Group Three
Working together using this wiki
Think of this wiki as a shared online whiteboard. Your entire group can share information using this wiki, making your research accessible to everyone. Play around with this wiki: Notice how you can add comments to a page, see what people have changed, and edit all the text.
Group members
Sources
- Source 1
- Source 2
- Source 3
- Source 4
Meetings
When should we meet?
| Who | When I can meet |
| Christina | M W F: after 2:15, T R: after 4 |
| Liz | M W F: after 5:30, T R: 10-4 & after 5:30 |
Sarah| MWF: after 3:30, TR: after 2:30
| Siama | M W F: after 1:15, T R: after 2:30 |
MESSAGE BOARD:
4-28-08: Hey everyone! We talked briefly again in class about working on our paper Wednesday and I think we should be able to get most of it done then. Try to have some of your part written for class, or at least bring ideas of what you plan on writing. This way we can work on the intro and closing too.
Christina: Hey everyone, I tried to set this up for us so hopefully it works. I have been doing most of my volunteer work with blood drives and I am doing another one soon. I think that most of my part will come from that but I am also doing volunteer work in other areas as well. I was just wondering if we are going to continue with the dog walking as well. Just post a response here.
Liz: I uploaded my info too. For the community service I have helped organize a Father-Daughter dance for the YMCA and worked with the Second mile. I also was very involved with THON and went on three canning trips. I will also be participating in the March for Babies coming up later this month!
Siama: Hey girls, so far I've done THON (hospitality, two PGN canning trips) and Second Mile. I'll be doing a food drive and adopt a high way soon and I would love to still go and walk dogs one day!
Sarah: Hey, I've walked dogs, Moraled for THON (including canning), and helped organize a team for Relay for Life. I think since we have all finished our community service we could each choose one or two words which we have felt afterwards. Mine would probably be inspired and motivated. See you at the next meeting!
Drafts
Keep your drafts here so you can refer to earlier versions.
DRAFT:
You may opt to invest 15-20 hours in community service as your final project. You will need to let me know, along with your choice of this option, what organization your group intends to work with, at the end of the third week of classes. In addition to your time serving with the organization, you will complete a short paper (5-8 pages) outlining your experiences with the organization, what you learned, how you feel it applies to the concepts we discuss in the course, and how civic engagement in the community can benefit from what you learned in class this term.
Outline experiences with organization-
• THON
o Raising money
o Interacting with other committee members, building relationships
o Interaction with kids and families
o Relayed meaning of THON to other WIB members to get more people involved in the cure for cancer
o Morale: canning, meetings with CCSG (commonwealth) to make them feel comfortable at THON, spoke with and comforted dancers, THON kids and families
• American Cancer Society
o Luminaria ceremony
o Raising money
o Walking
• Food Bank
o donated canned goods, very little interaction
o limited experience
o collected canned food for homeless
• Second Mile
o Interacted with under-privileged kids
o Developed activities
• Red Cross Blood Drive
o Set up for blood drive, passed out flyers at hub and at THON, all proceeds went to THON great experience working with other volunteers and also with people who wanted to donate for a great cause
• Paper airplanes
o Sick child wanted to be in guiness book of world records for most planes
o No interaction but felt good to help a child and make him happy
What you learned—community service has a lot to do with self gratification, and personal ties to your causes, for THON, thon family communications, seeing the families so happy was showing it was for them, helping other people’s lives, volunteer work can sometimes be a form of letting a friend or stranger know you are there for them, sometimes it’s not all about money raised or donations but the friendships you make and the effect you have on other people’s lives, knowing that every little bit counts, and that it’s not necessarily about the money but also the weekend for the kids because they have something to look forward to. Seeing people donate who are poor when the rich people turn their heads, that you not only do you meet people that are involved in your org/cause, you meet people who support it--
“Thon is a busy intersection. Thon is dodging traffic to get the elusive $5 bill. Thon is the new BMW that passes you by and the 1978 Dodge Dart that gives you $1.” Collegian Brendan C. Quinn Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1999
How you feel it applies to the concepts we discuss in the course
to assess different kinds of speaking situations and diverse audiences
o don’t say “cancer” at Thon
to explain concepts and ideas so they will be understood by an audience
o pledge-booking through Thon
to use language appropriately and effectively in developing and presenting messages
o second mile, change the way we explained things and did things differently based on age – go out of your way to convey message
to deliver oral messages effectively in public settings
o Involvement meetings, explain what Thon was, explain experiences and then the other volunteers could develop their own feelings/experiences about THON
to understand the principles and techniques of effective group leadership
o Started THON committee…effectively.
