"You have to pack them all before you leave."

tri-city volunteer center
Erica Moen + Taylor Loosli = episode 3

Reaching For Equity 2

   After a lot of thinking, i finally decided i was going to go to the elderly center again. This place's exact name is Park Central Care & Rehabilitation Center. Unfortunately Chris could not come with me this time because he has to go to last minute work. This time returning to this strangely familiar place was much different. For one, Chris wasn't here and this time a group of teenagers from a local school came along. I felt very lonely. The trip this time wasn't that different from last time besides these things. Mainly i was bothered by the amount of people that were there. As always, the staff of the facility greeted us with bright smiles. We then continued with our daily routine; we sang in the lobby and then proceeded into the individual rooms down the hall. A lot of the faces were very familiar and they too greeted us with big smiles. We sang about two songs for each person, my own singing was drowned out in the huge sea of voices. Soon one of the girls in the group of teenagers played a song on her violin for one of the rooms. She was pretty good. I took one glance at her and realized that she was also disabled. Her right arm was deformed and i felt a sort of pity for her. I decided to shake it off because i was proud of this stranger who had the ability to play this instrument a lot better than i could. I tried not to stare but at the same time i wanted to watch this epic moment. After this miraculous moment, we went to the cafeteria were a nice lady offered me some food. Of course i'm not supposed to eat it so i declined, but i felt sincerely grateful that someone so old still cared about my health.  

OHS

Ducks' cage I cleaned.

      Sooo... On Saturday, April 16, I wen to volunteer at the Ohlone Humane Society Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. It's a non profit organization that takes in orphaned or injured wild life, and helps them get better and prepare to go back to the wild. The week before I went to an orientation here and had to learn about the organization, the animals they can and can't take, and all the things they do to help. 

   

     They gave me a packet so when I start actually doing more work, and helping out more, I can let people that call about a animal know the steps to take and what to do. When I came in on the 16th, I had to take a open book test. It wasn't that fun. It took me about twenty minutes. I guess the test was just a review. After the test, I asked Angela, the person I have been emailing and a volunteer at OHS, what to do next. She told me to follow around another more experienced volunteer to learn how and what to do. There was all girls there that day. Two of them were from Logan, and the other one was a senior at some other place. Me and the two Logan kids were following the senior around and she was just washing one of the doves room. They aren't allowed to keep the animals, but some of them can't go back in the wild, and Poochie, the dove couldn't because she was blind. 

     After being a shadow, Angela asked us to clean the fledgling birds cage. They were orphaned. After that, Angela was going to feed the squirrels and we all wanted to watch. It was really cool. We fixed the food for two of the younger ones, and Angela took care of the older one. They ate some cranberries, and peanuts with walnuts. They were really cute, but we were told not to get to close with them because they wont be ready for the wild. I guess that's true, but it's harder than it seems. 

     After feeding the squirrels, Angela went to the baby opossums heated cage thing. They were waaay cute. I know, I didnt think they could be cute either. She fed them milk through a tube thing, and she went drop by drop by drop because they were still so young. While she was feeding them, we were all having a conversation and chilling together and having a good time. 

     I know I didn't do much...again, but next week I can do more since I'm learning and I can help out the wild life. I had a really great time and I wish I was able to do more but I need practice, so by the end of this project I'm sure I will have done a lot and helped and fed a bunch of animals while having a great time.  

Volunteering Post #2

This second time I volunteered was a bit different than the first. It started out like it usually did, although this time I got there early so I had to actually help set up. However, this time we waited for nearly 45 minutes waiting for the foster homes to bring the dogs. When they did, I was placed with 2 chinese crested terriers or something like that. I must say, it was the easiest 3 hours of volunteering i've ever done. They didn't bark or anything, they either slept, played with each other or sat peacefully in my lap. Then someone decided they wanted to put their mother in the pen with me. When that happened, all three of them started running around and jumping on me. This only lasted for 10 minutes though, then they took her out and they were calm again. Basically, for 3 hours I sat in a cage with two things that barely moved either texting or trying to amuse myself. Overall, it was less fun than last time and me being so annoyed at the last dog I had to sit with was probably an over exaggeration since I really did nothing this time around.

Helping Out the Seniors

Its my second volunteer for the equity project and for my second place I decided to do it right at the school. The school was having a flee market for the GradNight for the seniors. I went to go help with setting up, making signs and to put it all down at the end of it.

I think that really the only bad thing about this was the fact that I had to get up at seven in the morning for it. I'm really happy that there was coffee there that helped. The first thing that we did was set up tables and put all the stuff for sale on them, separating all the electronics and fabrics and such. At the end of the day the stuff that wasnt sold went to St. Vincent De Paul. I felt good about helping our seniors for something in their last year here and the fact that what wasn't sold went to a charity.

Reaching for Equity # 2

Tutoring

Ok, so for this post I decided to continue volunteering at the district. Only this time I was asked to become a volunteer tutor for kids in elementary school. I said yes and volunteered on April 11, 20011. The tutoring was held in the back of the adult school. There I met a little kid by the name Guillermo. I was asked if I could be his tutor, I said yes. It was an hour and half of tutoring and during that time I helped him with his homework. It was a rewarding experience for me to be able to help out someone in need. It got me to think about how me helping him is going to affect him later on life. What I really like is that how this little kid came to get tutored of his own free will; his parents or teachers dint force to be there.

                It was awesome and I’m going back to help more little kids with their homework or whatever they need help with because students like Guillermo improve through tutoring. Being able to give this kind of help is awesome because one will feel happy after because when they noticed what they have done is going to make a little kids life a little easier.

