Helping HOPE

On April 21, 2012 I volunteered for Panther Service day from 11am-4pm. there were many areas that Eastern students went to help but I volunteered to help HOPE. HOPE is a domestic violence non-for-profit organization. The purpose of HOPE is to help provide Housing, Outreach, Prevention, and Education. HOPE has helped more than 800 people in the past year. People are allowed to stay at the emergency shelter for up to 30 days and transitional housing for up to 2 years. They offer opportunities for people to volunteer but in order to work with clients it requires training that HOPE offers. 

A group of Eastern students including myself went to the storage facility and helped do some spring cleaning for the organization. We had to move around tables, beds, bags of clothes, toys and books. HOPE will be having a sale and they needed us to help organize the materials. Also they needed our help to move around things to help them figure out what they should keep and what they should throw away. The services that I provided reflected information learned in the FCS course disadvantaged family by showing that there are many facilities that disadvantaged families use. The storage facility that we cleaned out was a place that families got to bring there items that would not fit in their transitional home or at the shelter. When a family is the victim of domestic violence the last thing they should have to worry about is where they will put there things when they are trying to escape the situation. HOPE does a very good job of providing the clients with anything they could need so that they do not have to worry.

 I actually networked with the other students as well as the leader from HOPE who informed us of what we would be doing. She asked who would be trying to help in social work which myself and another girl were and she said if we needed an internship to contact her. Her name was Angie Hunt. She also informed us that if we would like some more volunteer information to contact her as well which looks good on a resume. 

 I feel that this assignment was very rewarding because it let me know that there are some good facilities in Charleston that actually help people in need. It also makes me realize how privileged I am that I did not have to go through something so tragic but it makes me happy to lend a helping hand. 
Sherry Gunn

Amber Rigsby HOPE of Central Illinois

For this assignment I volunteered for Hope of Central Illinois which provides services for survivors of domestic violence. For my service, I helped make poster boards and signs for an up coming event.Which happens to be a yard sale. The Yard Sale will be held at Cross County Mall in Matton April 26 to 28! All the money and proceeds will go to HOPE Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
During the time I was volunteering, I met with some of the employees who work there. I learned about their backgrounds and they're passion to help people. I also learned the director was in a similar situation as her clients and she is a living and breathing testimony to her clients. While making poster boards I used a variety of color and wrote items such as clothing and shoes for women, men, children, and teenagers. There also a section for toys and books. I think volunteering was a good way to learn about an organization and help them make and obtain their goal. I this is related to of class The Disadvantage family FCS 4840 because women or individual who leave a domestic violence relationship usually just leave with their clothes on their backs. They have no healthcare, money, shelter, and food. Even by living in that relationship so long they might have even cut ties with family and friends as a result they have no financial or emotional support. No only do these individuals have a financial need but, they have a emotional, mental, and physical need that must be met also. This organization is a great asset to the community because not only does it takes individuals in but it assisting them in improving their lives and offers consoling so individuals can heal.
This yard sale will provide HOPE with the funds to provide programs and services for these individuals.
Not only will these Yard Sale help the domestic violence survivors but it will also benefit also people as well.
The Yard Sale will be saleing items for a cheap price and many consumers who can not afford  clothes. Can buy clothes for themselves or their families for a few dollars. Some families are unable to buy tow outfits per child. Families can also buy toys for 3 for a $1 and that beats Walt-mart and other stores prices.
Again the Yard Sale will be held at the Cross County Mall in Matton April 26-28. There is just a $1 entrance fee. You would want to help by donating items they are excepting clothing, music, books, shoes, & toys.

Amber Rigsby

Mike Smith

I volunteered an entire day at Neoga Elementary school on Friday April 14.  I worked one on one with students from Brenda Jones 2^nd grade class.  The students I worked with were ones who were struggling with their Acerbated reader scores.  I was able to enjoy listening to Landon read to three books with me.  They had a total score worth 5.5 points.  Landon scores a 100% on all three of his tests.  After working with Landon I help Abby catch up on some missed assignments.  I timed her on 4 time addition test.  She had two minutes to complete each paper consisting on 50 additions problems.  She hands 5 minutes to complete 80 subtraction problems.  I continued to help Abby to finish other missed assignments.  After helping Abby complete all her missed assignments.  I graded papers for Mrs. Jones.  I really enjoyed getting to work in Brenda Jones 2^nd grand class.  If children don’t know how to properly read it will disadvantage them for the rest of their lives.  The same goes with a child’s math tables.