o Relay for Life- making a schedule for when people should walk and actively communicating the schedule so we would be walking at all times.
o THON schedule
to adapt messages to varied situations and audiences
o “One day we will dance in celebration, until then we dance for a cure.”
o Handing out/creating flyers and explaining the message so people will understand and want to participate.
How civic engagement in the community can benefit from what you learned in class this term
-role models, teach others what we learned from volunteer work
In a world with disease, hunger, and poverty it is hard to make a difference as an individual, but community service allows people to come together and make a difference towards a common cause. As college students we have many opportunities to participate in volunteer work.
Many of the concepts and lessons we discussed in speech class have helped us to effectively participate in our community service work and make a positive difference in the world.
Community service is a way of life.
Siama: Experiences with organization draft:
In completing the service portion of this project, we each worked with several different organizations. As we talked about our experiences with these organizations, certain moments seemed to stick out in our minds for certain reasons. THON is the one service project that each of us was involved with. From morale and hospitality committees to chair positions for other organizations, we all participated in the events leading up to and during THON. Through these positions we worked with other students for several months, building relationships and sharing a passion for the cause. Through canning and pledge-booking to raise money, going to weekly meetings, and putting together pre-THON activities, we all knew that we were doing service work and helping children with cancer. It wasn’t until THON weekend, however, that we actually got to feel the impact that we were making on those children’s lives. The spirit of those kids and the gratitude of their families were overwhelming. While THON was an overall rewarding experience for all of us, the interaction with the children and their families was more motivational and inspiring than that with other members of the organization. Two members of our group participated in Relay For Life. We became involved with this mostly because of our personal association with the cause. Our involvement with this comes from two different perspectives, one being a team leader, the other being a team member. The leader had more contact with the American Cancer Society, communicating information to the team members. However, through the raising money, walking, and luminaria service, both roles were rewarding. Some of us participated in Second Mile, which was an event to provide constructive activities to underprivileged kids. Through creating activities and engaging in recreation, we were able to make the kids laugh and know that we made them happy. One of us participated in Red Cross Blood Drives, setting up and handing out flyers. Although we didn’t get to meet any of the people that the blood directly helped, it was nice meeting other people who wanted to help and shared a passion for a common cause. A couple of us participated in a food drive for the Food Bank and a child’s wish for paper airplanes (he wanted to break a world record). While these are great philanthropies and people surely benefit from them, our interaction was secondhand and therefore less rewarding emotionally. It is the motivation and inspiration that we get from those we serve and help that drives us to do the service that we do.
Christina:
Our participation in community service applies to many of the concepts that we have discussed in our Speech class. One of the concepts we have learned in class was to better assess different kinds of speaking situations and diverse audiences. Our group was thoroughly involved with THON and during our time spent volunteering for the cause we were forced to overcome diverse speaking situations and audiences. As a THON moraler, it was taught not to say the word “cancer” at THON because the event is aimed to be an exciting time for these unfortunate children, and in order for them to keep their hope alive it is helpful not to mention the one thing that is changing their lives completely. Pledgebooking is another part of THON in which people go door-to-door asking for donations to help the children with cancer. Learning how to explain concepts and ideas so that they are better understood by an audience helped us when pledgebooking. We were more comfortable and successful with getting our message across to the audience in order to receive a preferable response from them. While working with The Second Mile, it was helpful to be knowledgeable with using language appropriately and effectively in order to develop and present messages. We had to change the way in which we explained and did activities based on the age of the audience. We learned that you have to go out of your way at times to improve the means in which we convey our messages. Speech class also stressed how to deliver oral messages effectively in public settings, a skill which is very helpful to obtain. During involvement meetings for THON it was important to explain the importance of the event and also tell about our personal experiences in order for the other volunteers to become more familiar with it and also develop their own experiences and feelings. Understanding the principles and techniques of effective group leadership was helpful when we took part in some leadership roles while volunteering. Starting a THON committee and working for it to progress effectively required us to use many of the group leadership techniques discussed in class. While working with Relay for Life, it was also important to utilize our understanding of group leadership when making the schedule for when people should walk. We needed to actively communicate the schedule in order to make sure someone was walking at all times. Another concept discussed in class taught us to adapt messages to varied situations and audiences. This concept was useful when trying to advertise the blood drive for the Red Cross. In order to get as many people as possible we figured it would be best to illustrate our messages in different ways such as using signs, flyers, and sending out emails. The volunteering that we have done applies to many of the concepts that we have learned in the course, and the application of these concepts will also help the community in the long run.
