Bellingham Farmer's Market
In taking on this social change project we aimed to increase awareness about the Bellingham Farmers Market on Western Washington University’s campus. The farmers market is an integral part of the local community as it gives many local businesses and artists a chance to showcase their products and talents. We felt Western’s campus was a prime target for the farmers market due to its proximity to the marketplace and students’ general interest in supporting the community. The market prior to our campaign wasn’t able to advertise on Western’s campus due to Western’s policies against outside advertisement. Our group would become a medium for the Farmers Market to spread the word about supporting local companies and artists.
The group came into some initial difficulties regarding our busy schedules as it was very hard to find a time for all of us to meet. Using e-mail correspondence we overcame many of the issues through distribution of individual tasks and responsibilities. We originally formulated ideas about advertising through the Western Front and came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be cost efficient due to our lack of funds. We contacted Robin, the head of the Farmers Market to get some ideas for how we could advertise. She informed us that she was to give us a budget of one hundred dollars and told us that she would make up some promotional materials for us to distribute. Using the budget we were allotted we created nearly a thousand fliers filled with discounts on soap, hemp knit mittens and freebies such as a hotdogs and a chance to win kettle corn for a year. This flier was to be an informational and attractive resource for getting Western students interested in what the Market had to offer.
Using the promotional fliers we gathered together as a group and created an attractive and informational banner and photo display for a red square campaign. For two days we handed out the fliers to students going to and from class while explaining to them the attractive features of the market and the importance of supporting the local economy. We kept a running total of those students we passed fliers out to that had previously been to the market. Ironically those who had said they had been there showed the least amount of interest in taking the fliers. We were quick to inform them that they would benefit the most from our fliers which included discounts on items at places they already were going to. Using our tallies we came to find about sixty percent of people we passed fliers to had not been to the market and forty percent had. Using this figure we felt optimistic that our informational campaign would attract this slight majority to check it out. Using this aggressive yet friendly approach we hoped to increase awareness to Western students about the market.
Many of the people who walked by ignored us and didn’t show much interest, but we didn’t lose hope as a surprising amount took fliers and seemed genuinely interested in the promotions we were offering. Many of us also went into our classrooms and gave informational speeches and passed out the fliers to our classmates. A couple of the group members went down to the market each Saturday and spoke with Robin and many of the merchants to see if they had seen much of an increase in attendance and to collect the coupons. We were disappointed to learn that of all the coupons we passed out only fourteen hot dog coupons were redeemed and four people had entered to win kettle corn. Over all we saw that our work had not been done in vain. The cost-benefit analysis we performed showed a noticeable increase of $72.01, a beneficial increase due to the advertising campaign for the market, not as large as we had hoped but substantial none the less.
Home Port Learning CenterThe purpose of our social change project was to provide breakfast foods for Home Port Learning Center’s students. Home Port Learning Center is an organization in Bellingham which specializes in alternative education for disadvantaged and at-risk youth. Home Port has a small student to teacher ratio (1:6) and uses individual, self-paced programs to help with each student’s needs. The curriculum for the students focuses on academics, maritime education, vocational education, and service learning. In addition, the program has an 88% success rate in keeping children in school or helping them attain their GED.
Since most of the children enrolled at Home Port come from a disadvantaged family, they do not have access to a nutritious breakfast and typically come to class hungry and sluggish. This hurts the ability for Home Port to help students. Simply put, when children are hungry they are not able to focus on their schoolwork and are more at risk for falling behind. The Home Port staff believes that a nutritious breakfast would help the children focus and give them a greater chance of success in the program.
Since Home Port is in session all year, our goal was to create a continuous food donation partnership with a local Bellingham company. We contacted Starbucks, Haggen, Costco, Western Washington University Dining Services, and Baker’s Breakfast Cookies. Because of corporate regulations and preexisting donation relationships with the Help House, it was difficult to find businesses that would agree to donate food.
To overcome this problem, we changed our focus to a more global view of helping Home Port seek financial support from the Bellingham community. Most notably, we negotiated a partnership with Bellingham Biz E-View, a local website company, to provide a free networking service for Home Port. The website will provide connections with other local businesses, create a central location to solicit donations, and advertise Home Port free for the life of the page. In addition, we sought help from local college students by having a Bellingham tavern sponsor a donation night for Home Port.