Katie Weiman FCS 4840

I volunteered at the Fishers United Methodist Church food pantry.  For my service, I processed and organized food items people had brought in. The other workers and I boxed up food for the people they knew who were coming and sorted and shelved the other goods. This volunteer opportunity was helpful in reaffirming what we have learned in FCS 4840. Using my time to help serve disadvantaged families and make their lives better is something Dr. Taylor encourages her students to do.  Assisting disadvantaged families is something FCS professionals do everyday. This was a great opportunity to get my feet wet.            

            The food pantry I volunteered at is run by volunteers. The volunteers are all from the church and community. It was wonderful to interact with other who were willing to donate their time to help others. The food pantry is an important resource to the community. It is the only food pantry within 20 miles of town. There are no requirements for recipients to receive food. They simply have to call the church and set up a time to come receive food. 

            This was wonderful volunteer experience. It is a great program that’s helps many people. I will continue to volunteer there. It is surprising to me how many people the food pantry assisted weekly. It was a reminder not to take grocery shopping, eating out, and other meals for granted.

            Katie Weiman

Courtney Lafond: George County Habitat for Humanity

For my service hours I was offered the opportunity to go and serve with Habitat for Humanity in Lucedale, Mississippi and I jumped on the opportunity because I knew I would have the opportunity to learn so many new things besides just going and getting my five hours done. I thought that I needed to take the perspective of actually doing something worth while and that I would actually learn from. Working with Habitat for Humanity showed me one of the organizations that is available to help families and individuals who are disadvantaged in some way. For the particular individuals that we worked with this would be individuals who had a home before Katrina but lost it due to the hurricane and then financially could not afford to get a new home on their own. We have discussed the different organizations and resources that are available to help those in need of assistance with housing but seeing first hand how important it is for these organizations to have volunteers was a huge part of what I learned. Without the help of volunteers Habitat would not be able to build as many homes as efficiently in a timely manner. Just seeing how much work we got done in a week was amazing. A lot of the things I learned in my housing class I was able to first hand in the construction of the house that I was able to work on. Our leader talked about the style of the house and also discussed about meeting the needs of the family and how each family or individual has different needs for their home. Depending on that families needs for their living will vary in what floor plan/layout will be used in their home. While volunteering with Habitat I worked on several different projects for the construction of the house since I was there for a week. We put the roof on the house all but the shingles, which would be done by a professional roofing company. We also sided the house, which was an amazing thing to see the house go from having absolutely no siding to being completely sided by the end of the week.  I was able to learn how to use several different kinds of power tools while there and also was able just learn a lot about the process of building a home. 

I was able to talk to the future homeowner while there and she was so grateful for our service and I really got to hear her story. The whole time I was listening the quote that Dr. Taylor uses all the time “expect diversity” was going through my head because honestly before I came to college and started taking FCS classes I would have just made assumptions of why she was getting a house built for her. The classes we take really do have a purpose and we really can learn a lot through serving in our community and just having the benefit of really doing something good for someone else who is in need. While working with the leaders and professionals I was able to really talk with them about different opportunities that I could use with my future classroom. I really wanted to be able to try and use ideas like these for when I graduate and begin to teach. I now have the connection with Habitat and with the leaders that I met there who will be able to connect me with other Habitats that would be in my area. 

This organization really has an impact on the community of Lucedale and I saw this while working there. People would stop by the site and volunteer there time whenever they had a free chance. The community is very supportive of this organization because while we were there they provided meals for us and we never had to make our own meals. They were just so happy that we were there to help and wanted to give back to us which actually was very humbling considering we were there to serve them rather them serving us. The community in general just really seems to have grown closer and this organization has really had an impact on that. I really enjoyed serving with Habitat for Humanity and plan to continue to work with them when I get the chance. Helping others is just such a great experience and I would definitely recommend people giving things like this a chance. Just seeing the family and how much they appreciated what wee were doing and hearing their story made you realize how much this will impact them and how we really need organizations like this. I will definitely continue to support and help with this organization in the future because I can see what they are doing and I definitely want to be able to make an impact in individuals’ lives.

