Service Project Proposals #40-49

#40: Helping Preschool and Ronald MacDonald House

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  Nelson Mandela. If you ask anyone who knows me they will tell you how big of a heart I have for others. I am the type of person who almost always puts others needs before myself. When I graduated high school I had every intention of becoming a nurse. After much thought and consideration I have chosen to get my degree in Elementary education. 3 years ago I was blessed with a position at a preschool and have been the afternoon teacher for the 2 year old classroom. I absolutely love my job and know In my heart that I am meant to teach.  It is so amazing and rewarding to see the changes the children make while in my class. Teaching is one of those professions in which the job is never fully done. I learn so much from each and every one of my students daily and I look forward to the future when I am a kindergarten teacher and can use the skills these 3 years have taught me.

I strive to help the preschool I work at become the best it can be. For my service project I will be collecting the labels for education and putting them in the system for our preschool to gain money from them.  With that extra money we will be able to purchase new school supplies for the children to use to further their education. Books, paint, etc. are used daily in our classrooms and are not very cheap to replace. I will organize it so the parents can bring them in and I will collect and count them. 

I would also like to start collecting soda tabs for the Ronald McDonald house. Having so many families at the preschool we will be sure to get quite a few of them. I volunteered at the Ronald McDonald house in 2010 and was then fully aware of what all the house actually does. They help the families of children who are sick and have to stay in hospitals for a while. Some can't afford to stay put in hotels for that long and the Ronald McDonald house helps them out by giving them a place to stay. 

In doing these service projects I will be helping not only my community out, but also teaching myself how I can make an impact.  We are all so blessed in many ways in our lives and so giving back to my community helps me understand  that and be appreciative of what I have. Teaching is so rewarding to me as well and it makes me very happy and excited to know that collecting box tops will one day help my students learn by providing more resources! My heart is always looking for new ways to help others and I'm very excited to start these new projects at my job!

Approved

#42: Music

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent”. – Victor Hugo

            Growing up always has its ups and downs, and to be fair, most people can and will get through it. However, for many others, such may not be the case. Even when I was growing up (which wasn’t even that long ago) there were a lot of emotional challenges that I faced. Not to get too targeted on myself but things were rough. Not even so much financially, but mentally. We live in a society that generally likes to throw mental illness to the side and always put it on the back burner. People constantly make suggestion on how each person going through something should deal with it when, honestly, every person has their own method. My method for the past ten years or so has been music.

            Personally, I know what it’s like having depression; and a lot of people are unaware how different mental illnesses or emotions in general can link up and coexist, for a better understanding of words. Using myself as an example, having anxiety links to different symptoms of other mental problems like depression, derealization/depersonalization, mood swings, panic disorders, social phobias, and even migraines. I have actual dealt with all of these and they are easily some of the absolute worst things I have ever faced. That is until I started getting really focused and interested in music. I use music, whether it be beat production, songwriting, or just listening to music. 

            Once this became a practice/habit for me, music was seen by me as more than just some melodies in a song, or words from a person, or even more than just a simple song. Music became a gateway where if I was the one making it, I get to express myself freely, to any limit I set for myself. It’s all my emotions, thoughts, and feelings all wrapped up into a ball of energy that you can hear. And I know that sounds kind of corny or far-fetched, or even dumb to some, but this is something that honestly contributed to making feel like I had purpose. The feeling of making something you’re proud of, or that feeling of listening to something that relates to you in such an uncanny way that you start feeling like the artist looked into your soul and translated it all into musical form, it’s just indescribable to me.

            I know I can’t be the only person that feels this way, so for my service project proposal, I want to share different music with different purposes, of all genres to random people, whether it be a written note given to a stranger in Wal-Mart, or sitting down with somebody on campus discussing a newly-released single from an artist, I’d like to share the love of an art that continues to connect us more and more each day. And I believe that this is something that can truly make a difference.

Good start -- let me know if you have narrowed this to a specific event or action. Would you like to play music at Veterans Village Dinners? 

#43: Coaching

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” ― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet. 