                                 Help out kids who are willing and are asking for help.                                                                 Become a tutor. =)

     

Tri-City Volunteer #2

After being sent home due to having no jobs available for us last week, John and I decided to return to Tri-City volunteer. Immediately after school, We went directly to the facility in hopes to get our community service hours and a decent job to do. Right when we got into the facility, Bryan Gerges, our "leader" told us to sign this paper that asked for our name, time of arrival, and time of departure. After that we got a neon vest with a tag on it saying "VOLUNTEER" The first couple of minutes was really awkward. Everybody was working except the people I came with. We did not know what to do. Then, I asked some guy who I believed to be one of the directors of the whole thing, If there is anything to do. He just looks at me like I'm and idiot, and tells me he's just a volunteer. So we continued to stand there awkwardly.. Soon after, Bryan, Who has experience from working here prior to the project, Showed us around and told us what to do. We loaded carts with juice, bread, and bags loaded with groceries that were being served to the people who are less fortunate. After doing that for quite a while, We went into a staff break room, And mopped the floor, and cleaned the counter tops. It took us about 15 minutes to complete the whole room. After that we went out into the main facility, and stood there awkwardly again.. Then some guy who was not wearing a safety yellow neon vest told us to grab brooms and sweep the building. John, Bryan and I swept every part of the building. After accomplishing that task, We stood there again waiting to be told what to do. At that point I was extremely bored of doing janitorial work. I see a group of kids out a long table, that had huge bags of potatoes scattered along the table, They were bagging potatoes and throwing them into bins that would be served to the homeless. I joined them and bagged about 20 plastic bags of potatoes. By the time I completed all that, It was time to go. :( I enjoyed my time working at tri city volunteer. Feels good to be doing something for a good cause and helping out people who are less fortunate. I will return next week to Tri-City volunteer and continue serving the community! byebye.

Volunteer Stuff Entry #2

Work Time: 2 hours

Commentary
Amanda: I wish I could've gotten more video footage, but we were so busy with hands on tasks that I did not have enough time to capture it all. Not only that, but Michael and I were often doing different tasks. I would also like to apologize about the gaudy transitions and such, I don't think a boring picture show could've been produced by me. (chuckle) Anyways, towards the end when it began raining, half of us were putting away and cleaning materials. I give kudos to the guys out in the field when it was cold and rainy, especially the guy in a tank top.

Michael: Sorry for any offensive language. This is me working at FIERCE again. It was a great experience. I got to learn more ways on fighting evil foe like weeds.

-Insert Video Here-

Commentary
Amanda: I'm sorry for not being so enthusiastic. I hardly knew what to say this time around. Unfortunately, we weren't doing much that was exciting that week. We still had a lot of fun, but the tasks were simple and the only weather issue was the rain. We didn't do our video diary at the garden like we did last week because some things came up and I had to leave early, but we still managed to get it done!

Michael:

EDIT: Video Hosting Problems

STACKIN' CHICKEN PATTIES!

Before this post confuses anyone, this is written by PATRICIA DESANTORES through Genesis' blog. I had some difficulties with logging into blogger and this was my only choice. Click the link below to watch my second video podcast about me and Angela's second time volunteering at Tri-City Volunteers, Inc. My video is only part one, so tune in for part two that will be recorded by Angela :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acs7EV1wgBY

Reaching For Bread

On Monday April 11, 2011 I volunteered at the Tri-City Volunteer Center. Danielle and I bagged bread for about an hour. The bread was squished and frozen. The boxes were filled with donuts, rolls, and sandwich buns. I couldn't fathom eating smashed bread. I can see now, that when put in a position like that, you must eat whatever is available. After we had bagged all the bread we waited for instruction. The was really nothing else for us to do but load up boxes into a truck. Danielle and I only could carry two while the boys carried four each. We all didn't have much to do that day. We started guessing why people were there. A few boys signed out in the court binder which surprised me. I didn't really understand why they were sent there but I guess that helps. Anyways, I had a good time and the time went by really fast.

The Energetic Ones

For the first volunteering post, I volunteered with Josh Christy at Tri-City Volunteers and we decided to go to the same place the second time around. We showed up a little before three and told the man in charge we've been there before so he just told us to go straight to the warehouse. This time there was more people volunteering with us but none of them went to our school so we just kept to ourselves because we were getting looks. We started by bagging onions and filled up two whole bins by ourselves. Last time, we bagged potatoes and had Norma, Casey, and Brooke there for an assembly line but this time around it was just us doing it on our own. After we were done, we helped out another girl who was bagging bread. We just put three or more types of bread in a bag and put them in a huge bin for a while. Josh really loved ripping up the bread for some strange reason. After we finished bagging all the bread, we looked around and realized everything had pretty much been done. The other people there were really just sitting around talking to each other so Josh and I were just standing around waiting for the man in charge to come back in the warehouse. The man came back and he put everybody to sweeping. Josh thought he was Sir Sweeps-A-Lot or something with his enormous broom but I was the only one really sweeping accurately. We were dancing around while sweeping and again the looks. People were ogling like we had a third eye but we got the place clean so... After everyone got tired of sweeping, they went back to lounging. I took this as the perfect opportunity to showcase my stepping skills but one of the guys in charge took this the wrong way. He said since we're the only energetic ones, he'd put us to bagging cans and desserts. Soon, everyone was helping us and we filled a lot of paper bags with cans of stuff like corn, sauces, and soups. I got asparagus juice all over me but it went okay. Pretty soon it was time to go and Josh got upset because he wanted to bag some more bread. I was like really Josh, relax. We were glad we got to do different things than last time because we were worried it'd be the same thing for another two hours. Even though Josh and I were like loners, we had a good time and got a lot of things done. We plan on going back for the third time later this week and trust we'll still be the energetic ones there.

