycott of the dance.

Becky wears a costume that expresses income inequality, Nick as predatory student loans, Tamika as GMO corn, and Xuan as recycling. They start collecting fines from dancers and putting the money in a locked box.

Eventually, Jeremy comes and is prevented from going to his own event due to how offensive his Thomas Jefferson costume is. This makes Jeremy mad. Nick tries to convince the Volunteer Squad to let him in, but it is of no use.

The Volunteer Squad does not make enough money to hire a cultural sensitivity trainer. This is due to the fact that the box Nick is carrying is similar to the locked box full of the fines. Nick switches the boxes without anyone—not even the Volunteer Squad—seeing her.

While Nick gets $700 from the scam, the Volunteer Squad receives less money than that. The next day, Nick reveals that she convinced the Volunteer Squad to donate the fines to a certificate of appreciation in Jeremy’s name. She gives this certificate to him.

#### “The Badger Game”

Molly organizes on her phone a beach clean-up with the Volunteer Squad to protect sea turtles as well as marine life. They plan it on Friday. Both Nick and Molly agree that one beach clean-up is better than Becky’s Highway clean-up, as Tamika almost got run over by a semi-trailer truck when getting a plastic bag. Molly doesn’t go as Liz booked her a doctor’s appointment. Molly gets mad and knows that Becky can sometimes take credit for things that she [Molly] organizes.

#### “The Charity Mugger”

The Volunteer Squad finds a GoFundMe that claims that a kid named Omar who lives in their town was the only member in his family to survive a salmon-fishing accident and that he needs money for the funeral.

Becky donates her weekly kombucha allowance to the GoFundMe. Nick suggests to her that she [Becky] should retweet the GoFundMe; she does.

Molly eventually finds out from Nick about Becky’s retweet. Molly then decides that not only is she going to retweet the GoFundMe, but she will repost it on Instagram and Facebook.

Becky also decides that if the GoFundMe reaches $10,000 by the next day, she would eat a Carolina Reaper chili pepper on camera.

The Volunteer Squad eventually finds out that Nick is behind the GoFundMe and believe that Nick is helping Omar. The Thompson family decide to arrange a ceremony at the Overton Bank to hand over the $10,000 check to Omar and to publicize Nick’s role in raising the fund. Both Molly and Becky livestream on Instagram; Becky eats a Carolina Reaper as promised.

#### “The Block Out”

The Volunteer Squad talk about renewable energy and factory farming at their meeting.

#### “The Jam Auction”

The Volunteer Squad is at Nick’s birthday party.