Narrative Prompt

My experience so far has been genuinely life changing. There is something abut making a difference in individuals lives that has a very deep and personal impact on yourself in the process.
During the first weeks, I did outreach to the community and was amazed by the responses i received. There are very broken people out there that are just searching for any outlet that will lead them to hope.
In one case, I was passing out food to this individual and it was a perfect opportunity to talk to them on a more personal level. They began to tell me their life story and the events that led up to their current situation. I realized that if I'm not careful I can judge by appearance before looking deeper into the person. The whole experience made me realize the influence you can have on a person just by spreading kindness. Some are just looking for another person to acknowledge them and recognize their need! After that week, i have begun doing whatever I can to help spread the Love of God and kindness throughout our community.
Unfortunately, not everyone will receive what you have to offer. Many times I have reached out to certain individuals and rather than accepting it they lashed out.  It's important to realize that you will win some and you lose some. Although you can't win them all, the ones who are reachable, reach pout! But more importantly regardless of some people, kindness DOES make a difference. DONt let one bad experience stop you from changing your community!

Location of Food/Clothing Drive:

1465 E Cypress Hope Center Church

Persuasive...

Hello, Everyone! For this week's blog, I am going to persuade your view to see into the vision that I have cast for this project and why it is worth the time and effort. Why is my view exactly? Well, my view is that each life deserves a chance to start over and sometimes that may seem impossible until a hand is extended in kindness.

You may ask "What's the point?" In all honesty, I've asked that question myself. I came to the conclusion that if I were in that situation, with no home and little resources, I would probably desire for SOMEONE to just look at my situation and feel enough sympathy to lend a helping hand. SOmeyoimes life just throws curve balls that are hard to dodge, and once hit, you can't get up without help.  

Another view I have concerning helping the less fortunate is, is your time really more important that a soul that could be potentially lost because of the lack of hope they reap from their situation? Absolutely not! One hour you spend extending your hand to a person could literally mean the WORLD to a person. knowing that your words and actions have the power to turn a miserable person has no hope, to a person who lives a life worth living is a very powerfully touching reality check. 

Two wrongs don't make a right, but a right can turn around a wrong. Some people don't give their time, energy, and life because they have had a bad experience before. "The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike"... everyone at some point has a bad experience, the key is to look at the bigger picture; one experience doesn't equal out to millions of  hurting lives LIVING that bad experience. You have the power to change that experience around. Make that wrong into a right by reacting correctly and biting back at the evil that was done in a positive manner. Does that make sense? 

In conclusion, no one deserves to live in misery. Our world can literally be changed for the better if everyone gave just a little bit of their time to recognize the hurting people around us and give an encouraging word here, a sack lunch there, and an overall  act expressing kindness . 

Change lives. be a world Changer. Spread love!!

Reflection

Hello, Everyone! This blog will be about my reflections so far on my project and the adjustments I have made. While reflecting on where I would like this project to go, I realized that some of my goals were a bit unrealistic. Although each goal is something to aspire to reach, in this short period of time that I'm doing this project, some of my goals were unrealistic to the time I had. Here are a few adjustments I have made to provide a realistic view:

Weekly Services
My Goal was to help 20 families in need each week, but seeing how much effort goes into actually obtaining all the items needed and finding families to give them to is a more of a challenge than I anticipated. So, instead of 20 families weekly, I have decided to focus the majority of my time weekly on community outreach, and finding 5+families to focus my time on. I came to the understanding that the whole idea around this was to reach out to people and give them hope through acts of kindness, it might be difficult to portray that kindness if you are so focused on the numbers instead of the individuals who are in need. Does that make sense? In conclusion to this point, I will be focusing more on 5+Individual Families,interacting, creating a relationship, and giving of time and kindness through the service of food distribution.

Long Term Goal
My long term Goal is to create a food closet that is open to the public. I realize that some people won't admit their needs due to embarrassment or personal issues, so I would like to create a food closet that is open for anyone to take without judgment.

