11/29/08-12/18/09 [Work Work Work for Operation Xmas]

This project was more work than I could have mentally prepared for.  Operation Christmas was definitely last minute idea, so next year I need to start everything earlier.  Making profiles was horribly tedious, it took roughly 15 hours.  I worked on them for a couple hours the Saturday night when I came back.  Sunday, I worked for about 12 hours and finished most of the profiles.  Finally, Monday I worked for another hour or so and I finished it up.  Printing the actual profiles wasn't that complicated.  Brandon handled the formatting of the profiles and helped me cut most of them.

Getting sponsors was kind of scary.  At first I was freaking out because I thought that it would be SOO much work to get an extra 100 sponsors.  I got a lot of people involved and I did it pretty quickly, within a couple of days.  I am pretty proud of myself actually, getting 145 sponsors is no easy task.  I made a drop-off point at Whittier College for my friends at work and Whittier College students that I got involved.  I made a drop-off point at LHHPC for everyone else.  I do not think many people read my guideline letter, because I definitely put all the information people needed, but they still called me to ask questions.  Haha oh well.  

I think making sure that all of the gifts were actually accounted for and brought in was more work than getting sponsors.  3 sponsors flaked completely (from Whittier College) and 3 sponsors only purchased gifts, not shoes.  Luckily, I was able to find sponsors to replace those who flaked.  With the busy-ness of school/finals, I did not give much thought or effort towards Operation Christmas until the 12th.  That was really intense, because I should have called/sent emails to remind people that the gifts were either due really soon.  I basically waited until Monday 15th (which was the original/general deadline) to start checking if all the gifts/toys were accounted for.  I spent Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (until 10:30pm) running around like a maniac picking up gifts and harassing people to drop their stuff off asap.  It was really frustrating trying to get everything together.  I don't know how many times or how many different ways I can tell people to label their gifts/shoes with the kids first AND last name for them to actually do it... but that was probably the problem I ran into the most.  The second most frequent problem was sponsors not knowing that they needed to get gifts AND shoes, I need to make that more clear in the future.

This was a great experience though, I feel like I have learned a lot.  Next year will be a great.  I will use my past mistakes to ensure next year goes more smoothly.  I need to think of another name for it haha.

11/28/08 [Profile Making]

What I Did

-Talked to Silver about youth sports club (reminiscent of a boys and girls club) that also offers help with homework.

-Talked with Daniel about sports and educational programs at Vina Emanuel.

-Talked with Rosita about starting a breakfast program for the kids.

-Talked with Daniel and Rosita about summer day camp/educational program for summer 2009

Networking

-Laura and David Boyd [Elementary School Sponsorship Program]

909-627-4339 (ask to speak with Bob Sanders)

Random Facts

-Elementary School Tuition is less than $50

-A lot of kids cannot pay for high school tuition, so they do not go

-There is homework help offered (however, I do not know to what extent)

-High school: 7am-1pm / Elementary school: 8am-12pm

-Class size average: HS = 25 / ES = 22

Approximate Kid Count: 150

Reflection:

I am so excited that Daniel and Silver have a passion for the kids.  Silver wants to get the kids involved in sport, which is great for their physical health.  Daniel cares a lot about their faith (christian).  I care most about their education because I feel it will give them more opportunities in the future.  It seems like things are fitting together well.  A lot of churches compete for people regarding attendance, but Daniel wants to help them network and help the people.  Churches are for the people, so I hope we can work together --not against one another. 

The breakfast program sounds really awesome, but I am not sure how to make that a self-sustaining kind of help.

Wow, over 100 kids are going to be a part of Operation Christmas.  When I was getting sponsors before this trip, I thought that 43 would be enough... maybe too many.  I guess I underestimated the need in Mexico.  I am happy to find more sponsors though!  I read about collaboration and resource networking in my Social Work textbooks and how they can really amplify your ability to help others... and it is really true.

 

My friends are wonderful.  Jacque and Brandon are great photographers and their skills are of great help.  I am super appreciative of their efforts.  Brandon is really great with flyer stuff.  I wish I could do it all.  Relying on others makes me nervous that things won't get done... or if they do get done... they won't be done properly.

 

I am not sure if it was because of our cultural differences, but I have to say that I was scared that my passion to help the children would not be well received.  Daniel, Rosita, and Silver seem so happy to work with me... that makes me super happy.