My Action Project Plan

Hey everyone!

For my first project of this year, I decided to go with an action project! I’d say I am someone who is fairly involved in my community, both in and out of school. So, I thought exploring how some of my work affects myself and those around me in regards to the UN’s 20 Sustainable Development goals seemed very intriguing.

So, let me explain what it is exactly what I do.

At school, I lead a club called Project HELLO – which stands for Helping Everyone Locate Loved Ones. Our goal is to reconnect families by taking trips as a group to the Downtown Eastside and asking if anyone is interested in sending a holiday card to a loved one. If yes, the person would write a message in a card that we supply and they would proceed to give us as much information as possible about the location of the recipient. We then make it our mission to locate the loved one in hopes of reconnecting a family. Usually, we receive a very enthusiastic response and it is very rewarding to see that our efforts as a team make such a big impact. However, my favorite aspect of this club is how we help not only the homeless community but our own as well. Almost every member of the club, myself included, had some sort of stigma in mind about the Downtown Eastside and this club has truly transformed our prejudices. Many groups of people are affected positively by Project HELLO which is why I am so thankful to be a leader for such an amazing cause.

I had a bit of trouble finding a development goal that my work fits nicely under. But, I finally decided to go with the goal, “Sustainable Cities and Communities.” Even though none of the tangents match my efforts in Project HELLO exactly, I believe this club works hard towards creating a more sustainable community. Another reason why I chose this goal is that my community is something extremely important to me. The support, care, and cherished relationships given to me by my community are what make me so thankful and what motivate me to give back. In fact, I can confidently say that it is my efforts in my community and the effects that it has had on others that are my biggest accomplishments. Knowing that the work involved in leading school clubs and volunteering strengthens others and in turn, makes my community more sustainable, is my most meaningful victory – even if I have no award or certificate to prove it.

As for my mentor, I’ve decided to ask Mme Bruneau, a Social Studies teacher at Dr. Charles Best, as she is the sponsor of this club and the one who approached me last year about this opportunity. Mme Bruneau has worked with Project HELLO for many years and she is well-experienced with the club. She is also a fantastic leader in other aspects of her life outside of Project HELLO, so I believe she will most definitely be able to mentor me in terms of guiding my group. As for advice on my project, Mme Bruneau has already helped me greatly with learning about what it takes to accomplish my goals with the team and I’m sure I will learn a lot more from her this year as well.

That’s it for now! Keep an eye out for my next post! Also, please feel free to leave me any comments/questions/feedback about my project or otherwise. 🙂