Liz: What you learned-
Community service has a lot to do with self gratification which goes along with the personal ties for each cause. Each member of our group was actively involved with THON and we took away so much from our experiences. From the beginning of the school year at our first canning trip we realized not to judge a book by the cover. We say this because we would have people donate five and ten dollars to the cause that we knew were tight on money, while at the same time a person driving a new car drives by without making eye contact to avoid the situation. An article from the collegian said, “Thon is a busy intersection. Thon is dodging traffic to get the elusive $5 bill. Thon is the new BMW that passes you by and the 1978 Dodge Dart that gives you $1.” This type of situation is sad, but we have learned that sharing stories with people who do donate make it all worth it. Sometimes it is not all about money raised or donations, but the friendships you make and the effect you have on other people’s lives. We all realized that volunteer work can be as simple as letting a friend or stranger know you are there for them and that they are not alone. It means even more we were able to hear the families tell us that they appreciate all of our hard work from raising the money to holding THON weekend. For most families THON weekend is an escape from the hospital for a couple of days that their kids look forward to all year long, along with seeing their “big kid” friends at Penn State. We also learned that there are two types of community service; the type where you actually see the reward and the behind the scenes type. By working with the Second Mile and THON, we were actually able to see how we were helping out others. The Red Cross on the other hand is an example of behind the scenes service. People who donate blood and help organize the blood drives know that they are doing a good thing, but they do not actually get to see where there blood goes to and who it helps. Either way, we feel great just knowing that we are helping people in need.
Sarah:
It was quite evident through each community service event we participated in just how much we were helping those in need. During THON, families with sick children would continually thank us for our dedication and sacrifices, letting us know how much it meant to their families to have this event each year. The children would run around smiling or simply shoot you in the face with a water gun to say, “Thanks for being my friend.” At Relay for Life, family members and survivors spoke to the walkers about their appreciation as well during organized speeches and informal talks on the track. Although at the Blood Drive it was not directly expressed from the people in need of blood how necessary the event was, it became clear through reaching pint goals and the amount of people who showed up to donate that the volunteers did a great job in promoting the event and seeing it through. At the Second Mile, as similar to dealing with the THON children, it is the way the kids interact with the volunteers that lets you know how much your contributions are helpful to the community. The children are underprivileged and do not often experience fun like they do at the Second Mile, so it is a pleasant break for them to be able to play with college students and enjoy themselves. We believe the most important message to relay to other people interested in volunteering would be to just go out and volunteer! And for those who already are volunteering, keep it up. Based on our experiences and through lessons learned in this class, we feel that volunteering is definitely a worthwhile experience. Knowing that your time, dedication, and hard work is going to a person worse off than you are is motivating and inspiring. We believe that the agencies and organizations we were involved with did a great job of letting us know why we were dedicating our time and effort and we think that is very important for other civic engagement groups as well. The most special part of any civic engagement work is thinking about how you are affecting other people’s lives, even if you are unable to see the effects first hand.
All parts are done, right on schedule. yay girls! good luck studying and we'll have the final done soon. Christina did you want to do the first part of piecing it together and then we can all do a bit after that revision wise?
