For my capstone project I had finally decided to collect socks to benefit the homeless within my local area of New Britain. I was planning to focus my efforts at the First Lutheran Church because I weekly help serve salad, pasta and then a dessert donated from Panera bread. After some quick research, I had found that socks were the most needed item in just about every shelter. Most of the people in my classes were working with children or doing a weekly visit to the elderly. In the beginning I had felt silly until I say how big of an impact one pair of socks can have.
Just about everything i have seen within my experiences I have attempted to relate back to my own life in one way or another. Thinking back to the beginning of the project, the first hurdle I had to overcome with thinking of the idea itself. I had originally wanted to do something involving children, as it seemed easy and a similar route to my peers. After seeing all the responsibility and liability involved I was out. later in the day I had talked to my mom and we came up with the idea of collecting socks for the homeless organization we benefit in New Britain. After pitching the idea to those at the church, it got a lot of positive feedback. Everyone was pitching ideas left and right and the idea took of running. With the support of everyone involved, this was definitely going to be more my style. Chipotle was my first resource. I knew hosting a fundraiser there was going to be relatively easy to setup and i'm glad I was able to use some of my resources. From that point on the project used its own momentum to propel itself forward at incredible speeds. One specific event that i found interesting was that even after I had officially stopped collecting socks, people would come to me looking to make donations. At this point I had too many socks.
This project as a whole has been an experience. Meeting so many different types of people who are at difference places in life has affected how I affect the community. I've met folks who are 80+ and still looking for a meal every night. On the other end of the spectrum I've met children who follow their parents in every week, trying to stay warm. In a way, I can look up to most of these people. The kids who are cold and hungry every night, yet still strive in school and do what they can to help out the family.
Although I have learned so much looking back, I see where I could improve if I were to do this again. Specifically during the first pasta dinner where I had attempted to pass out our first wave of socks, I needed more control while handing them out. After we had said the prayer and began to pass out food, it wasn't in my hands anymore. You have no idea how hard it can be to get the attention of the hungry homeless when they finally get something to eat. Nobody wanted to listen to the guy up front talk about a community project. However as soon as I mentioned free socks it was a free for all. Another factor I was nervous of before starting this project was the cleanliness. I've been serving at this shelter for years and i'm used to the environment. This project had pushed me into places where the homeless spend a lot of time in everyday life. From this I have learned that when you are literally starving, the last thing you care about is hand sanitizer.
Thank you!
This project as a whole has been an experience. Meeting so many different types of people who are at difference places in life has affected how I affect the community. I've met folks who are 80+ and still looking for a meal every night. On the other end of the spectrum I've met children who follow their parents in every week, trying to stay warm. In a way, I can look up to most of these people. The kids who are cold and hungry every night, yet still strive in school and do what they can to help out the family.
Although I have learned so much looking back, I see where I could improve if I were to do this again. Specifically during the first pasta dinner where I had attempted to pass out our first wave of socks, I needed more control while handing them out. After we had said the prayer and began to pass out food, it wasn't in my hands anymore. You have no idea how hard it can be to get the attention of the hungry homeless when they finally get something to eat. Nobody wanted to listen to the guy up front talk about a community project. However as soon as I mentioned free socks it was a free for all. Another factor I was nervous of before starting this project was the cleanliness. I've been serving at this shelter for years and i'm used to the environment. This project had pushed me into places where the homeless spend a lot of time in everyday life. From this I have learned that when you are literally starving, the last thing you care about is hand sanitizer.
Thank you!