As you know, I was assigned to service learn at the Faithful Fools. Before this service learning requirement, and before Carmen had come into class to discuss a little bit about the organization, I had never heard of this the Faithful Fools before. But since then I have learned that Faithful Fools is a San Francisco based, Tenderloin neighborhood, street ministry organization. The Fools are focused on community, community building and the humanity of all people. An important phrase for the Fools is, “We discover on the streets our common humanity.” This short and simple phrase characterizes a lot of the Fools’ approach and their organization’s goal. This is because that it is a way of thinking and acting that the Fools strive for in both …show more content…
TL Votes was actually one of my favorite service learning activities to participate in and to attend. This program was really essential in actually helping me create a connection to the Fools and these communities; to the people who frequent the Fools’ Court, and call it home, or a home away from home, a safe place. Through TL Votes I was able to talk to, and more importantly, for me, to listen to, the people who live in this community. To hear about the issues they have, particularly regarding housing, race, poverty, and class issues. Or, even to hear their thoughts and experiences, whether it related to a political issue or not. A sort of culmination to my realizations through this service learning experience happened at the Fools’ annual Oscard’s Feast. This event was very eye-opening and stunning to me. Because I had never previously heard of this organization, I truly did not understand the true scope and the extent to which this organization, these people, truly help and inspired people; I was especially surprised by the amount of people they have …show more content…
My newly influenced meaning of justice affects how I view justice on both a personal level, as well as what it should mean in society as a whole. In the beginning half of this semester, we were asked to reflect on what our personal ideas of justice were. I had written, “I think my personal idea of justice is very entwined what I would probably connect with respect and the basic dignities of life.” This still holds true, although now my idea of justice is much more nuanced and has more depth to it. I feel like now I have both academic knowledge and “real-world” experience to support my idea of
In “The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society” by Jeffrey Reiman he offers a detailed explanation of many different ways to define justice and allows the reader to fully comprehend the meaning of it. Before he even began explaining justice he gave his own experience with crime as way to convey to the reader how his rights had been violated and he had been filled with anger at the criminals instead of the justice that failed him. This first hand encounter with crime allowed Reiman to prove to readers that justice is what is what protects us and it is the criminals who are the problem. To see that even a man who had thought and written about nothing but crime for thirty-five years could still become
William C. Friday, former President of the University of North Carolina system and a dedicated educator, said of Roy H. Park ‘31, distinguished NC State graduate and namesake of the Park Scholarships: "Always of good humor and with a generous heart, he… [shared] of himself gladly in the service of others." How and why have you shared of yourself in the service of others?
By leading and participating in service learning projects such as a JROTC Blood Drive, I am able to provide service to others, integrate lessons learned in JROTC, and gather new insights due to my participation in the service learning project.
...on the homeless community. I previously held preconceived notions that the homeless consisted of people who were either unable to connect and form relationships with others or didn’t desire to do so. Yet, I observed most everyone greeting one another and reminiscing with those who have been absent from the community for a while, as well as, expressing concern for those missing. I recognized that the homeless may live in a non-traditional way, but they have established their own communities and are successful in forming and maintaining cohesive relationships.
The lunch bell rung at full volume as the main doors flung open. I predicted that a herd of people will rush in like the water from a spill gate. But instead every person was a line; in fact it was a neat single filed line. Another thing I was astonished to see was to the fact that every single person I served to was superbly well mannered. It was the magical word of thank-you which left great remarks in my life and made my volunteering experience an enjoyable one. After the shift, I have come to realize that everything my family and friends have said about impoverished people was nothing but just a stereotype. In addition, I have self-discovered that volunteering is what I want to do on my spare time. The joy from making new friends, appreciated and making a difference in society was too meaningful to put in words. From then on, volunteering had become one of my most highly valued priorities. Whenever I have time to spare, I will go
Selecting to do my service learning at Harvest Hope Food Bank was a very impactful experience. This was so, because of the fact that I have never volunteered at a food bank until now. The organization was able to connect me with the required skills I will practice throughout my career as a professional social worker, therefore better preparing me for assisting clients who may be dependent on my services.