When I was in 6^th grade I came across the sport of lacrosse and I immediately fell in love with it. Now, 8 years later, the sport has grown tremendously but there is still a large number of people who don’t even know what lacrosse is. For my service project I wanted to help grow the game of lacrosse in my home town. I went to Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida (30 minutes north of West Palm). My freshman year of high school was the first year my coach and I can now call him my friend took over as the head coach of Martin County Boy’s Lacrosse program. This was the first year that the school has a boys lacrosse program and Coach VanTassel had to build the program from the bottom. My senior year of high school I was getting recruited by a couple of Division II schools and Coach VanTassel planned trips and rooming arrangements for all of the visits. After getting injured and not going off to school and staying at the local state college, I asked Coach Vantassel if I could help out the team since I knew they needed another JV coach. I volunteered my time every day of the week to help teach these kids learn and improve their game. I felt like since my coach worked so hard for me and for my other teammates that I could give back to him and help out the community in the process.

For my project I got with my former coach, Coach VanTassel, and asked him if we could set up a free clinic for entry level players or anyone who wants to get into the sport of lacrosse. I will have to go home for a weekend during the semester and we would hold the clinic on a Saturday at the high school. Coach VanTassel can get a few of the better players on the team also come out and help volunteer. It would be a four-hour clinic with the first two hours will consist of stretching and understanding the proper rules and fundamentals of lacrosse. The third hour will consist of drills to help them work on their stick skills, ground ball work, and communication. The final hour will consist of fun games that will also help improve their skills and will give them an idea of what it is like to play full speed. With this clinic I hope to expand the game of lacrosse to the youth in my home town, help contribute to my community, and also help grow America’s fastest growing sport.

Approved!

#44: Good Samaritan Bags

Ellen DeGeneres once said, “We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.” Though this quote is unclear about what this means to DeGeneres, the more I reread the quote and the more I think about it, I begin to realize that this quote is not restricted to a certain idea. Like a work of art, the true meaning behind this quote is up for your own interpretation. Once I was able to narrow down service project ideas down to one, I knew this quote would perfectly explain the reasons why I chose this specific service project. 

As a kid, I grew up going to the same grocery store multiple times a week with my mom. Every time we went to Wal-Mart, and the Taco Bell that was nearby, I began to notice there were people outside holding signs and taking money from people by the road. They always looked dirty and sickly but mostly sad. The sight of these reappearing men and women, and sometimes dogs, made me feel very uncomfortable. However, I always felt sympathetic towards them and I wish there was something I could do. One day, my mom and I were leaving Wal-Mart to grab some food at Taco Bell. While we sat at the table in the restaurant, a lady who appeared to be pregnant walked up to the sidewalk by the entrance outside. This lady was one of the many homeless people that surrounded the Wal-Mart area on a regular basis. She remained outside, pacing back and forth until she finally sat down on the concrete ground. With the look of pity in her eye, my mother walked outside to talk to the lady then proceeded to walk back inside and get back in line to order food. I watched my mother approach a complete stranger with compassion and mercy and give someone something with nothing in return. As I’m sure my mom has helped many more homeless men and women before that time, from that day forward, I began to notice the desperate needs of homeless people like never before. Years later, I’m still going to the same grocery store surrounded by homeless people who created a village-like place in the woods nearby. 

Now that I am challenged to come up with a service project that not only expresses what I believe to be my skills but voices what I believe is a true injustice, I am able to come up with a way to help homeless men and women feel noticed. For this service project, I will be creating Samaritan bags, which I learned about from my mom and from church. These bags consist of bottles drinks, like water and Gatorade, nonperishable foods, and hygiene items. As I approach a homeless person, I am now able to feel confident that I am helping to the best of my abilities instead of feeling unsure about giving them money. By giving them these bags I am reassuring myself that they are getting exactly what they ask for instead of them using the money they receive to purchase alcohol, cigarettes or drugs. However, I am reassuring myself that I am truly helping someone in desperate need. Though I have little to give, I know their most basic need and I vow to provide that for them as often as I can. With this is mind, I feel confident that I am not only providing them with the basics, but with hope and with love. My true intention for this project is to make homeless men and woman feel noticed, and loved. I want to restore hope and make them feel like people do care. Although food and water are two of the most basic needs, I believe that hope and love are just as equally important. With that in mind, I use Ellen DeGeneres’ quote to help explain why I want to reach out the homeless. I want to be a part of spreading more compassion, kindness, joy and laughter into the world and into homeless people’s lives to make the world a better place.

APPROVED!

#45: Visit Retirement Home

Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.
― Martin Luther King Jr

For my service project, I’m going to go to a retirement home with my friends for a couple of hours to entertain old people. My goal is to let war veterans regale a couple of my friends and I with war stories.