The social change project was a success in that Home Port has enough funds to cover breakfast foods for three months, and the potential to receive much larger donations in the future. In addition, our work conformed to major ethical theories. These include utilitarianism (social benefits produced from helping the children outweighed the costs of donations), the ethic of care (showing compassion for the community’s disadvantaged students), justice (distributing the gains of the Bellingham community with those less advantaged), and social contract theory (businesses and students acting benevolently towards each other). Home Port now has greater resources to provide breakfast foods for students and create relationships that will help its students succeed.
Blue Skies for ChildrenOur project aimed to link a non-profit and for-profit organization in a long-term meaningful relationship. Choosing organizations was a very straightforward process for our group.
David had a preexisting relationship with Blue Skies for Children from his involvement organizing this year’s Cinderella/Cinderfella Prom clothing and accessories drive for the National Residence Hall Honorary. From this starting point we also determined that working with sports in some form was important for us. When speaking with Kristin, Programming Coordinator at Blue Skies, she informed us that she met Steve, owner of Play It Again in Sunset Square, at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast. We also learned that the type of program we were looking at fit in with the Little Wishes program that Blue Skies runs to sponsor enrichment activities for the children they serve.
Establishing the link with Play It Again was more difficult as Steve was out of town on a regular basis. Upon meeting with him, we found out that he already had a successful program with the Bellingham Boys and Girls Club that he was willing to expand for Blue Skies to benefit.
After creating a link with both organizations, we decided to create a credo in the mold of Johnson and Johnson to guide us as we established our program. We believe our first responsibility is to the children of Whatcom County. We must strive to raise hope and self-esteem by providing sporting goods to homeless, foster, and low-income children. We are responsible to our group members. Everyone must be considered as an individual. Group members must feel free to make suggestions and complaints. We are responsible to our community. We must maintain in good order, the property which we are privileged to use. Our final responsibility is to this class and Social Change Project. Our project must meet all requirements and the time spent must be justifiable.
Our program incorporated a two-pronged approach. The first aspect of our program was discount cards. They were developed by our team and printed by Play It Again Sports. The cards can be used multiple times by individuals to obtain a 10% discount on purchases; in addition, 5% of the purchase price goes to an account that is available to Blue Skies for use with the Little Wishes program. The other part of our program handles consignment of used items. Community members may place items on consignment on behalf of Blue Skies with Blue Skies receiving all of the proceeds after the equipment sells. Between these programs a solid program had been created to generate recurring funds for the sporting goods component of the Little Wishes program.
To establish this program, efforts from all parties were required. Our group provided much of the manpower. We developed and distributed the discount cards and poster advertisements, along with contacting sports-related organizations for support and generating a public service announcement for KUGS to announce. Blue Skies is helping with distribution of the discount cards and is putting information about this program in their quarterly newsletter. Play It Again has assisted by printing discount cards, holding goods on consignment, and donating proceeds from both of these programs to Blue Skies.
Our group has decided to focus on three ethical frameworks in this project: deontology, virtue theory, and ethic of care. Deontologically, our group has observed that it is our duty as privileged college students to help underprivileged children. In virtue theory, we are attempting too follow our personal ethical principles in the way we have structured this project. Furthermore, this project has stimulated our personal ideals and is reflective of our collective character. The ethic of care is observed in our program by caring for those who are disadvantaged without taking advantage of the least privileged. This also is a play on distributive justice theory which does not allow for a solution which makes those who are least advantaged members of society any worse off than they already are.
In our cost-benefit analysis it was determined that in starting up this program we were not well compensated. However it must be stressed that this program was designed to last much longer than the duration of this quarter and it is anticipated that the benefits of this program will arise as time progresses. Another aspect of this program that makes it especially useful is its versatility; this is not sport-specific and as such can be used all year long by Blue Skies and people who want to help them.
Since establishing this program was so time intensive and we were working in the middle of baseball season there were many options that were not available to us in generating support and donations. We would encourage further advertising of the program, use of impounded bicycles by the police, donation drives, efficient distribution of discount cards, establishing partnerships with other local businesses, partnering with other non-profits, and collaborating with youth leagues as some ways of making this program more successful in the future.