FINAL DRAFT:
Hey! I turned in the final draft into the Group Paper folder on Angel and also to Turnitin. I think we all did a great job and our paper shows that. Don't forget to fill out the peer reviews on angel under the group project folder. If I don’t see you before we leave have an awesome summer! -Liz
Hey everyone, Liz and I edited everything so take a look and she is going to turn it in tonight, so if you have any changes you would like to make email her asap.-christina
In a world with disease, hunger, and poverty it is hard to make a difference as an individual, but community service allows people to come together and make a difference towards a common cause. As college students we have many opportunities to participate in volunteer work. Each of the members in our group has been involved with a variety of organizations that encompass philanthropic activities. The service project required us to participate in volunteer work and relate what we have discussed in class to our volunteering. We have gained personal gratification along the way, and at the same time we knew we were contributing to the lives of people who are less fortunate. The inspiration that we gained personally and also delivered to others through volunteering was heightened by many of the concepts that we have discussed in class.
In completing the service portion of this project, we each worked with several different organizations. As we each discussed our experiences with these organizations, certain moments seemed to stick out in our minds. Each of our group members had involvement with a particular service project known as THON. From morale and hospitality committees, to chair positions for other organizations, we all participated in the events leading up to and during THON. Through these positions, we worked with other students for several months building relationships and sharing a passion for the cause. We went canning and pledge-booking to raise money, attended weekly meetings, and organized pre-THON as well as THON weekend activities. It wasn’t until THON weekend, however, that we actually got to feel the impact that we were making on children’s lives. The spirit of the kids and the gratitude of their families were overwhelming. THON was an overall rewarding experience and the interaction with the children and their families was an inspiration for all of us.
In association to THON, two members of our group participated in Relay For Life. We became involved with this event mostly because of our personal association with the cause. Our involvement with the cause comes from two different perspectives; one being a team leader and the other being a team member. The leader had more contact with the American Cancer Society and communicated the information to the team members. The whole process of raising money, walking, and the luminaria service was rewarding to both of us. Some of our group members participated in Second Mile, which was an event to provide constructive activities to underprivileged children. We created activities and engaged in recreation that excited the children. Another service project that one of our group members was involved with was the Red Cross. She helped promote a blood drive on campus by handing out flyers as well as setting up for the event. A few of us also participated in a food drive by donating canned goods or money to an organization, which gave all the proceeds to the Food Bank of Centre County. That same organization held an event to fulfill a sick child’s wish to obtain the most paper airplanes. We helped him to try and break a world record. The philanthropies we participated in helped the community but they also helped us because of the motivation that we felt when helping the less unfortunate.
Community service has a lot to do with self gratification which goes along with the personal ties for each cause. Each member of our group was actively involved with THON and we all took away so much from our experiences. From the beginning of the school year at our first canning trip we realized not to judge a book by the cover. We say this because we would have people donate five and ten dollars to the cause that we knew were tight on money, while at the same time a person driving a new car would drive by without making eye contact to avoid the situation. An article from the collegian said, “Thon is a busy intersection. Thon is dodging traffic to get the elusive $5 bill. Thon is the new BMW that passes you by and the 1978 Dodge Dart that gives you $1.” This type of situation is sad, but we have learned that sharing stories with people who do donate make it all worth it. It was not about the money raised and the donations we received, but the friendships we made and the effect we had on other people’s lives. We all realized that volunteer work can be as simple as letting a friend or stranger know you are there for them and that they are not alone. It meant even more when we were able to hear the families tell us that they appreciated all of our hard work from raising the money up to holding THON weekend. For most families, THON weekend was an escape from the hospital for a couple of days that their kids looked forward to all year, along with seeing their “big kid” friends at Penn State. We also learned that there are two types of community service; the type where you actually see the reward and the behind the scenes type. By working with the Second Mile and THON, we were actually able to see how we were helping out others. The Red Cross on the other hand is an example of behind the scenes service. People who donate blood and help organize the blood drives know that they are doing a good thing, but they do not actually get to see where there blood goes to and who it helps. Either way, we feel great just knowing that we are helping people in need. While participating with community service throughout the semester we discovered that it was sometimes difficult to encourage others and get our message across, but some of our major course concepts helped us prepare for this experience.