Very short proposal!!! I hope you are able to go more than once, and make sure  you visit people who really need visitors. There are great, lonely people who have no war stories who might need your time.

#46: Volunteer at ASPCA

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. - Rabindranath Tagore

For my service learning project I want to work with ASPCA of Tallahassee.  I just recently rescued a cat and have always had a passion for animals. There are many pets without homes and many that have homes but are treated incorrectly. I want to do what I can to help society take care of these animals in need. I also want to help them spread awareness that having a pet is a big responsibility and  that they deserve to have rights and be treated well. I would like to help the pets find homes and give them some of my love. I am horrified that people can treat pets disrespectfully and I want to do everything in my power to help them. What I want to do within this organization is volunteer. I would like to volunteer weekly at their shelter and help with spreading awareness. Other then volunteering I am also interested in behavioral rehabilitation, I want to help pets that have been abused and mistreated and help them live a happy life. Pets need therapy to get over problems from bad pasts just like people do. I am very good at listening and making my friends feel better so I feel as if I could be helpful to these pets. TCC is a perfect place to spread word and find homes for these pets. I can make flyers and help the organization be involved with TCC and set up booths and other events because what college kid doesn’t like cute pets! 7.9 million pets enter animal shelters every year, with that many pets needing help I am sure they are always in need of help and volunteers. I always helped lost and hurt animals in my past and nursed them back to help. The feeling I got after saving these animals is a feeling that is fantastic. I already have so many friends interested in volunteering. Me and a few others are already involved with peta so I have the knowledge to spread awareness quickly. It doesn’t take much to make a pet happy and their love is so endless that people take advantage. For what pets give to us, love and joy, we do not deserve to treat them disrespectfully. Pets deserve rights just like us people do and because I love animals and the way that they can change and help peoples lives I want to remind everyone around me to treat them with respect.

 Approved 

#47: Soccer

"The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” 

The imagination and determination of a child is endless.  Everyone decides they’re dream when they are younger.  Most of us wanted to be doctors, astronauts, or even famous professional athletes.  As we’ve grown older following that passion and how to become one, some stick with their passion and most move on to another career.  As adults we should share on our knowledge and give motivation on pursuing a dream job.                  

 In my neighborhood I see a few kids that play soccer in the street.  They play with no supervision or leadership on how to properly play.  When one kid wants to show his pride in how dedicated he is to the sport, he wears his cleats while playing on the road because there is no yard big enough for them to play.  As an athlete that has experience in multiple sports that require the use of cleats, I know that running on hard rock surfaces with cleats is not the best for them.  It wears the spiked or rubber bottoms out.

As a good community service project, my two roommates and I decided on taking one of the kids with us when we would go train at a soccer field or any kind of field whether it be basketball or football too.  Of course we obtained permission from the parents.  We don’t want to seem like creeps but as role models.  We teach the kids how to properly kick the ball for scoring and passing.  On Sunday afternoons, we play a pick-up game of soccer at Tom Brown Park.  One of the older boys was brave enough to play with the adults.  Luckily he did well and comes out with us to play with us sometimes.  It’s good to see a kid enjoying the sport and have the raw determination that you once had.  Being a mentor, we are able to give proper guidance to kids who probably don’t have relatives involved with the sport like some of my friends and I.  Being self-taught in many different sports gives me the desire to spread my learnings so that the younger generation doesn’t have to take the hard route of learning a sport.  Kids that aren’t doing as well in the sport as their friends come along with us to get better.  Us leading by example passes down to some kids and they start teaching their friends.  We want to make a very needed impact in our community by giving the kids we know that want to be serious in a sport a chance.  Who knows, they could end up being the next Messi or Odell Beckham.

APPROVED 

#48: Miami-Lakes Shelter

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others”- Audrey Hepburn. 

When I was younger I thought the world use to revolve around me and it was always about getting what I wanted. I grew up in Miami-lakes, Florida in a single parent household. I watched my mom struggle to make ends meet and I always thought we were just poor but I didn’t understand how much it costed to live in Miami at the time. I went to schools where most of the students had both parents and a huge family that they could rely on if anything went wrong. We didn’t have that. Short story short, later in the years there came a time that our financial struggle led us to become homeless. Since we did not have any nearby family we were forced to live in a women’s shelter for about 6 months.

