Out with a Bang

For my last post, I planned to volunteer at Tri-City. However, that didn't work out for two reasons. First, everyone went there. Second, I got too busy during the week. So I ended up doing what I did the last 3 times. Furry Friends Rescue. This time though, it was different. I got there like I usually did and everything seemed normal. Then I realized there was a lot of other volunteers. And by a lot I mean like 8 other people. After I set up, I felt something and excused myself to the little boy's room. After I finished my business, I came out and saw everyone was already sitting with a dog. It was then that I was told that they had no work for me that day. At first I got excited that I wouldn't have to do anything, but then they told me I couldn't go home yet because they wanted to make sure no other foster homes dropped off their dogs. For half an hour I just sat on a fold-out chair listening to music until they finally let me go. So I guess not going to Tri-City worked out for me in the end since it let me get off the hook from working. Although it may not be the most "moral" decision, I still have to volunteer there because I made a commitment or something like that.

Tri-City Volunteer #4

As this project is coming to an end, I have learned a lot from my experience working at the Tri City Volunteer center. I learned to not take the stuff I have for granted, because there is a bunch of people out here in our community that are less fortunate, and need the stuff we get that we can care less about.

To wrap up the reaching for equity project, I once again returned to Tri City Volunteer. Today I was expecting to do the same task I've been assigned to do for the past 4 days of working here, and that's exactly what I did. Although this time, I wasnt lost and I knew what to do and when to do it without being told what to do. I had to take initiative! After entering the facility, I signed in and put on the neon green vest with the name tag that says "VOLUNTEER" I immediately went to the potato/onion bagging table and began bagging. I'm not even sure how many potatoes/onions I bagged, I just kept going - bagging and tossing it behind me into a huge barrel. After that, I realized that the work space was extremely messy, So I decided to clean up a bit. I grabbed a broom and dust pan and cleaned as much as I could. After that, I was getting pretty bored with what I was doing, so I decided to deliver food to the people who are in need of it. I would push out carts of food loaded with, juice, bread, fruits and vegetables out to the front of the facility and give it to the people who demanded it. Did that for a while until the volunteer center closed.

And that's how I helped out my community :)

Blog Post #4

Finally this project is coming to an end. Over the course of it I have to say has been pretty fun. For the last post I decided to stick with wildlife. Except this time it was a totally different experience, instead of doing a club and helping out the college leaders. I got to do a car wash. So every year the organization Younglife puts on a free car wash to help kids get to camp. A lot of the kids that come to the program don’t come from the most privileged families. So when time comes around to go to camp during the summer a lot of kids can’t go because of money issues. So we put on the car wash and accept donations from people to help kids go to camp. So this experience was really different than the other time. It was a lot more getting down and dirty. We washed a bunch of cars and raised a bunch of money for the kids. When summer comes around there are goimg to be a lot of happy kids.

OHS Part 3

OHS Center, It's more interesting inside.

     I came back last Saturday to work again. I signed at 1:00, and asked if they needed help. David was there, the older one, and said yes, so my dad left and I got to work. I was slowly learning how to feed the animals that couldn't feed them selves. David was teaching me how to feed a little bird some meal worms. It was pretty hard, no lie. After a while I could get the worm in the birds mouth. At the end of the day though, a mastered it, almost.
     There were also these crows, one bigger one and one smaller one. The bigger one was starting to fly. The cage wasnt big enough for it to fly, but it would flap its wings once in a while and make a lot of wind when me and Tesse, a new girl I met, were feeding them. The big one ate bigger foods, like these huge worms, eehhhghlabbah.. and the little one had to be force fed. I didn't really learn that yet so Tesse did that. She's a senior at Mission. We had a great time working together.
     I also was in charge of feeding another bird, a house finch I think. David also taught me how to feed that bird too. It wasnt that hard, but when it opened it's mouth for food, it kept moving its head around so it took some time.
Tesse and I followed what it said on the birds sheets, and fed them on their schedule. Some were fed every half hour, some every hours, and others every two hours. I lost count on how many times Tesse and I fed them, but we did have a good time, and talked a lot. My dad came to pick me up. I signed out at 3:00, and said bye to my new friend.

