Recently in Project Category

So...another week of brainstorming and being creative at EAG! This week I presented my two raw ideas to Maggie (i.e., the jewelry created by high schoolers and the prom problems faced by more conservative girls, such as the Somali population). The response that I got back from her was a little disheartening, but also a good thing as well.

The jewelry idea she loved; however, she pointed out a couple of points that I had not thought about before. First of all, how would an EAG beneficiary feel if at prom one of her classmates approached her and was like, "I made that necklace and donated it to that Ever After Gowns place!" Not something that would make a girl's self-esteem increase, I can tell you that. Also, there would be tax issues with public schools donating and such. Maggie suggested that instead of schools, I look into beading stores around the Twin Ctites, as they often hold jewelry making classes and such, and see if they would be willing to donate some of the proceeds to EAG. Time to start researching those ideas!

Maggie also liked my thinking about the quandry with Somali and other conservative girls.  She did say that EAg always provides a bunch of brightly colored and bedazzled scarves for these girls, and they're always a big hit. So instead of actually looking for extremely modest dresses, I'm thinking that I'm going to start looking for places that might be willing to possibly donate some scarves and such. (Sarah - if you happen to read this, we should talk sometime and maybe you could teach me a bit about Somali fashion and where to aquire such items. :D)

I'm still trying to come up with a really good idea to bring in shoes. So far, nothing brilliant yet, but I'm sure something will come to me.

Anyway, that's where my project is at this week! Time to really get down to business and start hitting this stuff hard (especially since I absolutely hate making calls and going in and talking to people and stuff).

Oh, I almost forgot...Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope that everyone has a great time with their families (and eating the most delicious Thanksgiving food in the world - PUMPKIN PIE!!) Make sure to take time tomorrow for all of the beauty God has placed in your life, and all of the beauty He has placed in you. I thank God for each and every one of you weirdos that have decided to embark on this Honors adventure with me. I couldn't do it without you guys. :D

So these past couple weeks I've been working for Ever After Gowns, and I'm loving it.  I met with the president, Maggie, at Starbucks before I turned in my contract and we got along really well. She's such a passionate woman who really cares about giving girls a night as Cinderella who normally wouldn't be able to. I'm just amazed that the whole business is non-profit, and that no one, not even the board members, are paid any sort of salary. Everthing is strictly volunteer. And I think that that's pretty cool.

Since they've never really had an intern before, I'm kind of helping to create the position and (hopefully) pave the way for future interns.  Over the course of the next year, I basically have two main jobs. From now until about March I'm supposed to be researching creative ways to get donations and to bring a fresh "young" perspective to the organization.  Then from March until the botique in April, I'm going to be helping the volunteer coordinator, Jaclyn...well, coordinate volunteers (SIDE NOTE: If any of you girls are interested in possibly volunteering for the botique on April 17 or have dresses you want to donate, let me know and I'll get information for you!)

So far, the creative thinking has been going relatively well. Besides researching vendors to donate door prizes and such, I've had a couple of ideas that I feel are really worth something. First, EAG is always low on jewelry donations. I remembered that at my high school they offered jewelry making classes as an art credit. So my big idea was, why not check the local high schools who participate and send students to the botique and see if their art departmens have any one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces that they want to donate. My second idea that came to me was the prom problems that girls from and ethnic or a more conservative background might have. I mean, what do all the Muslim Somali students do at prom time? I know their culture does not allow some of the trends that we see becoming popular in prom fashion. My second objective will be to research options for them; just because a girl comes from a different background than everyone else doesn't mean that she can't feel like Cinderella on prom night.

So far, both of those projects are in the research stage. Depending on what Maggie thinks of these ideas depends on what direction I'll go in from there. Tomorrow there is going to be a big dress sort at EAG's storage facility in Bloomington that I (and possibly Heather) will be going to. Amidst all of the papers and things that I have all do at the same time on Monday, it'll be nice to be spending time sorting through gorgeous gowns on Saturday. I call it "Princess Therapy." But more about that later. For now I'm going to continue trailblazin' my way through the organization. Hopefully I'll come up with a few fresh ideas for EAG by the time I'm done!