Driving there like pros: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR-d7gFkBwg

Sweeping like pros: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejDlkl6lMCk&feature=related

Bagging like pros: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtUQJiJxxLY&NR=1

Volunteering for Fashion

This time around, me and Sean decided to volunteer for the fashion show the school puts on. Last time we volunteered, I was in a place that was in my comfort zone and this time was a little different. I was not sure what I was supposed to do while we were there but once we got directions it was fine. We saw lots of people from our school so that made the experience a little more welcoming than it would have been if there were a bunch of complete strangers around. We basically just helped with setting up the place and got everything ready for the show. We tried to set up all the sound equipment but something went wrong and the microphone was not working. We found a replacement and everything was set to go. The show went the way it was supposed to go, but I don't think I would want to make this a usual thing. It's not because the show was bad, it's more that I'm not interested in what we were doing, but it was still nice to be able to help someone out and make their life easier. Again, we volunteered for something that is a one time thing so we are going to have to find another place to volunteer at next time.

Kids scream the darnest things!

On my second day of visiting, I had learned that kids are always screaming. They have a tendency to think that they are the center of attention. I am starting to understand why parents and teachers are always frustrated and stressed when they are dealing with a bunch of very little kids.  I have never really understood what our minds were like when they were fresh and not touched by human hands.

On that day I have helped a child with his homework simple math then afterwards, I handed them out their healthy snack. Some kids asked me what high school was like because of how some of them were middle schoolers and had curious little heads, so I explained them how it was like and how fun it was to be a high schooler in Fremont. One kid had then asked me what happened in WWII, I couldn't really tell him because that all the information that I knew was very gruesome such as how they treated the Jews and how they choose their soldiers to be all blond and blue-eyed.  I told him that it was bad and shouldn't have happened.

After, I had helped the little kids and all of their work was turned in and done I gave them work so that they could do. Not long after, parents began swooping in and picking them up.  That is when I get annoyed because of how old they are and yet still not able to clean up after themselves.>:(

That was it for Day 2 of the Journal Entry.  I hope that they can learn to clean up for themselves. I plan to fix this habit before I get all of my hours.

Helping Out With Fashion

For my second day of volunteering, I volunteered to help out with the fashion show here at the school. The president of the fashion show, Noelle Tobias, was a good friend of mine and the girlfriend of my close friend Johnniel Cruz, so helping her out was a no brainer. While there, i helped out with the music equipment with Johnniel. After a few tests, everything seemed fine for the fashion show, but a few minutes in there was already tech problems. The microphone the announcers were using wasn't working. Whenever they would speak into it, barely any noise will come out, but luckily we had an extra microphone to replace it with. After this small miscue, the rest of the show went smoothly without any problems. The experience was great as i got to help out a good friend of mine and had a fun time working with the music. The clothing styles were awesome, and Noelle did an overall great job preparing the fashion show. The models were great and funny and the designers had great designs and overall everyone had a relaxing, fun time. Being there supporting and helping out Noelle was great and i wouldn't hesitate to do so again. Overall a great experience, with lots of memorable moments.

Unexpected FUN

My second time at The Tri-City Volunteer Center I went with my three of my friends including our favorite long lost classmate, The one and only Javier Saavedra. As we got there I was hoping I get a new job to do besides sweeping the floor or bagging onions but I know there is anything else better to do than that. Once we got into the work room We signed in, Grabbed a Neon yellow vest, a name tag and a pair of latex gloves. As I look up I see Alencio and Zena bagging onions. I ask John, one of the main instructors, what can I do. He walked me outside and told be to flatten cardboard. For about 20 mins I flattened at least 70 boxes and threw them in to a large box. I was getting tired of flattening boxes its was pretty boring and I was getting a little tired. Right as I grabbed a box a bee flew out of no where. I jumped back in shock and hurried back in to the work room. If you guys didn't know I am EXTREMELY allergic to bee stings. :( I could DIE if I got stung.

As I ran back in, I shouted to John that their is a bee outside and I told him about how allergic I am to bee stings. I asked him if I could bag onions because I am pretty fast at it. He said yes and I headed over to Alencio and Zena to help them. Once I got to the table I had the best idea to go through a lot of onion sacks fast and efficiently. I told Zena and Alencio to bag the onions and I would tie them. As fast as my idea went we got through 3 bags in 10 minutes. We had no more onions in any of the sacks so we had to go into the freezer to get a couple more sacks.

Alencio, Zena and I walk to the freezer and opened the door that had a latch that looked like if you got locked in you would be LOCKED IN. We walked in and went about 3 meters away from the door. As the room got darker by the second I blinked and the room was PITCH BLACK. The only thing I heard was footsteps, Screaming from Zena, and the banging on the door from Alencio. I ran to the door and started banging and I finally saw that the door nob was glow in the dark for a reason. We had just got in to a near-death experience.We eventually open the door and brang back 2 sacks. Within the next 10 minutes we finished the backs and the day was done.
Ohhh how I love doing community service now.

Once Again.

On April 11^th 2011, right after school I went to volunteer at Tri-City Volunteers, again. As soon as I got there I put on the vest, a badge, signed in, and got to work. This time around there wasn’t any packing potatoes or onions. There were a lot of other people I didn’t know, although Brooke and Danielle were there packing donuts. But my duty was to fill in the carts with food. The items I had to put in the carts were: a big bag of beans, juice, three different types of bread, meat, pizza, two brown bags that you have to get from different places, a dairy product, toilet paper, and a small pie or cake. After filling in the cart, I had to walk over to a little window where some slips were put. The slips would say the person’s name and how much would need to be given to them. It all depends on how big the family is; the bigger the family, the more items were given to them. While I got the cart ready the person was waiting outside. Later after getting everything in the cart, I would have to take the cart outside, yell out the name, and walk with the cart to the person’s car. Once at the car, I would need to help whoever the person is get the items inside their car and walk back, and fill it up. And that was the routine of the day. But since I didn’t get any pictures that day I went the following day and took some with Zena and Alencio, because they were there too.