            The first few nights were very traumatic and scary. It felt like a prison and everyone kind of fought over the food that was in the pantry. Although no one at school knew my situation it still made me feel like less of a person because it didn’t have a big house or was able to eat whenever or whatever I wanted. There were to other families of three and 6 other women living there. Resources were very scarce and made me a bit curious. I asked myself why weren’t there a lot of resources even though we spend a lot of time donating at work and school to these shelters. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and depressed because of the whole situation but I learned that one should not be selfish, everyone needs to help each other out whenever possible, and be kind. You never know what someone is going through,

            Somewhere between March and April I will like to take a visit back to the shelter I once lived in and donate some clothes and food for the women and children there. I know what they are going through and every bit counts. I want to give back to the place that only runs on donations and took my family in when we had nowhere else to go. I will ask my friends to help me set up some boxes of resources to fill up and take over to the shelter. The boxes will include perishable and non-perishable food items, personal hygiene items, and clothing for women and children.

APPROVED 

#49: Coaching

“Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible” – Einstein

All my life I’ve played sports, which makes me love to be around and kids and socialize. Throughout my High School days, I spent numerous hours helping out the local Little Leagues and Rec. leagues teaching kids the right way to play sports. So for my service learning I plan to go out and coach or volunteer coach children to teach them the reason to love sports. Not only do I love to be around the kids and seeing them learn the sport the way I did, I love to learn some new things from them too. That’s the best part about branching out and doing new things because not only will I hopefully be impacting these children’s life’s they’ll also impact mine! Yes, most of the time I will be teaching them the sport but also I will be teaching them how to interact with each, its crazy to think that me just spending a couple hours a week with these kids could possibly impact their life’s for many years down the road. This will be a great experience for not just the kids, it will be a great opportunity for me too, this opportunity could help me with my major as well. This opportunity will teach me how to be a leader and hopefully teach me to branch out and not be shy anymore. Many careers that involve a business degree look for leaders, so this will teach me how to get the attention of people and make sure they look up to me and know how to have fun at the same time.  This Service project should be done because as the years go on more and more kids are getting hooked to the new technology being made, when they’re missing out on playing sports. Also even with coaching maybe I will get something involved with these rec sport leagues getting people to go out and talk to parents on why they should make their kids play sports. Playing sports at a youth age was probably the best thing that my parents ever did for me. It taught me how to love the sports, but also teaching me how to interact with my fellow teammates and even how to talk to new people and create new friends. I look forward to this experience with the youth in this county not only for my experience mainly to put a impact on their lives!

APPROVED

Service Project Proposals #31-39

#30: Volunteer at Nursing Home

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of

others.” (Mahatma Gandhi) Service is a powerful method of finding out who you are as a person. You have the ability to show up and give with compassion, connection and love. In high school I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local nursing home that took care of the elderly.  I volunteered in exchange for for community service hours, but what surprised me was how much I loved caring for and being with our elders. Which is why for my service project I would love to volunteer at a nursing home again.

Growing up, my grandmother lived with us in our home because my parents strongly believed in taking care of your loved ones. All throughout high school, I witnessed the daily routine of what its like to live with and take care of someone who is experiencing a stage in their life that is less active, physically limited and without the freedom that I was just beginning to discover. It’s challenging finding the patience to not get annoyed, but in reality I had to imagine what is was like to be in their shoes and see where they were at in life and feel how hard it must be to be in their body. The more I spent my weekends at the nursing home, I more I noticed how lonely some of the residents were. They didn’t have a family surrounding them and yet many of them raised families.  I often felt how they might have missed the life they used to live.  I watched what an awesome job the nurses and my mom did of showing love and patience and respect. The more I worked at the nursing home, the more I grew as a person. Just being able to hear the stories of the elders helped me remember they were once my age, young and independent. Just the thought of not being able to do the daily things anymore that define you as independent is scary to me. Becoming completely dependent on someone to help you go to the bathroom, tuck you in bed, or even eat is the ultimate gesture of letting go.

What was helpful to me as I volunteered was being able to model the nurse’s example of caretaking and have an experience of giving back to the elderly. For me, it was a great feeling of fulfillment and I would absolutely love to do it again. My volunteer experience had shown me that I can bring joy to other people. Your heart opens up and creates room for compassion and patience. Not every elder gets the kind of choice my grandmother did in having the opportunity to pass away in her family’s home with her son and grandchildren. And yet, knowing that everyone gets old one day and everyone wants the love of friends and family, it is a special honor to be the one who is there for them so they do not give up or feel forgotten. Every time I left the nursing home I came away feeling accomplished and uplifted.  Even though it wasn’t a paid job, I enjoyed serving another and the fact that I made someone’s day special.