Munch Money Scholarship ProgramThe Munch Money Scholarship Program Manual outlines what is needed to implement the scholarship program. The manual contains various documents that will be needed once the scholarship has been implemented, and it gives some background on the steps that have already been taken towards the implementation of the project. The original team that set out to implement the scholarships faced many obstacles in dealing with the University’s staff at the administrative level.
The program manual contains marketing information, flyers, a budget for marketing and some of the necessary forms to make the program a success. The next step for any team trying to implement this project will require talking with Western Washington University’s Bursar’s office to arrange to have the funds that are donated moved into a scholarship fund. The program has received positive comments from the administration in the University’s office of Dining Services.
The other aspect of this scholarship that the implementation team will have to consider is an additional funding mechanism. The idea of a Web4U registration donation page was also considered and received positive feedback for the Office of Dining Services. In order to further explore this method of collecting donations there would have to be dialogue with the office of the Registrar. The team was informed that many groups on campus have attempted to collect donations using this method. The difference between this scholarship and others is the fact that money collected stays here on campus helps to support the cause of higher education.
The munch money scholarship will be based only on a students need for the scholarship. The FAFSA score will be considered as the determining factor in who is selected. The original plan called for money to be contributed to the Western Washington University Dining Services Leadership Scholarship. After considering the eligibility requirements the team decided that this scholarship was not in line with the values they hoped to instill in the students at the University and it was decided that a new scholarship fund would have to be set up. In order to set up a scholarship fund the implementation team will need to contact the director of the scholarship office as well the University Bursar to coordinate the transfer of funds to the scholarship fund.
The social change project embarked upon by the team was successful in making the necessary materials to begin the implementation process. The next step will require the implementation team to make the necessary contacts at Western Washington University. The idea of the scholarship truly displays the ethic of care and the theory of distributive justice. Students who are more fortunate than others are reaching out to their fellow students and helping them to have a better experience here at Western Washington University.
Soups On! Food DriveSoups On! is a soup kitchen outreach program for homeless and low income residents in Whatcom County. At 10:00AM each Tuesday and Friday, volunteers provide laundry facilities, showers and nutritious meals to those that come to the facility. The kitchen takes pride in its ability to serve patrons in a restaurant style atmosphere, not in the typical buffet style of many soup kitchens. In addition to serving nearly 800 meals per week, volunteers also provide toiletries, blankets and clothes to people that need them. The organization encourages people to volunteer as cooks, waiters, and/or to coordinate food drives.
Four ethical theories were relevant in our project of colleting food and hygiene items for Soups On!: distributive justice, ethic of care, deontology, and utilitarianism.
The distributive justice theory consists of giving each person his or her due, treating equals equally and un-equals unequally. In this case, the theory holds because homeless and low-income individuals are treated as equals to those who have access to food and personal hygiene products by being provided with nutritious food and shower facilities. Just because they are homeless or earn low incomes does not mean that they should not be treated as equals to those that can afford food and shelter.
The ethic of care asks us to recognize and take seriously the moral worth of relationships, particularly those characterized by caring. Soups On! volunteers get to build relationships with the and show care for people needing food, toiletries, clothes, blankets and other personal items.
Deontology holds that actions are morally right or wrong independent of their consequences. This theory presents a universal moral belief that everyone has the right to eat and maintain personal hygiene. Soups On! serves everyone, without limitations to that person’s sex, race, or national origin. Therefore, the kitchen helps reinforce each person’s right to life and access to food.
Finally Utilitarianism holds that an action is right if it produces, or tends to produce, the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. As volunteers, we evaluated our time commitment using the cost benefit approach analysis applied in the Utilitarian approach. As a result, we were able to conclude that the value of our time did not ultimately outweigh the benefit people received at Soups On!, and our donations produced the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.
Initially we believed Soups On! coordinators and grocery stores would be open to help gather food and toiletries. However, we encountered a few setbacks during the project. Our group found establishing contact with Soups On! coordinators was very difficult. When we did contact them, they denied us the opportunity to volunteer in the kitchen. In addition, to place collection bins in local grocery stores the managers required corporate approval that takes weeks to receive. We were able to improvise by collecting items from a variety of other sources including our places of employment, our homes, family, friends, and university dorms.
