Ryan's Service Blog

Another Google(ing) Day

2007-04-21T02:38:47Z

I went to another day of community work for Open Arms of Minnesota. I walk in at 2 o’clock and go find Kristopher, who is the one person that really tells me what to do. We talked for about 5 to 10 minutes about how the past week went and really about the bomb threat. He heard about it on the news and wanted to know if what he heard was true and correct. I told him what I knew, which wasn’t too much. Then he started to explain what I was going to do for the day. After about 2 minutes of him explaining what it was I stopped him because it was the same thing I was doing last week. He got confused on who was the one that did it last week but he ended up remembering. So I took the names and companies of the donators and went to the same computer and got back to work. It went pretty much the same as the week before at least until I have to try to find information on the individual donors, which was much harder. The larger businesses are easier because they have a website that holds most of the information. This kind of work isn’t really what I was hoping for because I really can’t see the direct connection to the helping of these people but I guess the donors are helping and I’m helping getting the donors. In the end I guess I’m helping but it is not a very direct impact. I’m just hoping I will have a different job to do next week I am working.

Second Day

2007-04-13T01:43:28Z

Today was my second day of working at Open Arms of Minnesota. The work that I did today was different then the folding working that I was doing on last Thursday. I got to work in the “corner office�? on the computer. I say “corner office�? because it is the only desk and office space in the large entry room and it is located in the back corner by all the windows. It is a very nice desk, but it is just isolated. After Kristopher loaded up the computer and signed in he went over the job I was going to work on today. I was told to go into the catalog that Open Arms has of all of its donation givers. When I was in there I had to see if all the information that we had on the donors is correct and fill in any information that was missing. The way that I found the information of the donors was to literally Google them. I would go to Google.com and type in the name of the donor and find any information that I could on them. The way I would get the names would be through the program that they have on the computer by entering the id numbers. I was giving a list of id numbers and I had to go through the whole list. This process was interesting because I was playing a detective to find anything I could about these donors. It was another day of repetitive work but it was still fun because I got to interact with the other people volunteering. It was still a fun day.

Finally!

2007-04-06T01:42:15Z

Finally!!! Today I finally had my first day of community work. My plan of getting ready for the whole day worked great and getting to the bus on time was also great. The plan was a little different though. I had a interview with a company called Southwest Company. It was an informational interview that was with a group. The company sells books and software, which really doesn’t interest me. Mainly the selling part is what I dislike. The way that they have it set up is you would have to buy the product at wholesale prices, with your own money, then turn around and sell them. That is not a good idea for a college student to do. Anyway, I was able to get to work on time and more importantly at the right place. It has been awhile since I was there for the orientation. I still knew where it was and how to get there but it did cross my mind that I could have been wrong. After getting there I had really only one job and it was to fold and make the invitations to the biggest event Open Arms of Minnesota has. It was mundane, repetitive work but it was something that is needed to be done. It was also great work to do for the first day because I really couldn’t have messed it up. There were only three pieces to the invitation and they were already perforated so I knew where to fold. After my day of folding I got back on the bus to go back home. I told Kristopher that I will make this an every week thing, or until I leave to go home to North Carolina.

No Go!

2007-03-30T00:52:41Z

As for my first day, it went fine because I didn’t go. Last Saturday, I wrote that I think I will be able to make it to work but on the day I was suppose to go my torn tendon was just throbbing. I tried walking on it was it just wasn’t going to happen. I was still going to have to travel on crutches and that was the final point that made me decide that I wasn't going to go. As soon as I decided that I wasn’t going to go, I called up Kristopher and told him what I did. He was very nice and said that it is no problem and wished me the best. He also told me that he could set it up that I would go very Thursday to make it easy to know when to go. I think that works the best for me because that day I only have two classes on Thursday. The way that I would work my day would be to get up and get everything that I need for the day. I would go through all my classes and then go to the Coffman Union bus stop and get on the 2 at 1:30, or around that. In the time that I have between the community class and the bus would be a good time for me to eat lunch. I would rather eat lunch on campus because there really isn’t any places to eat on Franklin that I know of, but I could always just walk around and see when I finally get there.

Still Waiting

2007-03-25T22:36:21Z

Right now I am still waiting to have my first day but I am scheduled to work on Thursday. I was looking forward to the first day but yesterday I had an accident. I was at the gym playing some basketball when I jumped up to block a shot but then landed on my foot wrong. I decided to go to the Boyton Health Center to get it checked out. It so happens that I didn’t fracture my foot or ankle but it is severely sprained. Along to go with the sprain, there is a lot of swelling and limited movement so I have to go through physical therapy. Now I have to make the choice of still going to my first day or not. I’m pretty sure that I am going to go since I have waited so long to finally get to go. It really shouldn’t be too hard since I just get on the bus at Bailey then take it to Coffman then transfer to the 2 at Coffman, then finally get off at Franklin and 13th. It seems like a long trip but it really isn’t too bad. I think my first day is going to be fun. I don’t really know what I am going to do for my first day but I am up to whatever it is. If I have to guess what my first day will initial, I would have to say just learning were everything is and how the job runs. Overall I’m a so happy that I finally get to work.