I chose to do my service learning project at Feed My Starving Children. I chose this service learning project because I had prior knowledge and experience by doing it with my family and church. Feed My Starving Children has been a huge impact to those who have participated in this service experience because their mission is to pack meals that go to very hungry children around the world. Being from a single parent family, it is hard for us to not be concerned about where the money for food is coming from, yet we have food on our tables for everyday meals. Therefore, I can’t imagine what it is like for those who experience hunger.
After many discussions involving this topic in the course, I was able to define justice and what it means to me. Although I do not currently work in the field, the classmates who have experience in the field brought great personal experiences to the discussions. University of Phoenix has also contributed to my definition of justice through the facilitators. The facilitators currently work in the field they are teaching and that involves the entire criminal justice field.... ...
A number of facilitators helped this department achieve these accomplishments. Mini-grants available on campus funded the faculty-partnership luncheon. In addition, four faculty members were awarded mini-grants to develop service-learning components in their courses. Departmental leadership has been a very strong advocate for service-learning. Recognition from discipline enhanced the image of this department on campus when the discipline newsletter highlighted the advances in service-learning in the department. The Office of Community Service-learning was helpful in training and assisting faculty interested in developing service-learning components in their courses. The campus generally recognizes service-learning and provides awards for those involved in service-learning. Two such campus awards have been given to members of the department studied.
This past weekend I went and volunteered at StraightWay Training Center in Hungerford, Texas, along with some of my other batch mates. StraightWay Training Center (SWTC) is a Christian-based drug and rehabilitation center, which is the only program of its kind that provides treatment for whole families, unmarried mothers, single males, and females, as well as single parents with children. Using Christianity as a basis for their treatment center, at StraightWay the ultimate goal is to teach every attendee the principles of life which include how to deal with everyday issues and how to manage a good healthy lifestyle.This is accomplished through an intensive curriculum of spiritual, academic and vocational training over a period of
Parris serves as an investigator for the Floyd County police department. Clemones used to serve as a lieutenant at the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, but has since left the role of a police officer and now serves as a bondsman for A Bulldog Bail Bonds. In both cases, I started the meeting time by telling the individual that we would be talking about restorative justice and that I would give them a chance to evaluate how it applies to cases they each had experienced. Then, Parris and Clemones were both asked to explain a case in which they believed justice had been served. In the examples that both Parris and Clemones gave, a prison sentence is what caused them to believe that justice had been served. They both mentioned prison time as being what the offender deserved (personal communication, September 23, 2015). It is obvious that both Parris and Clemones have been taught to operate under a highly retributive system, which has caused bias in their views of justice. After they had both mentioned the offenders deserving prison time, I knew persuading them to see the benefits of restorative justice would be
On Wednesday, Oct 7, the theme that stood out to me was generosity and gun violence. As we got into groups and discussed our service sites, it became apparent how important our actions have onto others. For example, we discussed different perspectives of how we conducted our services and how we made an impact. For that reason, this reminded me of when I conducted volunteer work at an elementary school. I helped to facilitate Halloween by helping the kids have a joyous and violent free trick or treating. In addition, this helped the kids focus on having fun and not having to worry about the gun violence that plaque’s their neighborhood. For that reason, I took pride in helping these children have a Halloween they’ll remember by not focusing
People’s lives are changed every day by their actions and experiences. This past summer, I participated in a community service project, an experience that opened my eyes in many ways. I was a volunteer at the County Memorial Hospital. In my time as a volunteer at the hospital, I was able to meet patients and staff members from all over the world and learn about their life experiences. Listening to all of their stories has made me truly appreciate everything which I have.
... us making time in our busy lives to serve people in need, they too will learn the importance of self-sacrifice. Our actions speak louder than our words. We can preach to them all day long about service and sacrificing for others, but if they don’t witness our active participation in these acts, they will likely follow our example and not heed our words.
These experiences have afforded me opportunities to demonstrate my gifts and talents that had previously gone undiscovered. Through different community service opportunities, I either learned something new about myself or I was reassured something. These qualities include that I am creative, reliable, open-minded, passionate, and an effective team player. Community service changed my life by developing my character through enhancing my transferable skills, which allowed me to see the world differently. Everyone, from all walks of life, needs to in some way, shape, or form give back to the community because it will not only benefit the less fortunate but it will benefit the volunteers as well. Additionally, I learned about the wide variety of resources available to help the community. There are so many resources out there that people are ignorant to like certain shelters and food banks. Ultimately, community service taught me the greatest gift I could ever receive, how to be