Tri-City Volunteering 2nd Time

Driving there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR-d7gFkBwg Bagging Onions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtUQJiJxxLY Breaking it down Sweeping!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejDlkl6lMCk This time Genesis and I wen't to the volunteer center. It was a different experience because we were doing different things than from the first visit. This time we bagged alot of onions and filled up almost 2 bins of onions. Then we moved onto the bread. We had to package some bread, it might have been stale or it might not have. There were all different kinds of bread like sourdough, sesame seed bread, and this other kind that Genesis and I called giraffe bread because it looked like a giraffes fur. We packaged a lot of bread including large loafs and individual rolls. Once that was done we didn't really have anything to do because everyone was just sitting around. So Genesis and I decided to take a break. After a slight STEP session Genesis and I were put on sweeping duty because we had the most energy. We continued to break it down while sweeping. Which then got us moved to bagging cans. It was 6 cans per bag plus one dessert, the dessert consisted of green beans.... which I didn't really think was a dessert, and dried pitted plums. We began bagging and we bagged stuff like applesauce, and mixed vegetables. But then we got to reach into some bins and we found donated cans, which just shows that from canned food drives and other events this is where the cans are brought. I am looking forward to the next volunteer session because the last session was fun and it was also nice knowing that you're helping out people who need help. I am really considering doing this for most of my volunteer hours that are rquired by the school, maybe over the summer or something.

Fashion Rack!

On Thursday, April 7th, Washington held the first Fashion Show. My job was the sell the donated clothing at the Fashion Rack before the show, during the break, and after the show. It was a lot of fun folding the clothes and rearranging the hanging clothes. There was another girl there with me, she was selling the pants and skirts...I forgot her name.

I was really bored during the show, feeling a little lonely. Then I noticed my friend Josh was one of the models (LOL) and so his girlfriend, Susie, was there. So on my way to get a schedule of the show she sort of tackled me. We had fun trying on the clothing (shh...),over our other clothing of course...

Eventually I sold two shirts and two blouses. There was one particular white blouse with a flowery design. Lots of women and girls were eyeing it, but surprisingly no one bought it. Oh well, I didn't get payed but it felt like a job. And afterwards, on my way home, my father said it was good that I liked selling and dealing with clothes. He said it would be a good part-time job. Maybe...if I find extra time.

Getting My Hands Dirty.

After a large struggle of finding a place to volunteer, as well as actually volunteering I finally was able to work.I started off by actually attempting to arrive on time and did so by not going home after school, but arriving straight there. Well I get there with my fellow volunteers and walk in very confused. We make our way over to a worker and he leads us to a sign in sheet, we sign our names and meander over to the work area. We put on our green safety vests, and I waited for some kind of instruction or order on what to do. It didn't come.

I guess we are kind of supposed to find our own work because I started getting strange looks until Bryan led us to a back room. We started hesitantly wiping off counters and ended up mopping floors. Next we swept the entire work room floor and tried to find something else to do. Joaquin began bagging potatoes which left me and Bryan standing awkwardly waiting and watching. Soon a guy singles me out and asks me to "run" a cart.

I had no Idea what he meant. So I asked. Turns out, Bryan knew what to do so he led the way. we took a cart full of food and brought it out to a group of homeless people. I read a name off a sheet of paper and a woman told me that it was her. I followed her to her car and helped her load the food into it. As i was packing it full of cans and bread, I noticed that her whole wardrobe was in the car. She had been living out of it... This really opened my eyes and made me appreciative. Soon afterwards we were finished with our shift so we removed our vests and left the place having an experience not many others can claim they have had. I am proud of what I did and cant wait to do it again.

Call me spongebob, stackin' chicken patties...in a bag.

For the second day of volunteering, Patricia and I went back to Tri-City Volunteers. This time, we were pretty anxious to see if they would actually give a job instead of making us seal envelopes like last time. We arrived there, had to sign in first, and a man (who was bald and had a mustache) gave us green vests and tags to indicate that we volunteered there. "Follow me," he said; he led us to a table and told us to wait there and after a few minutes, came back with about 3 boxes. He opened them up, and we were introduced to...cookies? or pancakes? NOPE, it was frozen chicken patties. "Ok, so I want you guys to put 6 in each bag, tie them up, and put them into those boxes", he said, pointing to an empty box next to us. So we got to work! About 5 minutes into the process, I realized that tying plastic bags with rubber gloves is not the business. So I took one glove out, but was instantly caught by the Po-Po (not really, just another volunteer) to put my glove back on. We were going at a steady pace, when my eye caught the label on the box. "Hey Patricia...does that say...TYSON?!", I said. We both said, "Whaaaat?" and thought it was a coincidence since we recently learned about how Tyson was one of the food companies that didn't properly take care of their chicken; and there we were, touching the frozen chicken...gross. We continued with our work, went through all of the boxes, and though we were done. But the guy came back and said, "NO YOU'RE NOT" and led us to a big freezer. In the freezer, we saw that there were more boxes of chicken patties and other frozen foods. We grabbed some more boxes and went back to our table to get as many done. I would say that we went through about 7-8 boxes of doing the same process, but I didn't mind because it was way better than sealing envelopes. That day was way better than the first because we actually got out there, helped out, and got the satisfaction that we gave back to the community.

VIDEO LOG COMING SOON!...maybe.

Blog Entry #2

For my second blog entry about community service. I decide to go to the same organization. This once again was wildlife. An outreach program for middle school aged kids. For my volunteer hours I had to help college aged volunteers run what they call a club. One of there gets togethers. I helped run games and passed out snack after wards. Then afterwards we all just hung out with the kids. My second experience with this organization was very similair to the first one. It was still a great experience. But I think I might find a different organization for my third entry. Just to change it up a little bit.