Application

2007-03-05T04:15:38Z

After my visit to the organization, I was given a folder with great information about the organization. Inside was information about how they run and the history, but most importantly there was a packet on the different jobs available for people to have. It told you what the job entitles and how to start. One of the requirements was to read the section on what you would like to do before going into the organization to work. Finally there was an application that was needed to be filled out and then returned before you are able to work. After looking over the required information I filled out the application for the administrative job in the office of Open Arms of Minnesota. I still think it would be the greatest fit for me since if falls into the area that I have worked in before. I sent the application in the mail since I don’t have a fax machine around my dorm or at least don’t know where one is. It has been a few days with no response and that is fine. I am going to send them an email in the coming days if I don’t get one from them. It is always good to be persistent in something like this situation. I also thought of the idea of taking the trip back out to the office to speak to them in person and to familiarize myself with the rout even more. I thought since I’m out there I could go grocery shopping at the same time. It would be a good way to learn the area as well.

First Vist

2007-02-22T03:27:12Z

Yesterday I went to the orientation for the Open Arms of Minnesota organization. It was from 6 – 7 pm. To get to this meeting I had to take the bus system because my car is back home in North Carolina which is around 1000 miles away. For the record I really wish I had my car! I took the 2 from Coffman Union to the corner of Franklin Avenue and 13th Avenue. After walking around for a while because the place was sitting behind a larger building. I walked into the building and was greeted right away from one of the organization leaders, Molly. She was very happy to see me and to hear that I was excited to get started. Then when more people started to show up we started the meeting. First thing we did was watch a movie on the organization, and then we introduced ourselves. The movie was made 8 years ago and was a little dated but it was still informational. As for the other people in the group I was the youngest but the next closest person in age was sophomore who goes to the University of Minnesota. After we discussed why we were there we went through some questions about the organization we took a tour of the facility. We first went through the kitchen, then the basement and finally the office area. I was most interested in the office area since that is where I would like to work. Overall I got a good feeling from the organization and I feel that I could help out with this organization in many ways. The next step is to actually get started working.

Last Workshop

2007-02-15T03:54:42Z

Yesterday I went to the community involvement workshop that everyone had to attend. It was an interesting experience with some helpful information. Overall, I don’t think it was as helpful that I thought it would be but it was still good. We went over things like different ways to help the community and to get involved. We also went over the cause and effects of poverty. One of the things that we did in the workshop that I thought was an interesting activity was the framing of yourself. It was a different way to look at yourself but then they had use look at someone else and write their frame. That was hard for me to do because you can’t really tell too much about a person just by looking at them. It was all in good fun though so it wasn’t too bad. After finishing all the workshops, I am really getting ready to start my actual work. All of this preparation is great but I won’t feel like I am getting involved in the community until the first day of work. Something about getting out into the community feels rewarding. I still have six days before I go to the orientation and see the place that I will be working but I can only imagine that it will be a nice place.
As for our paper that we are working on, I am comparing Honey to the movie Our Song. They both had to deal with the struggles of the inter city life and people going through tough decisions. I make a comparison between the two and compare how the community is involved with the different parts of the people’s lives.

Community Work and Roberta Victor

2007-02-07T22:35:31Z

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on getting together with the organization Open Arms. I am still scheduled to attend the last workshop that I need to complete on the Tuesday the 13 and then I am scheduled to attend the orientation of the Open Arms program on the 20 from 5 to 6. I am looking forward to going through the process because I have done all the preparation work for this without doing any actual work. After emailing Kristopher, the organization director, I got the impression that he was very happy to hear that I was interested in the organization. He also seemed very friendly and very willing to help me in any way. I am hoping that the work done by the administrative part of Open Arms is similar to the work I did while I worked for Habitat for Technology because if it is, then I think I can get into the grove of things pretty easily. If it’s different then I guess it will just be a new experience in my life.

As for the reading of the hooker, Roberta Victor, it was an interesting perspective. I have never read anything that had this look on the life of a call girl. She was an interesting character because her mindset was she did the same thing that a normal woman does. I don’t see how exactly they way she sees it but it looks like she compares how a normal woman gets paid with a dinner or cloths and she gets paid with cash. I don’t know if I completely agree with this idea.

Preparation

2007-02-04T05:49:56Z

For the last week or so I have been finishing the workshops and the community involvement workshop, which I haven’t gotten around doing. The workshops were interesting for me because it gave me a reason to walk around in a library while I wasn’t focused on a single project. If I were to walk around in a library while I am in the middle of a project and I didn’t go to the workshops, I would be lost. Now I know that I could look up all the information I need on the library website then down to the library when I have the time to get the books and information already knowing where it is located. The next thing that is on my plate is the information session with the people from the organization that I chose, which was the Open Arms. I was interested in this organization because it had an administrative section which is something that I have done before for Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Technology. I am still waiting on the email back from the administrative organizer but I am starting to look forward to this new organization. I also we interested in the meal preparation but I thought that I would be more useful in the office then in the kitchen, not because I cant cook because I think I can but my experience leans more towards the office. I can make some pretty mean omelets and steaks. As for this bloging project that we have for the length of the class is something new to me because I don’t keep a journal of a blog at any other site but it seems like an interesting idea to track the thoughts of the students across the semester.

Community Involvement

2007-01-18T18:06:50Z

Community involvement to me is a great way to get out and helping people. The way that I describe service is the act of helping people without the intension of getting somethin in return. Some people only help when it helps themselves. I have had some experience in community work. I have worked at Habitate to humanity and Habitat for Technology. I have also worked in soup kitchens and shelters. Community service is a great way to give back and it really opens up your mind to the different situation that you might not have to deal with in everyday life.