APPROVED

#31: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”              

- Audrey Hepburn

A very unselfish quote from Audrey Hepburn as read above. I picked this quote over the others because I thought it would have more significance to my project proposal. For my service project I would like to volunteer at the NSPL aka the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. I looked it up and it says that 6% of United States residents over the age of 18 have some form of depression. There are many different types and levels of depression. Just going through a break up or failing a math quiz types of sadness/depression don’t count. I’m taking about people who have mental disorders and actual problems in life that warrant actual depression. I’ve always have been kind of a keep to my self guy. Very self conscious and I tend to overthink very small things to the point of it ruining my mood or my day. I’ve struggled with the depression. My huge social anxiety problems, sexual feelings, my appearance, my own self worth and death; all thoughts in my mind. The reason I’m able to type this story about the time I tried to kill myself is because that part of my life is behind me. I’ll never let it get that bad again to the point of what I just said. I’m better now. Not the happiest happy person in the world, but better. That’s where the quote comes in play from in the beginning. I grew older and helped my self. Now I want top help others with the same problems. I want to volunteer my time at my local National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Lucky me there’s one if Tallahassee. I’m not sure if I’m ready or qualified to take on calls from the phone but I want to provide my time and services in any way I can help. Depression can lead to suicide and I want to help out to do anything to stop that. Life is a precious thing you can’t take for granted. I want to see these people in need to realize that like I did. Just by talking or listening to a person’s problems and what there going through is a great start. People who talk about there feelings and don’t keep them bottled up often feel better about it. I know I did when I talked to someone. I’d talk and relate and listen and offer anything I can. So that’s why I want to volunteer at my local National Suicide Prevention Lifeline center. Sorry to go all sad and stuff in the project proposal, I’m usually pretty funny and sarcastic when I write, but I guess not this time.

APPROVED!

#32: Helping with Immigrants

            Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stated that, “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” I feel that that quote resonates strongly with me. We may wish well on others and hope strongly for good things to take place in the world, but it doesn’t matter much if we don’t actually go out and do things for others ourselves. It is only through taking steps forward that we can get to where we want to go, and make the world how we want it to be. Daydreaming about the final destination isn’t the same as actually going and being there.  

            For my service project, I want to do what I can to help refugees coming into the country. They have many needs as they come here, often with little more than the clothes on their backs. There are so many countries where people are evacuating from, and there’s a heavy flow of people trying to get somewhere—where ever it may be—that’s safer. Tallahassee is set up to bring in several families every month or two. Some women in my church have been working to set up an organized helping process to do their part with whatever the officials helping the refugees need. There are a lot of steps involved with getting families set up here. Government programs provide for cheap homes for the families for a while, and workers keep contact with many businesses to look for jobs that they can get for those old enough to work. It’s fascinating to hear from the women I know volunteering their time to help. There is so much work to do. Some schools try to provide some special time for refugee children to fast track their English learning, because the vast majority come over to our country not knowing any. One of the women I know has taken large families to doctors before to set up appointments and get papers submitted so they can receive care. This can be a very lengthy process, especially with the language barrier.

            I may be able to go help with some of the school volunteering, in helping kids learn English. One of the other women who does this regularly talked with me about how they use flash cards and simple games to begin building a basic vocabulary. They may be more interested in older persons being involved in that way, but I plan on seeing what I can do to help. There’s also a need for various simple household items. Clothing drives are going to get all different sizes for refugees, who come in with so little. This is a way I know I’ll be able to lend a hand. I’ll be looking out for other ways I can lend a hand too.

            I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for all these people to leave their homes and travel so far to somewhere they’ve never been. The older children in their late teens and early twenties are a blessing to their families, as they usually start picking up English more quickly than their parents and can find work more easily. The women I’ve talked to who volunteer are so happy to help, and the families are so grateful to be helped. I’m eager to ask around and find out what I can do to be a part of making all these families who’ve been through so much welcome and stable in our community.

APPROVED!

