Jamie Price's experience at Soup Stop

1. I spent two hours on Monday, June 3 at a non profit organization called Soup Stop.

2. This activity reflected some of the concepts that we learned through two chapters we discussed in class: children that are disadvantaged and through housing disadvantages. First, there were at least ten children that came in and one infant. They received multiple free meals and one packed lunch to take home with them. Also, there were many people there that talked about where they were living. Many of the individuals did not have them own homes and were staying with a friend or family member. Most stated they were looking for jobs, but had no luck.

3.  While I was volunteering, I was able to talk to the women that regularly volunteer for this organization and two were on the board/ in charge. They were both very friendly, and shared with me their experience through this organization. Moreover, I was invited to come back whenever I can and was told I could tell friends/classmates about the organization because they are always looking for EIU students.

4. The effect this organization has on the community allows for people to eat multiple well-prepared meals. Also, they are able to get to know community leaders through this organization and can receive help or support from these leaders. Many of the volunteers working knew the individuals' names, and what they liked and didn't like. Also, this allows for children to get a proper meal for lunch during the summer time.

5. Overall, going to this organization and volunteering made me realize how many people in this community are not receiving proper nutrition and meals throughout the day/week. This organization is able to support multiple families and feel a personal satisfaction that they are able to help those not as advantaged as them. Moreover, I was surprised to see that I recognized some of the people that came through these doors. A man that I regularly see on EIU campus was there and I was told he was a "special case" and a regular for this soup kitchen. I was, also, surprised to see how the volunteers reacted towards some of the people with an attitude. Some of the people that ate here were very picky about their food, and when they asked for something else, I felt that the volunteers rolled their eyes or made a rude comment after the person left the room. The main person in charge came in to bring groceries and to help out and she was a very kind woman that was very understanding of peoples' needs and had no judgment or inappropriate comments. Another thing that surprised me was to see so many children there. Many families came in together, and there was one boy that had 3 full meals. Most of the people had 1 meal and a small portion of seconds. Overall, volunteering at this organization was a surprising and new experience for me and if I was able to have the time to do it again; I would.

Link Project-Kelsey Peters

1.    I volunteered at SACIS in Lawson Hall basement.
2.   When I volunteered I was given the task of working on a bulletin board for a presentation about working with children with disabilities. I was to find imagery for the bulletin. For this task I had to make sure I was using people first language and finding appropriate pictures that did not put disabilities in a negative light. One of the pictures I had found said disable children in a title and even though the picture was great I could not use it because that was putting the disability before the child. I had to put myself in the shoes of a child with a disability and think how I would feel if I saw these pictures. So I made sure that the pictures would not make anyone uncomfortable and portray a positive image!
3. I worked with Anne Wend. We talked for a short while about her experiences with family services and how I was feeling about my choice and where I wanted go when I graduated. She reassured me I was going in the right direction.  I was able to set up with her more time for me to come in during the school year to volunteer more. Even though I won’t be able to work with the crisis help line I will be able to participate with other activities that SACIS does.
4. This organization provides services to victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual harassment and support for family members.  The services provided include counseling, advocacy, referrals and information for anyone.  Presentations about prevention of sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual harassment are given locally to help everyone understand the importance of not letting sexual assault go unnoticed.
5.     I thought that this assignment was really cool. I wish that SACIS would have had more work for me to do when I volunteered but since I cannot help with crisis hotline and since it is summer there was not too much I could do other than marketing things. However I did set up more volunteer work for the future semester and I am very excited about that! 

Hillary McKitrick

1.     I volunteered at Christian Social Services.

2.     Volunteering here brought me in contact with different situations and different types of people.  I’ve learned a lot from my FCS classes on how to handle certain situations, because FCS is an integrated profession.  We learn a lot about individuals, families, and communities and how to help in different situations.

3.     I gained information about how to deal with stress and certain situations.  I also learned how to be helpful to the clients when it comes to certain needs.

4.     This service helps many communities within a certain distance.  It helps individuals, families, and especially children.

5.     I thought this was a good hands on experience.  I learned quite a bit just from this assignment.  I learned a lot about how people are different, and I came in contact with many different people and many different views. 