Additions
Kindness doesn't have to be conveyed just with food, Clothing is a major need as well. I have decided to add clothing to the mix when creating/putting together the Food Closet. Clothing will also be available to whoever may need it. I have already accepted several donations from friends and a local church. I have a meeting with Pastor Scot Bobo to discuss using an unoccupied room in Hope Center Church to help set up this Food Closet. It will also be a great outreach tool to help people spiritually if they desire it.

Outreach
There are several ways I plan on and have already started concerning outreach to the community and receiving donations. Here are a few outreach tools:
1. Flyers- Promoting the cause, educating on the positive results, and the donations required to fulfill this cause.
2. Communication- Just by simply talking to people and expressing the need for the cause you are working towards inspires people to want to jump in and be apart of it!
3. Gathering from local businesses-This is sort of a combo of 2 &3 together if you convey the project yu are trying to do, most likely people will want to donate at least SOMETHING to you.  I've done things like this before and businesses can be very generous if they think your project is worth it.

Mentor

My mentor for this project is my mother. She is the most kindhearted and genuinely caring person that I know, and I feel as if she is the perfect mentor for this project that I am aspiring to accomplish. She is motivated, gives of herself, and is willing to go to great lengths to get something done. Her role will be to help me conduct a small and local "program" or "organization" that distributes canned goods and whatever produce to give to the community. Since we don’t obtain such goods, and buying them would cost more money than we have, part of her role will be to advise me and even help to contact locations and gather food donations from local stores. Her main role is to advise and help me with planning my next move. 

I feel as if she is the most qualified person to guide me through this because throughout my life I have watched her use her social skills to reach people that are struggling on the streets. Because of her kindness, I watched lives be changed.

Here are some question I have asked my mentor and her answers:

How can your previous knowledge on helping the less fortunate guide me through my project?

-I can educate you on how to reach out in a proper manner. Compassion and love is the key. 

What are some tips you can give me for gain the community’s approval and desire to help with this project?

-Flyers are always a good start. It shows the people you are serious. Also, going to the work place of family member is always good when you’re starting out, because they are more familiar with you and will spread the word and start you off with your project goals.

Do you have any previous experience with helping the less fortunate? 

-Yes. I not only worked at the Convalescent Hospital, but I also took people into my home and gave them hope. Whether they were on the streets, or just simply struggling financially at home, I have always opened up my home people that are in need.

Do you believe that this is a worthwhile project?

-Absolutely! No one in our country should go hungry!  I am thrilled to aide in this project. I have many ideas and advice to give that will aid in this project. 

I am excited to begin this project and hopeful changed individual lives in the process. Im not saying this is going to be easy, but im definitely saying it’s going to be worth it! We have already conducted ideas about choosing 20 families to bless with a bag of groceries. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s a start. As we make a push more gaining donations, more families and individuals will be blessed. 

What is the Answer?

We are all familiar with the common problem among us; world hunger. This doesn’t have to happen in foreign countries in order for it to be an issue. On a more personal level, Redding California is well known for the large community of homeless people and underprivileged families. You see, People have a mindset that you can only be starving if you’re homeless. This is a valid, but incorrect answer. There are so many families that are barely getting by and don’t have enough to provide their families with proper nourishment. You might ask, how do I know this? Well, my family has been victims of financial struggles. We know the struggle of not being able to make ends meet. This is my main motivation for wanting to help others conquer their hunger.

What is the answer to killing this hunger problem? KINDNESS. It's as simple as that. For every act that you do out of the kindness of your heart, a life will be changed. Never underestimate the power of your actions! One meal might just be enough for a person to get through to the next day!

This concept, if used, has the power to change the world. Jimi Hendrix put it this way, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the word will know peace." Love and kindness goes hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other! Such a simple concept holds so much power.

Kindness has the domino effect, meaning that what one person does inspires the next person to get involved and when they do they have the same effect, and it goes on and on!

Changing the world starts with YOU. Remember that your kindness and compassion towards the needs of the people around us can change the world, one person at a time.