It Changes My Perspective on Nonprofits Work Ever!

This class is one of my favorite classes. Learning how to work in a group, and learning how non profits organizations realistic work. Those were highlights of the Students4Giving for me. Moreover, it helps me understand many principles in the society such as principle of partipation when we have critical thinking discussion, principle of acceptation when we have vote, principle of communication when we share in blog or discussion board in D2L.

The significant moment for me during the class was about site visit to the organizations.We all analyze social issues, the grant-making process from many nonprofits organizations in Portland metro area through five organizations. After that we were separated in a small group to visit organization managed by group’s members, and prepare to identify a specific community need for the project. The significance of this process is how the value of each dollar donated when it becomes a powerful learning experience for college students. Also, the democracy vote is surprised me the most because it was only one best thing to make the classmate equal, respect, and happy.

Beyoncé is one of the best person inspire me. She sings the powerful song for inspire other people, and it should be the theme song for the class. She released a music video names “I Was Here” in honors of World Humanitarian Day, August 19 2012. The music video shows images of U.N. aid workers on the scene in various wars, famines, and floods around the world. The music video connected viewers to a response focused web site, http://www.whd-iwashere.org/, reminding them that their presence and action could make a difference to the world’s future.

                                    

Recommend to watch !!

(the song I was here lyrics)

“I want to leave my footprints on the sands of time Know there was something that, meant something that I left behind When I leave this world, I’ll leave no regrets Leave something to remember, so they won't forget

I was here I lived, I loved I was here I did, I’ve done everything that I wanted And it was more than I thought it would be I will leave my mark so everyone will know I was here…..”

I used to be a careless person, and I do not trust in a free help. Many years ago I proved that my thinking was wrong. I saw people in my country help each other when they had a natural disaster on the news. I will go back to my country very soon, so I will study about nonprofits organization in Thailand. I will help them by being volunteer, make someone feel better, stand up for someone sad, cook meals for hunger, and donate some cloths or money. It has been changing in my focus, result, and even my personal life.

All good things must come to an end. For my part I offer a reflection of my time in this class as follows.

My theme song for this class would be Neil Young, Heart of Gold. I spent a majority of this class trying to figure the students out in my class. Looking to see if people who take a class like this tend to be a particular sort of person. I wanted to see who took this class to change the world. I guess you can say I was looking for a Heart of Gold.  I think this class has taught each of us something about ourselves. Each person in this class is passionate about helping to make a difference. I think this class is special and the students helped make this experience what it was. This will not be a class that fades in the background like so many others. This class will be one that I will never forget. This class made me reevaluate what volunteering I do versus what I wish I would do. I wonder why I did not volunteer to be on a different nonprofit board?  I plan to think through my next series of volunteering times and if I get on another board in the future I will only join if I am passionate about its cause. I also plan to change my focus of my major.

 It’s hard to decide what the single most significant point of this class; I would say there were three. The absolutely most memorable part was the site visit. That will stay in my memory for life. That was such an incredible experience. I learned about myself in this class when we had our class discussions, I did not realize how heated I would get during a discussion. This class has a way of making you feel closer to the people in your class then you would in a typical class. It also makes you more aware of the personalities of the people in your class more than most classes.  There is a lot to learn from people who perceive and believe things that are very different from your own. I tend to assume that people who do a particular action, let’s say three people save a kitten. I for some reason assume all three people will save that cat for the same or a similar reason. I am surprised when people have totally different reasons for doing something. I think this class helped remind me of this difference. Finally I will say the award ceremony. It hasn’t happened yet but I can’t tell it will be a significant moment. This class is like none I have ever taken before and I will not soon forget it. I strive to take many more classes like this if there are such classes.