Charity Dasenbrock Project LINK

1.       I volunteered at Catholic Charities in Effingham, IL.

2.       Catholic Charities uses many programs within their location, like the second hand rose retail store. The second hand rose is a retail shop is where people from the community donate their items to be sold for a cheaper price. Families who are at a much higher need for items and do not have the money will get a voucher for items with in the store at no price or at a much lower price.  For the people who do not have vouchers, will pay the discounted price.

3.       I volunteered at the second hand rose for an hour and networked with all the other volunteers that sort the items that people donate. They go through the clothes and sort summer and winter. In the Catholic Charities office, Subway brought in their old bread for catholic charities to distribute to the families in need. They also have classes for adolescents who have anger management problems and are offered once a week during the summer. Catholic Charities also offers free meals on Wednesdays for any children at West Side school in Effingham.

4.       Catholic Charities offers many families living in poverty items sold at a cheap price or they are given the items. This also gives the community a way to give back and to help out the people who are in need of help.

5.       I really enjoyed this assignment because I made my day better helping people and giving back to my community. I did not realize that Catholic Charities did so much for the community and for people in need. I also noticed at the second hand rose store that there were so many people in the community that shopped there. It made me realize that there were more people living in poverty than I thought.

Tiffany Project Link

1) I volunteered at St. John’s Lutheran Church in my hometown.

2) I was helping sort through the small food pantry that they have there, as well as their clothes closet. Any person who comes to the building needing help will get it. They keep this food pantry and clothes closet stocked, since they are open longer than the food pantries and Salvation Army stores in the area. As we learned in class, places that give out resources with limited hours can be a huge problem because if a person has to rely on transportation, walking, or a work schedule, they could miss out on an opportunity to get resources. As important as food is, it is a huge hurdle for people to be able to afford nice clothes for work or an interview. This church helps people overcome that by offering clean clothing as well as temporary jobs (usually at church members businesses or houses) so there is immediate money coming in for them. By providing these services, St. John’s is able to help combat the huge issues that these people and families face.

3) Working alongside the other people that happened to be there that day was the best part. I heard plenty of stories about the man who runs the program within the church getting a call at two in the morning because someone was knocking on the door of the church or sleeping in the doorway. He is in his seventies, and will still get up at any time of the night and open up the church. He’s even been known to bring people back to his house where he has extra bedrooms and make sure they have a hot meal and a place to stay. He is one of the people who inspired me to become an FCS major in the first place. Hearing stories about him always reminds me why I am going to school and what I hope to one day accomplish.

4) This program has helped numerous people and families get back on their feet. Many of the people that have been helped now regularly come back and donate food or clothing or help with the upkeep of the materials. It is known that this is one of the very few churches in the area that will not force someone to attend any services which I believe helps people feel welcome and open up more.

5) As this has been a rather stressful few semesters, this assignment allowed me to take the time and go do what made me want to go to school in the first place. It was a very refreshing reminder that I eventually will get to have more time to do this kind of thing again and hopefully, by having my degree, I can go even further and do even more. 

Elizabeth Kuenstler

FCS 4840

Project LINK

1  1.      I volunteered on May 31 at Catholic Charities in Mattoon, IL.

2  2.      Volunteering at the Catholic Charities reflected concepts learned in many FCS courses.  Some of the concepts would be helping people that are in poverty, homeless, or disabled.  Catholic Charities also gives to those that need food.  They put boxes together that will get a family through two to three days.  The size of the family depends on how much food the family gets.  They help people that have disabilities by providing them with walkers, wheelchairs, or even commodes.  The course FCS 4840 focuses on family and individuals that are disadvantaged.  The Catholic Charities is focused on helping those families and individuals that are disadvantaged.  While volunteering I was able to organize racks of dresses for girls that are not able to buy new prom dresses.  I felt great being able to get all of these dresses ready for girls to go to a fun occasion like prom or a wedding.  I know that it is stressful and discouraging when you have a fancy occasion coming up, but you don’t have to the money for a dress so it meant a lot to be able to help in that way at Catholic Charities.

3  3.     While I volunteered my time at Catholic Charities I was introduced to many of the main employees and volunteers.  Catholic Charities depends so much on volunteers because they do not have the money to hire more employees.  The two main people that I spent time with were the director and the manager.  They both were very busy and always on the move.  I could tell that they were very passionate about their jobs and helping those in need.  Knowing that they helped the most they could and all of organizations money went to those who need help, made me excited about being there and making a difference.  I gained the knowledge of how much time and money goes into helping people.  I also learned that by just helping for two hours people really appreciate your time.  Every little bit counts when it comes to volunteering and giving donations.  Catholic Charities would not be able to keep running if they did not have people volunteering and giving donations. 