2nd visit with Florence

This time as we visited Florence, it was as if we were helping out our grandma sort out her files. Kate and i arrived at Florence with the agenda of video taping Florence for the video to benefit the CCCR. We gave her time to just think about everything and just relax before we got started with that. While Florence was busy with that, Kate and I went to the "archive" room. Mainly the room where she keeps all of her documents, book, and awards. She was this sort of old dusty Filing shelf with cubby's that each contained news letter issues that the CCCR mailed out to people along with flires as well. Most of them were dusty but it was really fun reading through the issues which some were labeled as late as the 70s. We were to get one of each issue so that we could make some type of binder for the refugee to have some sort of documentation. This sort of took a while since two were missing but, it was good enough for now. After we finished up with collecting all that we could, we started the interview. Kate and i switched off asking Florence a few basic questions which we built off from to create a good conversation. It was great to hear about how exactly she got involved with the refugee and how she took the time to learn more on the issue of wetlands being taken advantage of. After the interview though, we were able to actually go visit LaRiviere Marsh. Kate walked with Florence most of the time while Ryan and I took footage of the mash. it was really different feeling now that i have finally visited refugee that i get more of an idea to what we're doing, what we're trying to help fight for.

Volunteering to support cancer

The video is hard to see and comprehend but the organization was called LiveStrong. That is what the banner in the background had read. This took place at the Century 25 theater in Union Landing in Union City. There was an inspiring documentary based on the story of a man who completed 75 marathons in 75 days for his wife who had cancer. LiveStrong supports people with cancer like Lance Armstrong, who is apart of the organization.

Booked.

For the Reaching for Equity Project, I recently started volunteering with the Alameda County Library Bookmobile. When I got there, I realized that my mom dropped me off on the wrong side of the library, so I had to walk on the opposite end of the library before reaching my volunteer station. When I got there, I was greeted by Evelyn Hom and Marta Navarrette, who head the Bookmobile and Volunteer Services. They walked me through the process I would go through every time I would volunteer. First I signed in then wrote down the number of hours I would stay for. I wrote "2 hours," then was shown what I would be doing for the next two hours.

Working in the Bookmobile is actually just processing books the entire time. The library gets all of their books from used books stores, so when processing books, first you have to look at the front and back covers of the books and use a black marker to black-out any personal information that a previous owner might have written. Then you have to flip through the pages and do the same thing, while checking for anything they may have used for bookmarks. Marta told me that they once found an airplane ticket, so she wanted to make sure that I checked. Once everything is done, you need to stamp the top of the book, and the processing is done. Processing each book is pretty fast, but monotonous, and I was able to process about 55 books before I left. While it was boring, I did have one of my friends volunteering with me, so time did go faster than if I would have been alone. Also, you are able to listen to your iPod, which could help pass the time as well.

Gardening at American Day #2

So last Friday I went to American’s gardening club for the second time. Thankfully I didn’t get lost. When I arrived I was tired, sick, and my wrist hurt when I moved it. I noticed that there was a giant black storm cloud hanging right above the garden and no where else. We were still doing the same thing that I had done on my first day there, which was getting rid of all the grass to make room for the garden. To kill the grass we had to lay card bored over it, which blocked out the sunlight and therefore killed the grass. The lady in charge saw that there was a whole bunch of card bored in the schools recycling, and j told us to fish some of it out. I couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not so when people started walking over there I just followed them. We grabbed the card bored that we could reach and flattened it out so that we could use it. Then Michael volunteered to jump inside to get the pieces that we couldn’t reach. We noticed all of the Tyson boxes and started talking about food Inc. After a long time of ripping up the boxes the head lady came over and asked what we were doing. She said that they already had all of the cardboard that they needed, because Cosco had supplied it free of charge. We moved most of the boxes to the gardening area just in case. Then I used the rake to dig up and move a bunch of grass before card bored was placed over it. The work was really tiring and I got dirt all over my hands but I realized that my wrist had stopped hurting. I noticed that there was a big pile of grass behind me so (for the first time in my life) I used an electric grass trimmer. As I cut Michael held the cord and Panda piled up the grass that I had cut. Then a group of other girls would put the piled up grass into buckets and remove it. Once the grass was cleared cardboard was placed over it, then it was hosed down, then soil was placed on top, and then things were planted in it. The grass cuter caused pieces of the grass to fly out in all directions. By the end I was covered in grass and being allergic to it, didn’t help. Then it started to pour down rain so we had to stop using the grass cutter. It was about time to leave anyways. We still needed to flood a tree that we had just planted even though it was raining, so I got a hose and started to fill buckets of water. The hose ran over my head and there was a leak in it. The water was freezing cold. By the end my hands had gone completely numb, I was wet, I was dirty but somehow I felt a lot better.

Not so crazy of a day #2

On our second day we had to completly mop the entire shelter, and sweep, also put potatoes into a bag. All in all i thought it was alright ,but some others didn't really like it so much. We got there signed in then went straight to moping mainly because all the other jobs were taken and it soon time to close. We mopped the back store, the staff lounge, and also the main loading dock. There are many interesting people there, especially the boss he never stops working. He keeps working and never stops, if he needs something done he does it him self, so its very hard to find jobs to do there. Especially when there are other people working and have taken most of the jobs, you have to think creativly. These type of things are not usually easy to do. After moping, we loaded some potatoes into bags, filled some shopping carts and re-stocked the cans in a shelf area. We worked for about 2 hours and broke a sweat. After working i realized that it isnt easy feeding the homeless but all in all i felt good after like i helped many families, and changed somones life...