Tessa**

Equity Post #3

For this time of volunteering I decided to do wildlife again. It was really fun this time around. Over the course of this project I have really built a relationship with most of these kids. For this club we had a game show night. The college leader in charge told all of the leaders to dress super crazy so we could make the kids feel more comfortable around us. When we got there, there was a bunch of stuff to be set up. Like inflatable fools. Set up food and a lot of other stuff just so that it is easier for the college kids to do there job and run club. There were a couple new people there so I had to show them around and what to do and how things work. This time was a lot more fun than the other times I think it is just because of the kids. They make it fun to be there. I am definitely doing this after this project is over.

Working in the garden #3

Its the third time working in the garden and yet no new experiences are being taught. Despite the fact that i had my chance to learn how to use the lawn cutter machine, i always wanted to try something new until i get real bored of it. Boredom is the key to putting an end to something. However that faith seems to never withdraw from me. This time, cutting the grass was a bit more of a pain! I started to think about quitting F.I.E.R.C.E. Not only is it a waste of time on a Friday Afternoon, but despite this Friday, May 6th, I didn't have much time to start on my 4th Volunteer based on a field trip taken place. Although i decided that i might be working on tutoring little kids on academics so i can learn something i could have possibly forgot and at the same time enjoying my time watching little kids smile, play and learning all day.

This week was a bit of a burden to my leisure time. I didn't enjoy much of my time spent there because of a different role given to me at the garden. I was asked to weed the grass with the weed puller/dispatcher. I had no idea how to use it and i was being scold for using it improperly. After realizing what type of coordinator would treat a rookie in the garden, i have decided I AM NOT supporting this F.I.E.R.C.E. gardening anymore and im putting an end to it. I have learned enough and i wish i can look forward to tutoring little kids in the Fremont MAIN Library some day.

Same Thing As Before.....Sorta

As usual, I went and volunteered at Furry Friends Rescue. However, this time it was different than before. First, I was 30 minutes late. Usually I would have been kind of worried, since it's all old women that run it other than one guy. However, they were actually glad for some reason. This was because they told me there was supposed to be 7 volunteers and only 3 people, including myself, showed up. Normally, I would have been like "oh, that's too bad." But, since they were expecting more people, they told more foster homes to bring their dogs. Which meant I had to sit with more than one. Ouch. Sure enough, there was an overload of them, and each of us got stuck with like 3 or 4. Luckily, I was the only one with 2. At this point, things were a little different. First of all, it was a slow day. No more than 20 people came by. Because of this, the people in charge were actually talking to us about random stuff. One of them happened to go Hawaii, and she brought back chocolates from there ans decided to share it with us. It was good. Not only that, but there were bums running around singing and people crashing into each others cars for some reason. As fun as it was eating Hawaiian chocolates and watching homeless people sing, I think i'll volunteer somewhere else for my next post, as I can only say so much about sitting in a cage with dogs.

Time to Work at the Register

As the time krept closer to writing this blog, I had to figure out a place to volunteer for a few hours since I was unable to be with Kate one evening. I decided to call one of my friends to help me get some hours in and luckily, she has been volunteering at this thrift in Irvington. So, she said I could tag along. which, I happened to do after school today. We drove right over to the store and drove to the backside of the store. I thought this area was kinda sketchy but, then again I have never been here before so I would'nt really know much about it. I was nervous to get out of the car, I honestly didn't know what to expect. Though, I had to get out of the car. We walked through the doors into the shop where I was greeted by a short Asian lady with a clipboard. She welcomed me and told me that I could stay and help. All I had to do was be in the backroom and sort clothes that people donated the days before. It was quite easy but, the bags were in these big yellow wooden bins which was hard for me to pick up the bags of clothes because well, I'm short. I managed, and opened the first bag and started folding. A few minutes later the lady checked up on me and asked if I was doing alright. Of course I answered with a "yes" though I was thinking "these clothes need to be washed about 20 more times" but, that would be rude. She let me continue. As I was folding I realized that some of the clothes were damaged and nobody would ever buy it so I didn't really know what to do till another volunteer said that the green wooden bin was for clothes that weren't "sell worthy". By this time I was sort of bored and wanted to actually I don't know, be more involved with he store. So I asked the Asian lady with the clipboard if they needed help. Luckily she said I could work at the crash register with another volunteer. It was actually really fun and I liked having a small conversation here and there with a customer. By this time, it was 530 and time to go and so we left. Yet, before we were to leave and let the other volunteers take over I wanted to know the head lady's name since I couldn't see her name tag the entire time. Her name was Kim. I thanked her and left. So my volunteer opportunity was quite fun and a good experience.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Extension-Write Up Draft #1- The Best Job Ever!