4  4.      Catholic Charities has a big effect on the Mattoon community and surrounding area.  All donations go to helping people that are disadvantaged.  The organization has many ways of providing services to those who need it.  They have vouches that they give out to people.  They can use vouchers for baby formula or even for children that are disadvantaged in schools to get clothes.  Another service that they do for babies is that they put together a baby tub full of new items and clothes to give to the mother.  The manager said that they believe that every new baby deserves some new items.  Another great service that they provide are food baskets.  They put food in boxes that has enough for at least 2 days.  How much food they get depends on a person’s family size.  To get money to buy some of the products that they don’t get donated they sell items in their store for very cheap and they also sell items on Ebay.  Catholic Charities give back so much to the community and is a great organizations for families that need help. 

5  5.      I really enjoyed doing this assignment.  It made me feel good helping others.  Catholic Charities is great place that helps so many people in many different ways.  I hope that I will be able to volunteer there more.  They told me about a great back to school program where they prepare backpacks for children that are disadvantaged.  I hope that I will be able to help out with that program.  I think that it will be great for the children that need help.  By doing this assignment I saw how important it is to volunteer.  Many non-profit organizations depend fully on volunteers.  They can’t keep their programs going without the help of volunteers and donations.  

Alli Murphy Project Link

1     (1) I volunteered my time at Catholic Charities in Effingham.

2     (2) This experience reflected many concepts we have learned in most of my FCS classes. At Catholic Charities, there were many diverse people whether they be cultural, class, or age.  As going in with an open mind, it seemed as if while I was in the store, people were giving me the judgmental looks instead of the other way around. With the different families that came in, it truly showed how no matter what part of the spectrum you were one, you were not the only one who was struggling. We may not all be the same race, age, culture or sex but in some situations we may be going through the same things. There was a mother and daughter who was looking through clothes and the daughter was getting irritable and complaining that she was hungry. The mom explained to the daughter that she needed to take care of her and the rest of the family and she was going to have to wait it out till they found clothes for her other siblings. This is the trickle effect of how the family needs to provide for each other and still be able to focus on other aspects of life as well.

        (3) As I was working with the people at Catholic Charities, it made me feel like it was more than just a job to them. They were doing this because they were helping people who really needed it. In the beginning of my volunteering I was one on one with a lady. We were in the back putting winter clothes in storage. It was unbelievable to see how much they had in storage and how many summer clothes that were not even out on the shelves yet. I then helped other women sort through other items to see what was good enough to be put on the shelves or what needed to be tossed. It was amazing what people had brought that they thought that could be resold. The activity I did by myself for the majority of the time was going through underwear, bras and slips. I had to go through what was able to be sold and throw away what was soiled or stained. This gave me the opportunity to truly be thankful for what I have and also to observe the people throughout the store and how they shopped for their items.

I believe the most I gained from this experience was how blessed I am to be able to afford all these things that others had to pay little cost for. It truly is the little things in life that we shouldn’t take for granted and I saw today that that is exactly what these people needed. It was great to see so many volunteers there of all ages to help distribute all of these donated items and enjoyed being there. They loved having more help and were willing to teach me all the little tricks that made the day go by quickly.  

(4) Catholic Charities is a great resource for the both the Effingham and Teutopolis communities. It is in the middle of both towns which is centrally located. With the help of Catholic Charities, there is also a building with many resources for other disadvantages families may be having. This organization is very helpful for any family having trouble and there is no judgment once you walk into the front door.

5       (5) When I had to volunteer, it was difficult to decide where I wanted to put my time. I knew that my time would be appreciated and worthwhile wherever I went. I truly didn’t know what to expect when I first went in but I knew that I was going in with an open minded. My first reaction was “Holy cow, they have everything you need here”.  I was very shocked on what I saw when I was looking around. As I was going through all the undergarments, this is when things really hit me because I honestly couldn’t imagine re-using a pair of underwear. I felt extremely blessed for what I have and hate that things have to come down to that for some people. If that is one thing I could change I would buy all the underwear in the world so people wouldn’t have to re-use those. Overall, I am glad I decided to go to Catholic Charities to re-emphasis how much I could change a person’s day without changing the whole world because it all starts with a single act that trickles too many more.