To tackle the global issue of poverty, we have to get rid of the discriminatory separation between classes, and help each other in times of trouble.
A quick recap on what my action project is about:
People who live in poverty are a large group of people who experience other troubles connected; lack of education, labour, substance and alcohol abuse, discrimination, violence, illness, lack of housing, lower life expectancy, vulnerability and more. The goal with my project is to work to help make the lives of vulnerable people a little bit easier, even if only for a short period of time. My hopes are that with this project I will be able to stimulate interest in others like me to get involved and help others, because if we all work together we can end poverty by destroying the discriminatory barriers that separate us. We should be together and united, not holding single-story stereotypes and judging each other.
Gathering together my research, advice from a professional and my end goal, I created a project that should help people living in poverty with hygiene, health, hunger, thirst, and illness for the upcoming cold seasons. I will be creating care packages that include hygiene products like baby wipes/sanitizer, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, deodorant, q-tips, tissues, feminine care products, and more, as well as first aid products (band-aids,..), bottled water, lasting foods (trail mix, beef jerky, etc.) and finally warm socks or gloves for the upcoming winter season. I will be putting these objects together in the hopes that it will be able to contribute help to the lives of vulnerable people living in poverty.
Here are the steps to achieve my goal and how I plan to accomplish them:
I will firstly plan a budget of the amount of money I am willing to personally spend on this project. I am hoping to receive donations as well, because I know that some people may have extra objects that haven’t been used (tissues, toothbrushes, dental floss, etc.) and it would also be good to give others the opportunity to make a change in real lives of real people. I will have to see how much each object within my goal will cost, and if I am over budget I will have to cut out the objects that aren’t as necessary as the others and prioritize them.
Secondly I will be putting the packages together. I will gather together both bought and donated items and separate them into different packages. I will ensure that each package is equal in materials so that when I am giving out the packages it will be more efficient. My goal is to be able to create at least 10 packages if not more.
Finally I will be handing out the packages. I will travel to areas where I can find people living in vulnerability, and hand the care packages out to them. I would travel with someone else to ensure safety and efficient delivery of the packages.
My deadlines would vary between 1-2 weeks for each step, depending on the step (for example, creating a budget would probably take only a week, but creating the packages themselves could take longer (2 weeks)). I plan to finish this Action project by the end of November, because I believe that will be enough time for me to complete and organize my steps individually.
If I follow these steps and stay organized and prompt, I believe that I could successfully complete this project with a feeling of real positive change in the lives of people living in poverty.
Hi Jessica!
Awesome Action post! I really enjoyed reading it. You structured your post very well, and I liked how you gave a recap to what your project was. In other words, you started off with a broad topic before getting specific. As a result, it was easy to follow along. As a suggestion for the first section of your plan, perhaps it would also be beneficial to start a fundraiser? Amassing non-monetary donations can be costly and by raising money, not only would be helpful cost-wise, but it would also create unexpecting benefits. Evidently, fundraising raises resources for needed items. However, you would also be able to learn a lot from the experience itself. I also wanted to ask what ou meant by “I will travel to areas where I can find people living in vulnerability”. Are you considering donating these packages to a charity, or if not, what specific areas are you going? Nonetheless, I had the great pleasure of reading your post. It was really well done!
Until your next post,
Alison
Hey Alison,
Thanks for the feedback! To answer your suggestion, I am accepting all donations, monetary as well as objects. I am planning on reaching out to family, friends as well as local businesses for donations of any kind. I will be also sharing my plan on social media (Facebook) so that it can be shared with close family and friends. What I meant by travelling to areas where I could find people living in vulnerability is that I would travel to local areas where there is homelessness (of course with someone accompanying me to ensure safety), such as central Coquitlam, downtown Vancouver and Burnaby to give out the packages.
Thank you for your suggestions! I hope my answers gave some clarity.
Jessica O’Brien-Visbisky
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for your reply! I recently read your last post, and I think it’s a great idea to think about working with an organization to donate personal hygiene materials! It’s also brilliant to share what you’re doing through social media and to inspire others. If you’re still interested in working with an organization, perhaps, in your next post, you could do some research on some potential charities? I believe that this could help you push you action into action!!! Nonetheless, I’m super excited to see where you are taking this plan!
Alison
Hey Jessica!!
I enjoyed reading about your action! I think your plan is laid out very well, and it seems like you have a good idea of the timeline you need in order to accomplish everything. In terms of collecting donations for your packages, I think it would be beneficial to spread awareness through social media, the school announcements or any platform that many people view daily. This would allow the message to reach more people so that you can have a better chance of collecting more goods rather than having to buy them yourself. Maybe with permission from the school, you could even put posters up in the hallways too!
These are just some suggestions to help reduce the amount of money you will need to budget for your action. Hopefully you can use some of these ideas if need be!!
I am super excited to see what you have accomplished in your next post!
– Madison Ciulla
Hey Madison!
Yes, I have been thinking about ways of advertising the donation option! I am planning on sharing it through social media for sure. I hadn’t thought about it being shared school-wide! Thanks for the feedback!
Jessica O’Brien-Visbisky