Day Trip

For the second volunteering session, I continued helping out the Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge(CCCR). I was supposed to meet up with Kate and Britney again at Florence's home in Palo Alto at 1p.m. on Saturday, but I had a soccer game that day in San Francisco and arrived at around 2:15p.m. We were planning on fully interviewing Florence about the Committee, why she started, and so on. I felt bad because I barely made it in time to ask one question for the video, as Kate and Britney had already done most of it. Just like the last time I visited Florence's home I was warmly welcomed and she offered me some cookies and lemonade. I am now pretty comfortable going to her house and talking about wetlands, or anything for that matter. I talked a little bit more with her about (I wish I could remember, but it is just not coming to me right now). Anyways, It was an overall good 30 minutes that I was there. Then after we finished the filming the interview we drove over to the Don Pedro Wildlife Refuge to take pictures and learn a little bit more about the wetlands there. I have been there before, but not with 4 tour guides (Florence, Kate and her parents). It was really cool to see what they have been working so hard to preserve, not only plants but also all the animals. I saw tons of different species of birds, which Kate could always name, and also ground squirrels and a few fish. It was also really neat to see that trails in the refuge were dedicated to Florence and her husband. It was like I was with a celebrity. They have done so much to save these marshes and I am glad to see they are recognized for what they have done. So, at the refuge I took a lot of pictures and learned from each of our special guides about the importance of having marshes. I learned about how the marshes act as filters when all the runoff water comes from the city and goes towards the bay. It takes out a lot of pollutants and chemicals, providing the bay with cleaner water. This is the reason for the mud in the marshes smelling so bad, because it is filled with gross man-made materials. Another advantage of having marshes is that they act as sponges when there is a flood. They take in a lot of water and would have a great impact on protecting Fremont if the Bay ever flooded. Not only do the marshes help with these things, but they are also the home of many animals and some endangered species like the salt marsh harvest mouse. Most of the animals require the marshes for shelter and food, and so they could not live in this area without them. Learning about this and seeing it myself has made it more important for me to help out the CCCR during this project. This is because it is hard to fight for something you do not know much about and by knowing a lot more about it, I feel the drive to make a difference.

Looking at the rubric for this project, I realize that I again forgot to quote people from the Committee. I will make sure to do it next time!

"Potatoes, potatoes. I'm sick of potatoes..."

Once again, I went to the Tri-City Volunteer center except this time I was with Leo Moyrong. Since it was Leo’s first time there, I waited for him to fill out the paperwork first. On our way out to the food pantry, we saw Francis, Zena, and Alencio there. We grabbed some gloves and a bright green vest and headed straight for the stack of potatoes. John, the man in charge, had assigned us to bag the potatoes. From experience, I knew that it would be much easier to run an assembly line. I bagged the potatoes about three-fourths of the way full and then Leo tied it up and threw it in the bin. At first, tying was quite difficult for Leo because of the gloves we had to wear but he caught on quickly and in no time we were working that assembly line! Leo and I worked on it for a while and later, three others joined us. It was a tedious job because grabbing the potatoes was not as easy as you thought it would be! After a little while, my hands started to hurt and sweat in those gloves so I decided to switch them out for sanitary purposes. The whole hour and a half we were bagging potatoes. It was nice to have Leo there to keep me company or else I would have been bored out of my mind. However, I didn’t dread over the job too much because I kept in mind I was giving back to the community. Towards the end, Leo and I rolled out a few carts for some of the people waiting to receive their food. Overall, it was a great experience again. However, if I could choose between bagging onions and bagging potatoes, I would definitely choose the onions because you only need three in a bag and they are much easier to grab!

Community Service Post #2

Date: 5 April 2011

I worked from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Marine Recruiting Office this time. Today I met the new Sgt. who just started work there, Sgt. Roseta. She was talking to Ssgt. Hosch because she forgot her go-fasters. Since she is a tall lady, she couldn't borrow any of the other girls go-fasters, so I loaned her mine. Sgt. Roseta and Ssgt. Hosch took all the recruits out for PT. I finished matching the list of names to the pictures and I sheredded some papers and waited for Ssgt. Hosch to return.

I love working with the Marines, they are all very nice and well behaved, not to mention, motivated. I can't wait to work with them again.

I love and miss my brother the coolest Marine ever!

Back at the Senior Center

So this time we didnt do much. It was all pretty much the same thing as last time. The only thing different was that we got to help serve some dishes at their International Food Festival. It was cool though, with all the dishes that were made. Deborah Lay, the person who told us what to do, said we came just in time for the festival. There were over 140 people that went to this festival which was shocking to me. I was wondering how they all knew about the event since it was just at the Senior Center. It was kind of crowded too since the Senior Center isnt that big. Once again, all the ladies were so excited to see me and Jennifer their helping them out. After we served everyone and they left we had to take down the decorations. There were so many things on the walls. It was also kind of a long job since we had to take them down and take off the tape from the back so they could reuse them. I took the stuff off that was lower to the ground and Jennifer got the stuff that was high because well, she's taller. She still had to use a ladder though. While we were taking things down I was seeing a lot of nice paintings. They were so good i was jealous. (Sorta but not really) I always wish that i could paint, and these old ladies had talent! I said they were really good but they just stared at me. They were asian ladies but i dont think they really understood me so i just smiled and they smiled back. It was all good in the end. I also asked Jennifer if she could paint like that and she said if she took her time. Pshh thats like doodling to her! When that was done Deborah had us alphabetize their library. This was really boring. The books were old too so they made me want to sneeze. Its okay though because i like the smell of books, but thats maybe just me. This took up the rest off our time since their were a lot of books. There's not much to say about this part because we were just, you know. So I guess I'll just move on. Next time we're going to try and find some other place that has more to do and something different. There is not much to say about always cleaning tables and putting things away. It also seems like when we go there they dont really know what we should do. So yeah, next time we're going to go somewhere else, maybe with kids. Hopefully next time will be funner and a more exciting volunteer experience.

Community Service Post #1

Date: 4 April 2011

My community service takes place at the Marine Recruiting Office in Fremont. My first day working there was Monday, and I worked from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. I rode my bike over there and when I walked through the doors I asked for Ssgt. Hosch. I was told by Msgt. Rielly that he was unavailable at the moment, and so I waited for him. At first, that made me really nervous, but once he arrived, and after he and Msgt. Rielly stopped conversing, I was given the task of matching pictures to a list of names. By doing this the Marines knew who they needed pictures of and I also discovered that they had a duplicate picture of one person. It might seem tedious to most people, but I had a lot of fun. I really enjoy working there and the Marines are very nice.