Our biggest success included Winco Foods’ pledge to provide $5000 worth of food this summer. Had we not had difficulties with the local grocery stores, we likely would have never secured this large donation. Those difficulties forced us to get creative in our collection techniques. The Winco Foods donation is larger than the amount of food we would have collected by placing bins in the stores, so we are more successful now than we would have been with our original plan.
We hope that Soups On! will be able to create a lasting relationship with both the Mt. Baker Ski Area and Winco Foods, who were our biggest donors. Both of these organizations have the potential to be significant donors to Soups On! in the future, and this would give our project a lasting effect on the soup kitchen. We have also suggested to Soups On! that they get in touch with the resident directors of the dorms on Western’s campus, and organize a yearly collection every June when students vacate the dorms for the summer.
Therefore, as a result of our setbacks, our project was ultimately more successful than we ever would have been because we were forced to work together and get creative in our collection methods. In the end, we were able to collect a significant amount of items for an organization that does so much good in our community.
Habitat for Humanity-Blitz BuildOn May 6, 2006 we volunteered for Habitat for Humanity at the Blitz Build in the Woods in Kendall, WA. The Blitz Build is a two day event in which the project starts as cleared land and upon the close of the second day there is a foundation, walls, a roof, windows and a front door. As to our social change project, we had nineteen volunteers who met at school at 6AM and did not leave the worksite until 5PM. During these hours, we did everything from nailing the walls into the foundation, to painting the siding, to putting on the roof. This house in Kendall is the start of the twenty-first home for Habitat for Humanity of Whatcom County.
We have identified the following ethical theories and their relationship to our social change project.
Ethic of Care
Habitat for Humanity cares for all individuals in need, regardless of the political or religious affiliations. They strive to break the cycle of poverty by helping families build and own a home. Habitat for Humanity is able to break the spin of poverty in one generation by giving these families the opportunity to give their children a place to always come home to, and not be constantly moving from town to town and not feeling connected.Deontology
The ethical theory of Deontology applied directly to our social change project in that helping out the other volunteers, builders and Habitat for Humanity staff was something that we all felt morally obligated to do. Not only that, but the main purpose of helping with the Blitz Build was to better the lives of the Kuzmin family. Adding those direct labor hours was something that we all felt was the right thing to do, if we never find out what happens to the Kuzmins our consciences are at ease knowing the action we took, regardless of its actual consequences in the long run.Utilitarianism
Ethical utilitarianism states that we should take an action if it produces the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. We did a cost benefit analysis, and it concluded that the benefits out weighed the cost. Even though the house built will only give seven people shelter, we are able to help break the cycle of poverty for the Kuzmin family. Additionally, all of the volunteers at the worksite were able to give back to the community, and therefore, they feel that they are benefiting society presently, and in the future.Social Contract Theory
The project for Habitat for Humanity reflects the social contract theory. There was a mutual benefit between our management group and Beta Alpha Psi (BAP). Our group committed to Habitat for Humanity that we would provide 20 volunteers on May 6th at the worksite. Additionally, we needed to follow through on our volunteer commitment because our grade for this course is dependent on our social change project. BAP is required to hold a pledge day for all of the new members in the organization. Pledge day is a day of service to our community. BAP was able to complete their service requirement. Additionally, the number of service hours volunteered help BAP keep their superior standing at a national level.Justice Theory
Habitat for Humanity has many beliefs that are based on justice theory. Habitat for Humanity is an equal opportunity organization, when selecting who they will build houses for. They strive to consider all candidates equally. In the selection process, they follow procedural justice. Habitat for Humanity uses a fair allocation of policy. Even though habitat is a Christian organization, they do not require that their candidates are Christians themselves. Habitat for Humanity sorts through their candidates in a rational and consistent matter. Candidates have to meet five basic qualifications: 1) They have to be living in the United States legally and be a Whatcom County resident for one year, 2) They have to have a significant housing need, 3) They have to be low income, one-half of the median income, 4) They have to be willing to put in 500 hours of sweat equity hours, and 5) And they have to have “ok” credit and be willing to go to financial counseling.
Bellingham Boys & Girls Club Sporting Goods DriveOur mission was to coordinate with the Boys & Girls Club in Bellingham, Washington to help provide underprivileged boys and girls with new and used sporting goods that they otherwise could not afford. As a team we felt that by collecting sporting good donations we could help improve the quality of their lives and make a positive impact.