Our participation in community service applies to many of the concepts that we have discussed in our Speech class. One of the concepts we learned in class was to better assess different kinds of speaking situations and diverse audiences. Our group was thoroughly involved with THON, as mentioned before, and during our time spent volunteering for the cause we were forced to overcome diverse speaking situations and audiences. As a THON moraler, it was taught not to say the word “cancer” at THON because the event is aimed to be an exciting time for these unfortunate children, and in order for them to keep their hope alive it is helpful not to mention the one thing that is changing their lives completely. Pledge booking is another part of THON in which people go door-to-door asking for donations to help the children with cancer. Learning how to explain concepts and ideas so that they are better understood by an audience helped us when pledge booking. We were more comfortable and successful with getting our message across to the audience in order to receive a preferable response from them. While working with The Second Mile, it was helpful to be knowledgeable with using language appropriately and effectively in order to develop and present messages. We had to change the way in which we explained and did activities based on the age of the audience. We learned that you have to go out of your way at times to improve the means in which we convey our messages. Speech class also stressed how to deliver oral messages effectively in public settings, a skill which is very helpful to obtain. During involvement meetings for THON, it was important to explain the importance of the event to the new volunteers. We had to tell about our personal experiences in order for the other volunteers to become more familiar with the cause, and also develop their own experiences and feelings. Understanding the principles and techniques of effective group leadership was helpful when we took part in some leadership roles while volunteering. Starting a THON committee and working for it to progress effectively required us to use many of the group leadership techniques discussed in class. While working with Relay for Life, it was also important to utilize our understanding of group leadership when making the schedule for when people should walk. We needed to actively communicate the schedule in order to make sure someone was walking at all times. Another concept discussed in class taught us to adapt messages to varied situations and audiences. This concept was useful when trying to advertise the blood drive for the Red Cross. In order to get as many people as possible we figured it would be best to illustrate our messages in different ways such as using signs, flyers, and sending out emails. The volunteering that we have done applies to many of the concepts that we have learned in the course, and the application of these concepts will also help the community in the long run.
It was quite evident through each community service event we participated in just how much we were helping those in need. During THON, families with sick children would continually thank us for our dedication and sacrifices, letting us know how much it meant to their families to have this event each year. The children would run around smiling or simply shoot you in the face with a water gun to say, “Thanks for being my friend.” At Relay for Life, family members and survivors spoke to the walkers about their appreciation as well during organized speeches and informal talks on the track. Although at the Blood Drive it was not directly expressed from the people in need of blood how necessary the event was, it became clear through reaching pint goals and the amount of people who showed up to donate that the volunteers did a great job in promoting the event and seeing it through. The way in which the children at The Second Mile interacted with the volunteers let us know how much our contributions were helpful to the community. The children were underprivileged and often did not have the chance to experience the enjoyment and activities that are given to them at the Second Mile. It was a pleasant break for them to be able to play with college students and enjoy themselves. We believe the most important message to relay to other people interested in volunteering would be to just go out and volunteer! And for those who already are volunteering, keep it up. Based on our experiences and through lessons learned in this class, we feel that volunteering is definitely a worthwhile experience. Knowing that our time, dedication, and hard work has been going to a person worse off than we are is very inspiring. We believe that the agencies and organizations we were involved with did a great job of letting us know why we were dedicating our time and effort. The most special part of any civic engagement work is thinking about how you are affecting other people’s lives, even when you are unable to see the effects first hand.
Many of the concepts and lessons we discussed in speech class have helped us to effectively participate in our community service work to make a positive difference in the world. We participated in a variety of volunteer work and incorporated what we learned this semester into projecting our messages effectively. Gaining personal gratification along the way was motivation for each of us to continue volunteering, but the benefit that the people we helped and the community received was the most significant motivation. Although we worked with different organizations and agencies for our service project, we each realized we were all volunteering for the same reason. We volunteer not because it is the right thing to do, but because it makes someone else’s life a little bit better.
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