I Don't Want It To End!

To try and put all of the knowledge, emotions, and action of this past term in the Students4Giving Class into one blog post is beyond my writing capacity. It was the best class I've taken so far in my academic pursuits! And it all led up to yesterday with the Awards Ceremony. It was the celebration of the gift we were given by the Learning By Giving Foundation and the Portland Community College Foundation- the ability to give to back to our community.  We were lucky enough to have some esteemed faculty members and former students speak during the ceremony and share their insights and inspirations with us. Thank you to: Maki Yoshinaga, a former student in the Students4Giving class; Phil Seder, the Dean of the Business Department; Lisa Avery, the President of the Sylvania Campus; and Ann Prater, the Executive Director of the PCC Foundation for joining us.
And the most exciting part and the reason for our hard work this term, handing out those big checks to three awesome organizations! Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Community Transitional School, and Right 2 Dream Too were the recipients this year of the Students4Giving grant. It was not an easy decision, because every organization that sent in a proposal was worthy of our grant money. I have a new-found respect for people that have to make these decisions everyday. It was a difficult balance between subjectively pulling heart-strings, objectively rating financial statements, and all the while sticking to our community needs focus.
 Our journey there was led by our knowledgeable and kind instructor, Cynthia Killingsworth. We learned how to analyze non-profit financial statements,  how to write a request for proposal,  how to create a grant evaluation rubric, and then most importantly, how to use all of this information to responsibly select a non-profit, or non-profits in our case,  that would have the best social return on our investment.
I want to thank my classmates who were insightful, professional, and helpful. I loved our discussions, and I learned heaps from you all! It gives me faith that we can be productive in alleviating suffering in our community.

Reflection

 Before entering this class I had very little knowledge about the inner workings of nonprofits, I only knew the end results. This class has changed all of that. I now know the hours of work that goes into running a nonprofit and the stress and frustration that can bring. I also know that it can be rewarding beyond belief.
  Seeing the passion that many of the presenters had was really inspiring. This is not just a job for them. They truly care for and believe in what they are doing.This class has further solidified my dream of working in a nonprofit for the rest of my life.
 Students4Giving is a truly unique experience.I enjoyed being able to read the grant proposals for every organization. I loved going on a site visit to see where our money would go. The fact that we were involved every step of the way was something you don't really get anywhere else.
 I have had an amazing time in this class. The people I met, as well as the experiences I had will really stick with me in the future. I am sort of sad that this is the last class. I will miss seeing everyone's faces every Tuesday and Thursday.

Reflections

This is one of those rare classes that I'm sad is coming to an end and wish I could take it over and over again.   The experience has been a humbling one, witnessing people of various backgrounds work together towards a common goal.  When someone spoke in this class, they were heard and respected, every time. Not one person, no matter how passionate, ever attempted to force their agenda on anyone else. It always felt like a safe and comfortable space to speak and listen.  We had some difficult decisions to make, and we did it together with open ears and hearts.  It was an honor to work with these folks.
I've been inspired by this class to more aggressively pursue making meaningful social change. Volunteer work has been important to me for a long time but this course has readied me to work in more challenging environments where I can make the most direct impact. This class taught me that I can be an important part of the community and that philanthropy is more about heart than money.
I had the opportunity to visit Right to Dream Too with two of my amazing classmates and that is an experience that will move me for years to come
This class renewed my hope, taught me practical skills, and has inspired me to inspire others. I would recommend this course to anyone with the slightest desire to make a positive impact on their community.

We’ve finally arrived at the final week of classes. This 10 week term has really flown by, looking back I’m amazed at everything the Students4Giving were able to accomplish. When I first heard that non-profits and philanthropy was offered as a class once a year I was immediately interested. The experience was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. I was interested in taking the class not because of altruistic desire or an interest in the non-profit community, I was interested because I thought it would give me an opportunity to see what my classmates and community valued and prioritized. Working so closely with other students and learning about what organizations and causes inspired and motivated them was the highlight of my term. I would have never thought such a diverse collection of students could have such an easy time working together and making hard decisions. While we had some lively discussions I was always impressed by our ability to reach conclusions and compromise and collaborate.

I wasn’t just surprised by my classmates and their beliefs and dedication, I was surprised by people’s response to the Students4Giving outside of class. Aside from visiting non-profit organizations in the community, explaining our objective and learning about their causes, the Students4Giving always intrigued members of my immediate community who learned about what we were trying to learn and accomplish. Throughout the term, I must have explained the class and curriculum over 100 times to other students, family, and co-workers. Usually when people ask what classes I’m taking or what I’m studying it’s just a pleasantry, but the response to Students4Giving was very different, everyone I told immediately became interested and engaged and I found myself explaining enthusiastically and offering updates to people in my community throughout the term. The response and support from the community at large was the most surprising aspect of this class for me.