SUCCESS!! My honors internship at Ever After Gowns is a go! After a long game of email tag with the president, Maggie Harris, we finally got to chat on the phone this afternoon.  We got everything squared away! I was literally jumping all over my room after I hung up the phone.  Basically, what I'll be doing is thinking of creative ways to get donations for the botique in April; once it gets closer to botique time, I'll be helping the volunteer director, Jaclyn, coordinate the volunteers for the botique.  Some people might think this sounds like a strange volunteer job, since I won't be working with the people in need as directly, but that doesn't make this internship any less important than anyone else's. Instead of seeing the fruits of my labor right away, I just have to wait a while to see the real impact I'm making in someone's life.

Another reason why I am excited to be working the donation end of things is because that is where I need some help.  To be completely honest, I dislike the whole phone calling, asking for favors, and business fanagaling is not really my thing, but they are skills that I need to develop to some degree.

I am really excited to be working with them for the next few months, and hopefully everything will go relatively well.  Before embarking on this project, I prayed that God would help guide me to a place that would work for me.  Ever After Gowns just feels like the perfect fit, and everything worked out so smoothly. It works perfectly. Like Cinderella and her glass slipper...

So I may be running into a bit of a problem with my "enchanted" project idea with Ever After Gowns.  The volunteer coordinator, Jaclyn, and I have been in email contact. After a meeting of the EAG Board of Dircetors last Sunday, they were all very interested and excited about having me possibly intern there.  So I sent my resume to Jaclyn, who then forwarded it to the president.  That was about a week and a half ago. I have not heard anything. Since our project contracts are due in a little over a week, needless to say I'm a little bit worried. I'm starting to doubt whether or not I should go to plan B.

My plan B is working at PLUS Time.  This would be an advantage on so many levels.  I would be able to get some hours for my education portfolio, and it would be more towards the same sort of thing that I'll actually be doing with my life. The downside, however, is that I'm not nearly as passionate about that as I was about EAG. This may or may not make this project more burdensome, since I'm not as passionate about it.  I emailed Professor Roth today, asking her opinion on this whole situation, and I have not heard back from her yet.  So I guess I'll just have to wait and see what God has in store for me with this project. I'm sure it will all work out somehow.

To be honest, I am kind of lost with the whole project thing. I don't know what to do or where to go.  I have no vehicle to get around the cities with, and I'm a little more than trepidated about the public transportation system.

As I thought about it a little bit more though, I have something that over-rides every single one of my worries: my passion.  God has placed in my heart a passion for working with middle and high school students. I enjoy working with children of all ages, but it is with the older set that my skills lie.  I have always felt like God was calling me to work with kids, but I did not realize the depth of this calling until after working at camp all summer. It was extremely hard for me to be pulled away from my vocation. Hopefully God will lead me to some place where this ache and longing to fullfil my vocation can be soothed somewhat. 

Like I said earlier, I haven't really had any particular place in mind to work.  However, last night I came across an organization in the Twin Cities called Ever After Gowns.  This non-profit organization collectes and dry cleans old prom gowns for under-privilaged teenage girls.  A lot of the girls the go through the program come from poor and violent backgrounds, and may not get to have a lot of times in their life where they are able to feel like a princess.  Ever After seeks to change that. In the spring they set up a "botique" with all of the gowns they have collected throughout the year, and assign each girl that qualifies to a personal shopper, who helps them through the dress-choosing process, the make-up and hair stations, and finding the perfect pair of shoes.  I have no idea how or if I'll even be able to work with this organization at all, but I got so excited while looking through the website.  Low self-esteem is oftentime a really big issue with teenage girls, no more so than around prom time. Although it may seem silly to some people, getting dressed up in a pretty gown, being pampered, and being made to feel like a princess does wonders for a teenage girl's self esteem; because of Ever After, many Twin Cities girls who would never get this opportunity are now able to.  I would absolutely love to make a difference in a girl's life, and make their dreams seem a little bit closer to them.

Although I know that this isn't the most "traditional" idea, or that it might not work out, I am still excited about it nonetheless. And if it turns out that God needs my gifts at PLUS Time (my second choice) more, then so be it. That's kinda where my project is as of right now.