Its been a while now, and yet i haven't served my community with the most "energetic soul" embedded within the deepest region of my will. Its been the moment where i need to fathom the line of reasoning to step outdoors and to serve my community with the deepest pride, the energetic will, and the motivation to accomplish my goals. Now is the time for me to learn and to realize the American Future that lies ahead, and yes i have been chosen! Chosen to help serve the community, and to understand what life can be about working in a non-profitable locality. Its that moment where i have suddenly realize the magnitude of how crucial life is and to speak upfront to my spectators. Its been that moment now, and i am certain that i will regret myself if i hadn't served my community.

Candace Sykes, Coordinator and H. Chemistry Teacher of American High School, is currently supervising a club known as F.I.E.R.C.E after school from 2PM-5PM. This non-profitable program is scheduled for every single Friday after school for anyone interested in gardening, weeding, etc. F.I.E.R.C.E. is the combination of students from schools from all county in California that are mind-developed,"ready-t0-go",relaxed, self-dedicated, and energetic in which they perform a demonstration to the community that they are willing to serve, and to not serve.

After realizing what F.I.E.R.C.E. is, i decided that it is the time to accept the quote, "Nothing is easy, everything takes a while to accomplish, even the simplest things" (Yang). Regardless if this was important or not, this quote will always energized my soul to fulfill heavy duty or tasks to my out-most temper. I understand that even working in horrible conditions such as weeding the grass on a rainy Friday Afternoon can be a burden prior to completion, but i know that if i can do it, then anyone can. IT is that Spirit, the trust, the love and the respect i have gained from the community. THAT is the only thing that MOTIVATED me to participate and to work. Serving the community for 2 hours was the unsurpassed moment i ever had and i enjoy serving the community as much as i can. I will be looking forward to serving the community time-efficiently.

"Yay kids!" "No just sit here" "...what?"

Reaching Out

The objective of this project was to find an organization that we could volunteer at. We had to choose a program that helped improve our society. For me personally I choose to help the kids in society particularly the troubled one. I volunteered for an organization called Younglife. The have a subdivision of it called wildlife. This is an outreach program for middle school kids. This whole program is run by volunteers. No one gets special treatments and gets paid. The people that run the club range from college kids to sophomores in high school. The job I have to do is meet up every other week and help organize and run what they call a club. Club is basically bringing in kids and just playing games and just having fun. Then at the end we have a little speech about god, just to inform the kids on who he is, not trying to convert anyone. Just inform the kids a little. Then we will eat and just hangout with the kids for a little bit longer. A couple of times I have had to go up in front of all the kids and give a talk myself. This personally is way out of my comfort zone so I thought this organization would be good to volunteer and write about. The specific time that I am going to talk about is this past week. We had a themed club that revolved around glow in the dark. So before Thursday we had to go out and buy a bunch of glow sticks and glow in the dark paint. Then when Thursday came around we had too meet up a couple hours early and help prepare for the club. we got assigned the games we had to run and got informed on who was giving the talk and what it was about. Before club we usually just hangout and play basketball or some other game so we can kill time to wait for the other kids to show up. Middle school kids apparently don’t know the meaning of on time. But once we waited a while we started. We played games and had the talk and then ate. It all went very smoothly and I think that all the leaders bonded really well with the kids. I’ve basically learned through volunteering for this program that older kids can help influence a younger kids life. We basically give them a place every other Thursday where they can just be free. Just be themselves. Overall this is a great organization and a great experience.