For a Long Walk

Britney, Ryan, and I set off to meet up with Florence yet again. We went back to her house and brought cookies for her this time. Brit and I first began by what we were going to ask her throughout the interview so she could have some time to think about it. So while she was thinking about what she wanted to say, the two of us got the lovely task of tracking down documents in her office. Now, the wall is completely covered by filing shelves and of course that's where we started. I want to do a couple of things for CCCR. I want to not only create the video that will go on the website with Britney and Ryan's help. But, I also want to create a binder or a scrapbook off all the newsletters, fliers and information they sent out to the public. I also thing it would be nice if everyone who got interviewed came to my house for a dinner almost like a little reunion. But, we shall see how things go. Brit and I got lots of information. We got up to Newsletter 41 only missing 10 and 19. And we got copies of all the fliers they put out to create awareness and raise money. We definitely have enough to eventually scan into the computer to put up on the website and document. Then we started the interview. We recorded Florence for this of course. All the questions she answered she seemed to have a story for. She told us how the refuge got started, how they raised money, and most importantly. How she got started. She was balancing her life with four kids, a husband, a nursing job and going to extra classes at San Jose State just so she could learn more about wetlands and the importance they bring to the environment. Florence mentioned the techniques they used to raise money and knowledge. She also brought up the fact that we need people NOW to help protect open land and wildlife. But, she has hope and faith that we will see more people helping our environment in the near future. She says, with this job or hobby, you have to always keep your head up and be optimistic with every defeat and challenge you face. Oh and after the interview was done...Brit and Ryan got to see the black squirrel that they thought was a joke/mystical creature. Then we personally got to walk LaRiviere Marsh out at Don Edwards Refuge with Florence. I was her arm/guide for the day since she is mainly blind. Britney and Ryan took video and pictures to show the marsh that we were at. Florence hadn't seen the updated trail so it was a joyful experience for her. And for Britney and Ryan I think it was an eye opening experience for them. We got to hear several Clapper Rail (a highly endangered species) calling to each other throughout the marsh. Overall, it was a great day, full of learning and fun!

International Food Festival

The International Food Festival at the senior center was a big success. There was over 140 people who brought dishes from around the world for everyone to enjoy. Victoria and I made it just in time to help out with this festival. The dining room was overwhelming with good smells and happy people. It got a little stuffy in the room because of all the people there, but we made the best of it. Everyone was so nice and they were very respectful of one another. There was music playing from all different kinds of genres and it set a good mood. Deborah Lay was the lady in charge of the festival and she helped us serve the seniors. She was super nice and was very thankful that we were helping out. There were not very many volunteers there so Victoria and I got many appreciative smiles and thank yous. When the festival ended, we mainly helped take down decorations. There was so many things on the wall like posters of the names of countries, and flags from all over the world. They taped them to the walls so they can take them down and reuse them for next time. They hung some of the decorations on the ceiling so they gave us a ladder to get them. I got the things that were higher and Victoria got the things hanging lower. After everything was taken down it was back to normal for the senior center. There were some ladies there who were painting and they were so good. They were so inspiring, and I was like dang! They got talent. I need to step up my game. I don't think they spoke English so when we complimented them they just kind of stared at us. We just walked away, awkward. Anyways our last task was to alphabetize their library which took forever. Deborah wanted us to take out all the romance novels, which was kind of weird because there was so many. I don't think I have ever seen so many romance novels in one bookcase before. It was not the most fun I have ever had but I didn't care. They were all very nice and thanked us so many times. So our next volunteering experience it will probably be somewhere else. Somewhere more interesting.

Biscut Type Things...

Ingredients:
flour
cheese
milk
butter

Process:
1.mix all ingrtients together
2.use ice cream scooper and scoop out about 2 dozen biscuts
3.bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
4.remove and let cool

Volunteer Experience #2

Yet another moment in the garden, and here we go. The best time of life has risen from the ground again! Its that time to work in the garden and to fulfill another job! After working for 2 hours, I have realized anyone can change! Yes! Anyone can change as they learn new things and concepts! I was VERY proud i got used to the grass cutting machine! During my first mission trip in 8th Grade of Hawaii, my goal was to help church pastors, community members along with my friends (a group of 30 at the most) to cut and mow the lawn on this day we scheduled for the cemetery. Normally, i dont like walking into a cemetery, but i have managed to do so. I also enjoyed helping to trim the grass as it grows near 1 inch. It was alot of fun back then, but nowadays, after leaving Hawaii and shifting from a private school to a public school here in California, the moments of life I've agreed with has changed. I knew it will take a while to build all the confidence, and integrity being lost.
On April 1 2011, After the bell strike 2:35PM, I was excited and well-prepared for another duty on the garden. After leaving Washington High School, I started heading down American High School and at the same time, i felt i had a bit of integrity and confidence to restore in order to accomplish another similar task i did the previous week ago. I even met newer people this time! I learned how to use a grass cutting machine properly and to prevent minor and major casualties! You can visualize how great life can get when newer things come to mind! I have learned alot and i'm looking forward into serving the community MORE MORE and MORE as it becomes the trailing edge of success in my life!

The AMISH

The Recipe

Important Note: Don't use metal spoons or equipment. Do not refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic or plastic bowls or containers.

Required Main Ingredient

1 cup live yeast starter (see above)

day 1:

Do nothing with the starter.

days 2-5:

Stir with a wooden spoon.

day 6:

Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.

days 7-9:

Stir with a wooden spoon.

Day 10:

Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.