My next step in the world of nonprofit and philanthropy is going to be a new position I was just offered. I will be doing grant writing for the Boy Scouts of America’s Community Impact division. I will work to find businesses, philanthropist and corporations to sponsor kids from diverse background, varying socioeconomic levels and all other people who would not have been welcome in the archaic version of the boy scouts in years past. We are reaching out to LBGTQ families and people of all religions. I am honored to take on this role and felt more able to take this role after taking this class. Both this class and my past nonprofit work and this position will make me better prepared to earn a position at one of my desired places to work amongst the nonprofit world

Reflections On My Favorite Class Ever!

Students4Giving has been, by far, the highlight of my college career!  Not only did I learn so much from our kind and knowledgeable instructor, Cynthia Killingsworth, I also learned from every one of my fellow students. I think that was the biggest surprise for me. Many of my classmates were well versed with the non-profit sector; whether from volunteering for an organization, starting and managing a non-profit, or being on the receiving end of charity.  Their unique perspectives and observations were a text-book unto themselves! I am thankful that they shared their knowledge and personal experiences with the class.

Another aspect of this class that surprised me was that we could conduct site visits. It was also the most fulfilling and insightful moment for me in the class. I have volunteered for non-profits before, but to look at one through the eyes of a donor was a new experience. I found that it was difficult to stay objective during the site-visit, especially because I was seeing how happy the children at Community Transitional School were. During the site visit, the Development Director Juli Osa, told us about a little girl whose family had moved 47 times during the school year. The girl had the drive and the responsibility to contact the school and give them her location through every move, so that the school’s bus could pick her up.  Juli said that one of the houses the girl’s family stayed in didn’t have a phone, so the girl told CTS that if she didn’t call, that’s where she’d be. I will remind myself of that girl whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed and ready to give up. That story will stay with me forever.

I plan to work for a non-profit, or in the philanthropic department of a for-profit company, and the most important lesson I have learned from this class, is how difficult but important it is to keep one’s objectivity while researching an organization to donate to. Whether I will be on the receiving end or the giving end of a donation, I need to keep my objectivity. Thank you Josiah (a fellow classmate) for that lesson! I’ll work at not being personally hurt if a donor decides against giving to the organization I’m involved with, and I’ll work at not letting my heart-strings pull me in a direction if I’m the donor.  Though there is an element of instinct, emotion and passion that shouldn’t be discounted when donating.

And lastly, the book that was required reading in this class, Social Entrepreneurship, by David Bornstein and Susan Davis really inspired me. The new ideas of combining for-profit business strategies with non-profit management, like venture philanthropy, make so much sense to me. When a donor can help new non-profits with not only multi-year grants, but with management consulting, business planning, networking, lobbying, marketing, and how to measure results, it creates a much better return on investment than simply giving a grant and restricting it to specific uses. This class was an example of that kind of thinking. Doris Buffet could have simply given her money to a non-profit, but by creating the Learning By Giving foundation, the rewards are multi-dimensional.

And the way in which these two authors described the characteristics necessary for an entrepreneur, the “curious combination of sensitivity and bullheadedness”, and the motivation that a social entrepreneur must have to overcome a parade of obstacles and setbacks, gave me an idea of the type of organization and leader that I want to work for. I’m not sure if I can be that person, but I feel that I can certainly support someone like that and be an “intrapreneurial” part of a social change machine. 

Well, today is the day our class decides which grant request(s) to fund. Our class of fourteen students has worked extremely hard researching and exploring many nonprofits in the Portland area that serve a community faced with housing insecurity or homelessness. We have narrowed the decision down to these five outstanding nonprofit organizations: Portland Homeless Family Solutions, Candlelighters for Children with Cancer, Right to Dream Too, REACH, and Community Transitional School. I encourage you to do your own research into each of these fantastic organizations and see if you would like to support them in some way, either financially or with your time.

We have looked at each organization’s financials, their mission, the business structure, been on site visits, and asked many questions. Some of us have had the opportunity to talk personally with those being served by the nonprofit.  We each have come away with a new understanding of the community that is being served. I must say that none of us take this decision lightly. We are making sure that the decision we make is an informed one.