#33: March of Dimes

We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, and more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that. - Ellen DeGeneres

            I believe in life we are all going to go through a series of tragic events and most of us face a difficult time getting through these circumstances. In 2016 I lost two important and very close family members. The first was my older cousin to cancer and the second was my 2-year-old little cousin who drowned in a pool. I’ve also had my own loss this past weekend on January 21,2017 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. With me being only 5 months pregnant he didn’t survive, this broke my heart and I am still struggling on how to function through life daily. My goal is to help victims who have lost loved ones or who have been in tragic events similar to mine. Grieving is never easy and I know some people have nowhere to turn and they are looking for help or people who have been through similar things.

 My goal is to reach out and offer help and support to people who have no help. There are organized walks and events I plan to attend this year since I’ve lost my baby. I will be attending the March of dimes in October because they offer help to moms like me and also I was born premature there will be a great relation for me. Another event I will be attending is the Walk to Remember event held at Lake Ella every year for grieving parents who have lost their babies. Events like these are what bring people together if no one was thoughtful enough to organize these things people would feel alone and lost. We are created to help one another and be here for each other sometimes all a person needs is one hug or a smile. If I could help at least one person or show one person that I sincerely care about them and feel there pain that would make my heart melt.

Approved!

#34: Water Bottles Etc

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” After I read this quote a few times I began to try and make sense of it, taking the literal meaning of it. When we dream we picture a perfect world, once we wake up we realize life requires work. Within that work you then appreciate the little things in life, that’s what creates happiness. You don’t always want to wake up but you can’t live under the sheets forever.

            I see this quote as guide for how to take meaningful joy out of life from the work we do, whether it’s family related or literal work some kind of happiness can be drawn. For my service proposal I felt that Going to different local parks on Sunday mourning’s and handing out bottled water to runners would be somewhere to start. Being focused on fitness and nutrition made for an easy place to start thinking of ideas. Promoting others to stay hydrated by handing out waters gives me the chance to share simple option to being slightly healthier. I’ve only been to a couple parks while I’ve been at school in Tallahassee but from those trips have shown that water isn’t the easiest thing to find on some of the trails and if someone forgot theirs, their run doesn’t become any easier. By being out there I know ill make at least one person who didn’t expect get a cold drinks mourning.

Aside from distributing water I plan to be collecting trash and recycling plastic found on the ground. No matter the amount of trash collected or water given out I hope that those who drive or run past me realize the impact of reaching out. The idea to collect trash while I hand out water was inspired by a man who was collecting garbage from the side of the road one Saturday mourning. I assumed no one asked him to and that’s what made his actions stick with me.

Approved!

#35: Math Champion

            “What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.” - Helen Keller

            Last semester my MAT1033, math, teacher nominated me to be a Math Champion because I was one of her top students. A Math Champion is a student who tutors other students in math. I could not take the opportunity though because I was already so busy. I have a job in Wakulla County at a Daycare center called Happy Time. I work with kids of many different ages but I mostly work with four year olds.

            For my service project I would like to create two fun and educational games that the four year old kids can play to teach them some math skills.

            For the first game I would print out different shapes then cut them out so each kid would get a set. I would print out five circles, five squares, and five triangles. Once each kid gets their shapes I would ask them to hold up a certain amount. For example I would ask “Hold up three circles and two triangles” and see who did it first. The winner of the game would receive two pieces of candy and everyone else would get one piece.

            For the second game I would print out different animals for them to color. I would print out five fish, five birds, and five hippopotamus'. I would ask them to color a specific amount of each animal a specific color. For example, I would say “Color four fish orange and two birds red” and see who would finish first. Whoever finishes first would get two pieces of candy and everyone else would get one piece for participation. Playing both of these games will take about fifteen minutes to complete once a day once a week for three weeks. There are fifteen kids that will participate in these games too.

            The reason why I want to do this is because I want to help the kids become more prepared when they go into kindergarten. Even though I am not teaching them anything new I am helping them keep this information that they already know in their minds to memorize it for the future to better themselves in school. And by doing this I am helping school be easier for them which in the long run is great because we all know how school can become hard. I would love to help them in any way I can because they are just such great kids.

Approved!

#36: Clothesline Project

“True happiness... is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” - Helen Keller

We live in a world today where girls are constantly getting made fun of or being belittled if we can’t fit into a size 0 jean--Or we don’t have a flat stomach--Or skinny legs--Or a clear face--Or cute clothes--The expectations women and girls are supposed to live up to now-a-days to be considered part of the “norm” is so out of reach and nearly impossible. Studies show that 7 in 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way including their looks, performance in school and relationships. Women are required to meet or exceed all of these standards in order to be perceived as “pretty” in today’s society.

