Pay it Forward, misfortune can happen to good people!

   A year ago, in December, I became an advocate for the Connect2Complete program at Miami Hamilton. I selected C2C for employment, involvement with other students and faculty, and community engagement/volunteerism. This past semester (Fall 2014), the class I worked with took on a Pay-It-Forward project, focusing on philanthropy.

           

            The goal of the Pay-It-Forward project was to raise awareness of the issues of at-risk youth, addiction, hunger, and homelessness, especially in the local community. The end goal was for each group to present on their topic. They had to research a certain issue throughout the semester, gain insight and first-hand experience from the civic engagement project, and compile all the information into a ten to fifteen minute presentation for a panel of judges. Rachael Lange, the Ohio Campus Compact Connect2Complete AmeriCorps VISTA, and Lois Brown, the instructor and Reading Specialist, received a $2,700 grant for three semesters, to award to the organization of the winning presentation ($900 each semester). The class that I worked with, ENG 151, had about 20 students. Each of the students were assigned a group. In total, there were four groups. They worked on the project as a team and as individuals. They composed research questions that related to their group topic (issue). One part of the project entailed volunteering at local sites. The at-risk youth group went to Booker T. Washington Community Center, the addiction group went to Sojourner Recovery Services, the hunger group went to Open Door Food Pantry, and the homelessness group went to Serve City. The civic engagement took place during regular class time. The goal of the trip was to gain first-hand experience of the issue researched and develop philanthropy. Several community partners were  involved in the project.

My role as the class advocate was to attend all class sessions, inform the students of upcoming deadlines, facilitate in-class group activities and discussions, hold weekly office hours, coordinate the civic engagement trip with the instructor and VISTA, and give presentations to the class on various topics. To pursue this project, I organized times to meet with each team outside of class in order to help them research their topics and compose PowerPoints. In class, I facilitated team building activities and demonstrated how to give a speech and good vs. bad presentations/PowerPoints. I also went with the hunger group to Open Door Food Pantry on the volunteer day. In addition, when students asked for help, I arranged meetings with them. I connected students from the addiction group to the volunteer coordinator of Sojourner in order to get more information for their presentation. I assisted the students from the hunger group by filming their tour of Open Door Food Pantry and interview with the director.

Through my engagement in the Pay-It-Forward program, I was able to gain knowledge of the issues of at-risk youth, addiction, hunger, and homelessness. I volunteered at each location associated with relieving these problems. I became more comfortable as a leader through my experience in facilitating group discussions and activities. I spent hours of my own time researching ways to improve public speaking and give professional presentations, and relayed that information to the students. I saw these issues first-hand. I talked with the residents of the homeless shelter. I worked beside two men struggling with addiction. I saw at-risk youth playing at the community center. I witnessed the hungry go through the process to get food. I saw a different lifestyle that exists next door to me. Since then, I have returned to each site to volunteer and plan to continue volunteering and donate as much as I can.

The final presentations took place on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Each team delivered their presentations to the judges and others present. The hunger group won and the grant was given to Open Door Food Pantry. I was pleased with the hard work these students put into the project. They were mostly freshman. Never before has a freshman class performed a project like this. Their presentations clearly indicated a deep level of research and understanding. They were phenomenal and many faculty members told me that they were extremely impressed with them. I realized that together, we can accomplish amazing things. Several students told me they learned so much from the project and had already looked into volunteering again at the organization. One student said he was going to apply to become a lifeguard at Booker T. Washington. I was surprised that they were eager, willing, and excited. I thought they would have seen the project as burdensome and something mandatory in order to pass the class. I was impressed with their zeal. This project definitely impacted my personal life. I had never taken part in civic engagement before becoming an advocate and I had certainly never voluntarily entered a community in such poverty. In the past year, I have placed on the bronze and gold level of the service honor roll and am in the process of being placed in a committed volunteer position for the spring 2015 semester. As I stated above, this experience helped me gain skills that I will be able to transfer to my professional career in the future and will help me understand my fellow humans on a non-judgmental level.

As a middle class person, I never experienced extreme suffering from lack of proper clothing, food, or employment. Seeing people suffer from these basic, daily necessities disturbed me. Many researchers, scientists, and other professionals have studied causes of these issues and possible solutions. However, after seeing people in these predicaments (such as homelessness) I cannot say, “it’s their own fault,” or “they need to just get a job” anymore. I have seen that ‘life’ and misfortune happen to good people. Sometimes the answers in the books don’t apply to every situation. I have learned that my good fortune shouldn’t become commonplace, but appreciated and valued. 

This blog was written by Emily Cole, Connect2Complete Advocate. To learn more about Pay it Forward at Miami University Hamilton, contact Lori Bledsoe at Bledsonl@miamioh.edu. 

To learn more about Pay it Forward in Ohio contact, Brenna Limbrick, Ohio Campus Compact Program Director, at blimbrick@ohiocampuscompact.org or 740-587-6366.