Looking Back

Hi Bloggers,

Looking back on my project, I don't regret a thing. I don't regret the fact that I started later than I should have. I don't regret that I didn't know nearly about my community as I had thought. And I definatley don't regret the fact that I helped some people.
Starting later definatly felt like a penalty in the begining. But as I started working on it, I felt pushed to do better than I would have done if I had started earlier.
Learning about all the shelters in my area has definatly got me to do more. Even just during the summer, I've started walking for causes more and even helped out at a food shelter.
Collecting the books and blankets was really fun. But the thing that really opened my eyes was working with the kids. They were so cute and innocent. It was awful thinking about the children ever being in an abusive setting. Who could do that to a child?
By doing this project, I feel I've learned not only about others, but about myself. I work better under pressure. I never would of thought that was true. I learned that I like working with people...a lot. As a result as all of this, I hope to go back and work with the kids again.

Hello Again,

After what happened at the Senior Center, I was desperate to find a new project. I started calling anybody who might need any help at all. I called the Red Cross, (after all a few of my friends had been touched by the hurricane), emailed shelters, and even called the American Legion.
The American Legion wanted me to plant gardens. I was gun-ho! After all, I needed a project, right?
But then I realized. Who was going to need a garden? I knew that many people would've liked a garden, but the location was not great. Plus, I really wouldn't have liked making a garden. I'm not good with plants, and I like working with people.
But what was I going to do? I went online and searched homeless shelters. What I found was a bit startling. The website I was on had over thirty shelters within twenty miles of my house.
How could that possibly be? I thought I lived in a great neighborhood. Could there possibly be that many people in homeless shelters?
So, I minimized my search. I looked for abuse shelters. And I found one I thought would be good. The shelter was the Friendly House. The phone number was on the website and I called the manager.
She was really nice and told me they could use blankets and books. I decided I would organize a donation box. And that's how my project started.