Being the social butterfly I am and wanting to get along with everyone—I am surrounded by the idea that ‘I have to be skinny and I can’t have any acne for society to accept me’. With this being said, I have struggled with being comfortable in my own body for years. It takes me at least half an hour to pick out my outfit for school, not to mention this doesn’t even include doing my hair or my makeup. I have to make sure the shirt I wear doesn’t make my arms look fat but makes my boobs look big, and the jeans I wear doesn’t make my butt look saggy or my thighs too big.

It was recently brought to my attention that at TCC there is a service learning course that focuses on violence against women. This topic focuses on women that have been physically, emotionally, or mentally abused. But, it goes into so much more depth than that; it talks about body image, eating disorders, rape, etc... It is important to me to spread the word and help women that are struggling to be comfortable in their own skin speak out and realize that the way we look doesn’t define who we are. Not only that, but I want to help women who are being abused and don’t know their true worth to speak out and seek help, because we are worth so much more than the number on the scale, or the bruises on our arms. I will take part in what’s called the Clothesline project, where I will help raise awareness to educate people about how significantly it impacts those being abused. The project offers men, women, children, and supporters an opportunity to have a voice surrounding issues of sexual abuse and assault. This allows victims to speak out and create a healing process to keep moving forward. I can’t wait to be a part of helping women learn to love themselves and not be afraid to speak out when they find themselves in a troublesome situation.

Approved

#37: Veterans Village

Approved!

#38: Working with Homeless

“The wise man does not lay up his own treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own” (Lao Tzu). I can’t say for sure that I have ever went a day without the luxury food, a bath or shelter. I consider it a luxury because it isn’t something that everyone has. The city of Tallahassee has a over populated community of the homeless; I find it ridiculous. They are under nurirest and deprived of a safe shelter. However, I have a more deeper compassion for mothers that can't provide these things for their children. I can't began to understand how it would feel if my mom couldn't fix me a meal.  I personally went through a time where my mom lost her job. She worked for a private company; the only job that she could find. This job didn’t meet all our needs but, it paid our bills. She went to work the following morning and, it was gone. She was out of a job so, we stayed in hotels. I am thankful to have the mother that I have because it wasn’t until I was older that I realized that our photos were taken in hotels. She never complained which made my siblings and I never notice that we were living in hard times. Children look to their parents to lead the flock but, sometimes they have reach all possibilities that they themselves have ran out of answers. 

Although, I can’t give them everything that they need I want to make a small difference. I want to donate supplies that are give to women and children when that are placed in the emergency shelter rooms for families. I want to vow to donate and spend time seeing if I can lend a hand to families in need.  

Approved!

#39: Inspirational Messages

“I am a huge believer in giving back and helping out in the community and the world. Think globally, act locally I suppose. I believe that the measure of a person’s life is the affect they have on others.” – Steve Nash

            For my project proposal, I decided to give my fellow school mates some encouraging words. I want to start off by saying that I enjoy helping people in general. My mother always taught me that everyone is important. Walking around my TCC campus, I have noticed that most of the students are always by themselves, and looking stressed out. When I first moved to Tallahassee, I wanted to have some positivity in my life. At the time, I did not have any pictures to hang up. One day I was on my computer and looked up some quotes. A thought popped up in my head. I began to write them on sticky notes and index cards to put all around my room. When I remembered doing it for myself, I felt as though it would be good for others. I decided to look online and write some inspiring quotes to pass out. The feedback I got from students was phenomenal. I was extremely proud of myself because it was something I could add and cross off my list of goals. I remember a girl by the name of Emily who I always walk by in the morning for class. I decided to hand her a quote. I believe in God, and she did as well. She told me that she needed someone to talk to and cried. When I asked her what was wrong she told me about her troubles that have been going on for the past couple of weeks. Her story touched my heart, and I knew God put me in place for her. I never thought that I would be able to help her in a way that would make her look at life differently. That same day I told my god father, and he told me that I did a good thing. He helped me come up with idea to do the same for church. Instead of putting inspirational quotes, I decided to put scriptures. I still must do it because unfortunately church service was canceled. I will go through with it next week because I feel as though I can make a difference.

            Since I decided to pass the quotes around I have been completely humble. It made me realize even more that life is precious and people can be uplifted and moved just by what another can do. It makes me feel special, and I really feel like I can help change the world with one little step at a time.

Approved!