Week 10

Weekly Project Journal

Each week of the project, student must submit a project journal entry. The journal entry consists of three parts:

1. Description. What happened in your project this week? What did you do? Experience?

This week (again) I worked at the desk and did file organization. Two things that were different though and worth mentioning.

First, since I work Wednesdays' and Thursdays' this semester (instead of Wednesdays' and Fridays' like I did last semester) I work with different volunteers, who run things a bit differently. The new volunteers that I work with put together a cardboard box of greens, or goodies, or bread, (or other extra fun commodities) and puts them in the room for the people to pick out for themselves. Then, after they get picked through, he puts more out. This way, he can keep on eye on one person taking way more than they need and not leaving any for anybody else and also put out a good variety while letting people pick for themselves and take what they want.

Second, I encountered a sad story today. A senior woman was signing in today, and when I asked her how she was, she said it was a hard month: when I looked up she had burst into tears! I felt so bad for her - she said it was because her medicine had gone up $97 and this was the only food that she'd be getting for the entire month (p.s. this is a supplemental food program - not a substitute). When I told the volunteer after she had left, he said there was a man who had come in a couple weeks before who said he had only had candy bars for a week because there was no food in the house. Those stories make me sad

2. Interpretation. What did you learn from your project this week? About the project? About the issue? About yourself?

Well, my question about nutrition got solidified. Some of these people look like they eat a lot (overweight) but it's really because they don't eat healthy - they eat cheap, unhealthy food (like candy). In addition, how much people rely on the program and for how long was also solidified - since they have a fixed income, they stay on it, and some of them desperately need it. About myself: I feel bad when someone is crying and there is nothing I can do. I talked to my mom, whose going to talk go my dad (a physician) who says there are a lot of sites and organizations that people who have really expensive medications should know about because they could get them for cheaper (i.e. merely switching prescriptions from Cub to Wal-Mart; i.e. $34 to $4). So hopefully I'll get that information and pass it on.

3. Evaluation. How would you evaluate your work on the project this week? What grade would you give yourself? Are you accomplishing the objectives of the project? Your personal objectives?

I would give myself an A- this week. I think I'm learning and solidifying things in my head about the project and personal objectives. However, I'm not nearly as far on the chapters as I would like to be - so I need to get working on that this weekend...but I'm not sure if it's going to happen. Hence, a minus.