Prior to this class I had volunteered but never really considered the critical impact and importance of non-profit work. Learning the scope of philanthropy, the volume of organizations and the importance and necessity of the services provided made me think twice about my long-term career goals. I’ve been inspired not only to volunteer more but to be more deliberate in the way I volunteer, there’s an opportunity to contribute value and learn skills volunteering that I had never previously considered. I’m also seriously considering the possibility of a career in non-profit work or starting an organization myself someday; six months ago, I would have never considered this an option, the whole process of starting-up and the regulation governing non-profits seemed too daunting.

I learned a lot over the last three months. Most importantly I learned the power of community. I also learned a little something about myself. For me, true happiness is giving back to others.

Class Reflection~

A friend recommended this course to me because she knew I had recently started a nonprofit. From the very first class I realized that I was in store for a new kind of educational experience.  I was surprised to find out that the classes would be primarily student-led and I wondered how much we could learn from this. To my delight, I found that we would acquire so much. We learned about nonprofits and how they are run, but most importantly we learned how to work together in a student community to accomplish something great.

These classroom interactions were a highlight for me. We had some very tough conversations about what should be prioritized and whose experiences mattered most. As if you can really make those kinds of decisions for anyone. But, we were required to make those decisions and we ultimately did.  During those discussions, we learned a lot about each other and I know that I learned much about myself.

I will remember most that we had the privilege of granting $10,000. And as many friends and family asked me “ten thousand real dollars?” I was able to proudly answer, “yes, ten thousand real dollars” It has been an honor to be trusted with making these important decisions and that feeling will be a part of me for the rest of my life.

Now I get to use the new tools that I acquired from this course along with what I learned from working with others and being introspective of myself, in my own nonprofit work.  I feel like my classmates really supported and challenged me to be better and I hope to take that with me and accomplish great things in the nonprofit community.

My reflection

In PCC, the Students4Giving program has been one of the most remarkable experiences that I've ever had in a class. Therefore, the most highlighted moment of the class was when we had the option to go to site visits. I went to Candlelighters, an nonprofit organization that helps out families with children that have cancer. It was a heartwarming visit to Candle Lighters because the motivation and heart behind them really showed me that they would do anything in their will to help others out. Basically, after have visiting them and hearing stories of other classmates experiences in site visits, I've learned that a majority of nonprofit organizations actually do care about the cause and that anything helps.

Significantly, the moment during this class that mattered the most to me was the engagement and thought my classmates put towards on which organization deserves the most help from us. Evidently, we would even take about a whole class period, which was an hour and fifty minutes to go through every little flaw or interest that we had towards organizations that we thought were worthy enough for our help. Those long discussions were awesome, mainly because everyone's points were heard and that there weren't any disputes.

Futuristically, In the world on nonprofits and philanthropy, I would put my time in and help out the community by volunteering in non profit organizations. The reason towards that approach is that I wanna feel more involved and apart of the cause. Furthermore, which brings me into another of my reasons on  why volunteering for nonprofits and philanthropy is a great idea. And, it's that organizations nowadays have so little staff that they help way less people and by volunteering more, we all know it could help anyone out a ton.
Strangely enough, the only thing I would probably remember in the next five years from this amazing class is how much fun we had and how much nonprofits and philanthropies really do help out the community.

Students4Giving

Students4Giving

Introduction to NonProfit and Philanthropy is different from what I though. I thought this class would be as a lecture class, but it doesn’t. This class is amazing. It brings me to see the world in another side. I have no experience about nonprofit or volunteer. I have learn from this class that I can make this world more beautiful by giving. There are many people around the world are looking for helps and opportunities to improve their lives. Even though what I can do might be a little, it is better than do nothing. It also make me feel good when I give.

I love the moment when classmates were discussion in the classroom. I can feel the passion that everyone think about others and try to help them. That makes me to look back myself. What I am doing. How I can help. Their passion surprised me.     

Fix Out by Coldplay is my theme song for this experience. It is a nice song and meaningful. I am sure I interpret in right, but I believe it means that when your life is failure, tries to move on. If you never tries to move on with it, you'll never know what she's worth, and I( Students4Giving) will help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXq-14lV79s

After taking this class, I realize that If I can helps, helps. I have home, family, friends, and money. I have everything while someone has nothing even family or place to sleep. Look back what are you doing. Trust me you will feel good about yourself when you GIVE...:)

Nattawan P.