Chris and Edwin's Baked Ziti

4 Tomato
1/2 pound of ground beef
Shredded Cheese
Pinch of Salt
1 bag Pasta
Italian Seasoning

Boil Tomato till you can peel off the skin. Dice tomato and fry it with the beef. Add salt and seasoning for taste. Put in a cup of water let it boil till most of the water is gone. Boil a pot of water and cook the Pasta for 10 min. Mix the sauce and paste and put in a baking dish. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 10 min in a 400 degree oven.

Respect Your Elders

This past Friday I volunteered at the Senior Center with Jennifer. I thought it was going to be boring, because you know...they seem boring. I was wrong! They are so funny and i realized that old people have great personalties and a lot of stories to tell. They can talk for days, but thats fine with me. When we got there the supervisor there, Kathy, greeted us with a big smile and a "thank you so much for volunteering" before we even got started. The first thing we did there was clean the cafeteria. There were some old ladies just hanging out talking and sewing. The whole time they kept telling us how greatly they appreciated us teenagers for taking our time to come and help them, the "younger generation" some of them called us. One of the ladies was not too nice because she was talking about how we just sit on the computer all day. Well, it is true since thats what I'm doing right now. We then did some filing for Kathy since some of the old ladies cant see too well. After the ceramics class was over me and Jennifer went to fold up the tables and put them away along with the chairs. When we went into their class they were so excited to see teens helping them out. Some stopped us and told us how some of their grandchildren go to Washington too. Some ladies were also playing cards. I thought it was so cool how senior citizens go to the senior center and just hang out and do all these activities just like we do with school or the mall. How they were all talking to each other and laughing, i was amazed. I seriously thought this only happened in movies. Everytime me and Jennifer helped them with something they were so glad that we were there. This shocked me a little because they obviosly never really got help. Thats sad how these senior citizens dont recieve a lot of help from the younger people who are capable of helping them. They have other full time volunteers to help them get around but they themselves are a little old. Even those volunteers were excited to see us help them. I feel bad that i never thought of helping them myself at some other times, but im going to start helping them more so thats why i most definitely want to go back to the Senior Center again for the other reflection. Others should think about it too because they are nice adorable old ladies who need our help and greatly appreciate it.

Inspiring Seniors

I never knew old people could be so interesting. You would think they would be kind of boring, but they always have a story to tell. Victoria and I volunteered for two hours at the Senior Center. The Senior Center is a place were senior citizens can socialize and be apart of the community. By enjoying activities and playing games they can make new friends. So when Victoria and I volunteered at the Senior Center in Fremont, Kathy the person in charge of customer service, came up to us with an enthusiastic attitude explaining to us what we would be doing. She said they do not get many teenage volunteers there and she pointed out that the seniors like to see young people willing to help out. They often called us the "younger generation." The first task she wanted us to do was to update the brochure wall. The brochures involved things like staying in shape and ways to be healthy. We looked for dates that have past and took them out and replaced them with new brochures. As we were working a little old lady named Lin, walked up to us and she said, "you two are about the age of my granddaughter." She brought up how not very many teenagers volunteered much there and she was inspired. She said she would mention to her granddaughter about volunteering at the Senior Center. Moving on to our next task we were asked to clean tables and make sure there were seven chairs at each in their cafeteria. There was a group of ladies knitting and they were talking to us about how most teenagers sit on the computer all day. They liked to see us helping out. In another room there was a ceramics class and we helped them clean up and stacked chairs and tables. Next, we moved on to a room that had a Thai-Chi class. It was so cool to see senior citizens moving in such a fluent manner. It looked so graceful to watch. So we helped them put away the mats and chairs. Our last task was to alphabetize all the members identification cards. She said no on has been able to do this perfectly right so we pretty much just checked them to make sure they were in the right order. As we were leaving Kathy said we did a good job and thanked us a great number of times. I felt really good inside about helping them out with their activities and Kathy said there was more things to help with around the Senior Center. So we are probably going back there for our next reflection.