1 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Volunteer Post #1

For my first volunteer work, I went to the Tri-City volunteering. Sierra, Alencio, and I got there and Sierra and I had to fill out paperwork and sign a contract before we could start working. We thought that we would be working with the food like everyone else had been, but we got there fairly early. The man who was looking for something for us to do just told us to go to the thrift store and do whatever the woman who was charge told us to do. When we got there she asked who wanted to clean each of the restrooms and who wanted to vacuum. Sierra swooped on the vacuum so Alencio and I had to clean the restrooms. It took us a lot longer than we expected, we each cleaned the restrooms, which were closed to the public for some reason, and we helped each other with the garbage and mopping after. It took us an hour and fifteen minutes just with the restrooms and the woman told us we could go home. As we were going back, there was a bunch of people from our school and a lot more people who were forced to volunteer working with the food.

Next time we go there we should probably get there a little later so that the only thing we can do is the food because I'm sure that is a lot better than cleaning restrooms. All in all, we made the best of it and had some fun. We will probably volunteer there again, as many students from our school do.

Delicious Mini Banana Cream Pie Recipe!

Group: Amanda Paiva, Michael McMullin, Joshua Finley

Idea: My Dad

Materials:
1)
2)
3)
Whip Cream
Ingredients:
1) 1/2 cup of Organic Sugar
2) 1 small carton of Organic Cream

Directions:
1) Pour 1/2 of sugar with the cream into a mixer
2)** Need more clarification here
3)
4)

Banana
Ingredients:
1) Organic Bananas (however many you want, we used 2-3)

Directions:
1) Cut into thick or thin slices (your preference) to get prepared for placement

Filling
Ingredients:
1) 1/4 cup of Organic Corn Starch
2) 1/4 cup of Organic Sugar
3) 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla
4) Sea Salt
5) 2 Cups of organic milk
6) 1 Organic Eggs (Free Ranged)
7) 2 tablespoons of Organic Butter

Directions:
1)In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs yolks and egg.
3) Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth.
4) When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs.
5) Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don't curdle or scorch on the bottom.
6) When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat.
7) Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in.
8) Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
9) Refrigerate until chilled before using.

Crust
Ingredients:
1) 1 1/2 cups of non bleached organic all purpose flour
2) 1/2 cup of organic sugar
3) 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
4) 1 stick and 1 tablespoon of very cold unsalted organic butter
- cut into small pieces
5) 1 large egg

Directions:
1) Pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in the bowl of a food processor. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in. (You're looking for some pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas). Stir the yolk, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses--about 10 seconds each--until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds. Just before you reach this stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change--heads up. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and, very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing. Chill the dough, wrapped in plastic, for about 2 hours before rolling.
2) To roll the dough: Butter a 2 1/2-inch (or whatever size you want to make) on a solid surface. Roll out chilled dough on floured surface.... ** Trying to make sense of how to type this step
3)Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.
4) To fully or partially bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the over to 375 degrees F. Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust.

Commentary
Amanda: Total spent: approx. $30 - 35
**I'll post picture with simple directions soon!
I posted the components in order of placement. The crust goes on the bottom, then the filling, the banana slice, and finally, the whip cream. Hope you have fun making it and enjoy the epic deliciousness!

Volunteer Stuff Entry #1

Work Time: 2 hours

Commentary
Amanda: In this video, I wanted to show exactly was we were doing while volunteering with FIERCE. I'm sorry about all the "Hey Michael. What're you doing?" in all the videos. I didn't realize how annoying it was. I'll work on that for the next video diary. The wheel barrel omitted such a horrible noise and I am really sorry for making that the first thing you hear in this video. I really did enjoy Michael trying to say "pick axing" and I felt super worried when Denny got a blister on his hand because he used the wrong pick axe.

Michael: This is us spreading compost, pick axing, and training vines.

Commentary
Amanda: I kept looking at the people in the garden and people putting things away. After working so hard, it felt so nice to sit in the shade and feel the breeze. Michael's video diary is in pieces because we had a debate about how much time it had to be and the second time was because he had to take a phone call. I apologize for all the giggling. We were just having so much fun.

Michael: Volunteering with FIERCE. It was super hot that day. Sorry for the derp faces. If I used any language that offended anybody, so sorry.

EDIT: I apologize if the hosting site isn't playing the videos. I'll try and find a better hosting site ASAP - Amanda

Back To Kindergarten

                      
     So…For my volunteer work, I was ready to work at Big Brothers Big Sisters. I already had my interview done and everything. It’s taking them a while to respond to tell me who my match is so instead, I just looked for different volunteer opportunities. It’s actually harder than I thought. I went on volunteer match, like Mr. Speckles showed us, and I found a lot of things I can help out with. A lot of them were actually not as close to where I lived than I thought.  There were two that I was really looking forward to helping out at, but they were in San Francisco, and I don’t really have that great transportation. So after hours and hours of searching, I decided to do my first Reaching for Equity in my little brothers class. 

     I decided to just help my little brother’s teachers after school. Unfortunately, I couldn't actually work with kindergarteners, but I had a chance to look at all their work and remember all the things I used to do when I was their age. I used to help them a lot before, but just kind of stopped.


     When I went in, Mrs. Correia and Stroschein greeted me, and called me "Muddasir's sister". I thought it was kind of funny, but I walked in anyway, and they put me straight to work. First I had to file all the little kids work. It was pretty easy, except for reading their names. I forgot how hard it was to read kindergarteners hand writing. After that, Mrs. Stroschein asked me to put away the "book checks" and see who turned in their books. When I was finished with that, Mrs. Correia asked me to clean the tables. There was, I think five tables, and it took forever to wash off all the marker and glue. I had to spray, then scrub, and dry, and wipe. That took me almost half an hour. After that, I put away the Friday Folders, and helped them make next weeks homework. I had a pretty good time.

    I know I didn't really do much, but I did help some people and I guess that counts. I really like my little brother’s teachers because they are so kind and funny. I think it was also, sort of a bonding time with them. The work I did to help the teachers was really easy, except for washing the tables…That took forever, and really made my arm sore; but it wasn’t bad. But hopefully the next thing I can volunteer for will reach out more to the community. I did have a great time, and wouldn't mind dropping in to help again.