The lovely group of individuals I got to work with in front of the house.

Learning how to use some new power tools.

 Nailing on siding to the house.

A view of the house after we had completed putting the siding on and got the roof ready for it to be shingled.

Andrew Fultz- Okaw Valley Baseball Organization

This past weekend I had the privilege of volunteering my time in my hometown to umpire a couple of baseball games for the town’s 12U baseball team.  We were at the diamond at the park and it was a very sunny yet cold afternoon.  The two teams that played were Okaw Valley and the Mattoon Hit Men.  While many people do not think that umpiring does nothing for a family or has any effect on what concepts can be used in FCS 4840 or other courses, it really does in my case.  For starters, the kids that played on the Okaw Valley team I personally know some of their families, and some of them are very disadvantaged.  I saw that baseball was a way for them to forget their problems and focus on the game at hand.  This team also accepts players no matter their social status and allows them to play on the team and the coaches develop them into effective baseball players that can hopefully carry them along in their lives.  My partner that I worked with for the day was an assistant basketball coach at a junior college.  This helps me network because I am also a high school basketball official and I have always wanted to step up to the next level and I know then I have a reference for whenever I feel like stepping up to the next level.  Then there are the coaches, who each have their own personal jobs.  What is unique about it is that is every time that I take the field or court to preform using my skills learned, I am always being evaluated by the coaches.  This can be a tool in deciding if they want to hire me back the next year or even the rest of the season.  Also, if a coach does like how I call a game they will sometimes recommend me to another one of their colleagues.  Then I meet with them at a game and so on and so forth.  I know that the Okaw Valley baseball league is an organization that regardless of situation provides a chance for children to learn the game of baseball, and to compete with other children around the area.  With that they need umpires to facilitate and officiate the games.  This is where I come into play, and whether or not people will agree with me 100% of the time they do appreciate that I take the time to be there and help the children.  I not only umpire the games, but as the younger the children are, the more I step in and teach them a few pointers as the game is going on.  The games themselves on that weekend went well and even after the game both teams came up with their coaches and thanked my partner and myself on coming out.  I learn every day that I step on that field for the organization that it’s not about just the game.  It is about the children and knowing that in that time they are in that park they forget about everything that is troubling them and get to play a game that they love.  It is a lot of fun for me knowing that I get to interact with them and help shape them into having great sportsmanship and good attitudes as they grow older. 

Crisis Nursery - Urbana, IL

I chose to volunteer at the Crisis Nursery in Urbana, IL because I love to be around young children.  This experience definitely relates to The Disadvantaged Family class because that is the majority of who I interact with while I am there as a volunteer to give care to children who are at the nursery because of any kind of crisis their family may be facing.  Another class that I associate being related to this volunteering experience is the Family in Crisis.

Volunteering at the Crisis Nursery had helped me in networking be meeting new people.  I have learned many staff members names and asked them a few questions about the positions, experience and their educational background that is needed for their positions.  I also asked on the day that I went for my training how their shifts work and what kind of schedule they had since they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The person that I have been in contact the most is the Volunteer Coordinator with whom I went through my training.  I feel that my positive interactions and attitude who the staff that I am a hard worker.  From this experience, I have gained contact with people who could potentially help me to find a job in the near future by being references.

The Crisis Nursery provides many services and provides care for children from birth to six years old.  All of the services that they offer are free to everyone.  I have been volunteering in the Safe Children program, but the Crisis Nursery also offers a Strong Families program that is available to anyone.  The services that this program includes are crisis counseling, home visits, parent - child interaction groups, support groups, and referrals for resources and follow-ups.  I have loved my experience at the Crisis Nursery.  The first day was eye-opening and interesting.  I am happy to help out in any way that is needed at the nursery.  Although the babies are my favorite, I take on every task that I am assigned with a smile.  I have been "buddies" with children of all ages through the 20 hours that I have volunteered there so far.  I have also helped the staff by organizing and putting away donations, toileted children, cleaned bathrooms, vacuumed play areas while the children were playing outside, supervised rest time and outside play, and most of all I have enjoyed my time there.  By coming at the same time every Thursday, I have learned the routine for that part of the day on buys days I have been assigned tasks to go off and do by myself. 


Emily Braden