Even though we have narrowed it down to five nonprofit organizations, only funding a portion is a heavy task. I believe that we have each connected with a specific nonprofit for different reasons. Some of us have personally experienced the difficult obstacles the nonprofit is trying to alleviate or know someone who has, which gives a deeper more personal connection. Which organization is the best investment? We will keep you updated.

Here is my summary of one of my site visits:

On Tuesday, May 30th at 1:30 p.m. I had the privilege attending my second site visit, Candlelighters for Children with Cancer. I am beyond impressed with Jackie Groah, the Executive Director and this nonprofit as a whole. They do so much with so little resources. The community they reach is anyone who is touched by childhood cancer. Cancer does not discriminate.

When a family is stricken with cancer in Oregon and SW Washington they receive treatment at either Randall Hospital or Dornbecher. Each family is given a social worker and bereavement specialist for support. This social worker is the person who helps the family apply for the emergency fund through candlelighters. Every application that is received at the office is approved. No one is ever denied. They set their budget knowing that the statistics show that 200 families will be faced with cancer each year. There is only a seven-day turnaround from the time the family applies and when the funds are disbursed. All other resources available to cancer families have a very long and difficult application process which requires that the families show they have exhausted all other resources. When a family is facing the mortality of their child, this is the last thing they have energy for.

Even though the two employees we met were hired on in the last year and a half, turnover has been low. Candlelighters has had 3 Executive Directors in the last 17 years. Jackie shared with us that the largest difficulty they have had was this organization being volunteer led and that it was not ran as a business so funds were VERY tight. Now they have focused more on networking, collaboration, and fundraising. They currently have a board of 12 members who serve for 3 years with a limit of 3 terms.

We had the pleasure of hearing first hand a testimony of a parent who received funds and support from Candlelighters. She explained how receiving the funds allowed her to concentrate on her children and not on the bills. Her son was diagnosed with a form of leukemia at age 5 while she also cared for a newborn baby and her son’s twin brother. She told us how these unexpected funds from Candlelighters kept a roof over their head and provided support to them as a family not to just the child as other nonprofits in the cancer world do. She is still active in Candlelighters as a participant and as a volunteer.

Common Misconceptions about Homeless People

"Misconceptions about Homeless People”

People who sit in the corner of streets, hold sign, and ask for food or money. All of these images represent homelessness. Sometimes I give them money, and sometimes I ignore them depending on the situations. I chose “Common Misconceptions about Homeless People” as my topic because I really want to understand about them how they became homeless. There are many different causes for homelessness in the world. Mostly, they are many negative opinions of bad stereotypes of homeless people. For examples, they need only your money, they are criminals, they are poor, they may not have education, they are dirty, they are drug addicts and alcoholics, and they are all too lazy to work.

Examples of bad stereotypes of homeless people, first they are all criminals. This stereotype is one of the most harmful because it creates an unreasonable fear of homeless people. Some of them do not have shelter to sleep. That is why they are sleeping on the street. Second, they are all drug addicts and winos. Forget about the idea that all people who have lost their homes. Some of them are drug addicted criminals. This is a harmful stereotype, but some of them are sick, and have mental illness not from drugs. Last, they are too lazy to work. Those with jobs are often underemployed or don't earn enough to afford rent or to qualify to rent. Another issue is that even if a person works full time, he or she may earn enough to afford an apartment, but find themselves unable to rent one because of the income requirements. Otherwise, many of these bad stereotypes make other people or new generation who would like to help unwilling to help people because they think they do not deserve it. Relate to the topic, we cannot judge people by their appearance as simple as we cannot judge a book by its cover.

Nowadays, homelessness is a country wide issue, it doesn’t matter what city or town you visit in this country, at some point you will see homeless people. People usually think of homeless people always need money or food, but people who are helping them such as many organizations know that homeless people are about so much more than housing or shelter. Homeless people needs advice about having a better life, needing support from friends, needing praise from family, and needing respect from society. I think people in Portland need to help homeless people more than taking them to somewhere else to make the city look better.

A Mom's Story

CandleLighters Burn Brightly