The Boys & Girls Club prides itself in providing a positive place for kids and honors its mission statement, "To inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens." A variety of clubs are offered at the center from Character and Leadership Development, Arts, Sports, Fitness and Recreation. We felt that what the Bellingham Boys and Girls Club stand for builds responsible and caring community citizens who enrich the community. They recognize the social and ethical responsibilities that citizens of a community have and are dedicated to instill these values in children.
Our personal relationships that we establish within our community give meaning to our everyday lives and inspire us to give back by helping others. We are characterized by our caring relationships with others and define who we are and what we stand for. Our group recognized the value of these relationships which is why we wanted to partner with an organization such as the Boys & Girls Club. This idea of caring relationships adheres to the Theory of Rational Accounts of Moral Reasoning. By donating our valuable time for a worthwhile project such as this, we hope that it inspired others to recognize their social responsibilities and support a greater cause.
Program Director of the Boys & Girls Club, Ms. Suzanne Reeve, was a significant resource in the progression of our project. She served as our contact person and offered great advice that would enhance the success of our social change project. Ms. Reeve supported our cause and felt that it would reinforce the values and lessons that they teach at the Boys & Girls Club everyday.
Other valuable organizations that contributed to the success of our project were Pro Stock and Food Pavilion who graciously let us utilize their locations as donation sites. On Saturday, May 20, 2006, our two groups held the donation drive at Food Pavilion on Old Fairhaven Parkway and Pro Stock on Samish Way. From 12 pm – 4 pm we were stationed at these two sites collecting sporting goods for the Boys & Girls Club and found that we were quite successful and had fun fulfilling our social responsibility to our community and its members.
Within the scope of our service contract for our social change project we outlined specific metrics that we hoped to achieve. We set out measurable goals for the number of items donated, number of donators, and the overall time dedicated to the project. Throughout the project we kept track of our overall hours and during the donation day recorded the number of donated items and donators. After comparing our goals to the actual outcomes we found that we were successful. Our goal for donated items was 25 and we actually collected 31 items. The goal for the number of donators was not met but was compensated for by the 6 extra sporting goods that were donated. One of the last metrics was time, which is a very scarce resource, and as a result, we found that we estimated 104 hours but actually put in 80 hours. By looking at our project metrics we met our personal goals and in the process contributed to a greater cause.
Cub Scout Bake SaleFor our social change project, we opted to host a bake sale to raise money for the local Cub Scouts day camp. To start off the brainstorming process, we all got together to throw out ideas for organizations we could become involved with. Evan volunteered the Cub Scouts, as his wife is a Cub Master with the organization and would be a contact for the project. We were put in touch with Julia Mumford, the day camp coordinator, to let her know about our idea for raising money. She suggested a few fundraising ideas, but we ultimately decided to go with our original idea of a bake sale.
To set up the project, we delegated different responsibilities to each member of the group. Sophal was in charge of logistics, which included securing a table on vendor’s row for our location. Evan was our liaison between the group and the Cub Scouts, arranging for the scouts to contribute by making a sign for the table. Paul was in charge of publicity, creating and posting fliers around campus to build awareness and entice potential customers into coming by. Hayley was the overall project manager, making sure the group set up meetings and met deadlines. Everyone in the group contributed to the baking, supplying and staffing for the bake sale.
The ethical significance of this project really was based on the ethical frameworks of the ethic of care and the land ethic. This is because the Cub Scout organization teaches basic principles relating to these frameworks to their scouts. For an example of the land ethic, they have a world conservation award, which is given to a Cub Scout for completing a service project for the environment. Last year this award was given to a Cub Scout for cleaning up local parks. These types of activities take place at the day camp that we were trying to raise funds for, and therefore reinforce those values. This project reflected the ethic of care because we decided to raise funds for a group that one of our members already had a meaningful relationship with, as opposed to raising funds for another Cub Scout group, or an organization that we had no prior relationship with.
Our initial goal was to raise $100 to contribute to the Cub Scouts’ day camp because this amount would provide the food for at least 45 scouts for two of the four days of camp. We felt that this was a reasonable amount given that bake sales aren’t terribly lucrative, but we felt that it was an attainable goal. We ultimately surpassed this goal by $37.22, for a total of $137.22, so we feel that our project was quite successful. Julia and the rest of the scouts were extremely grateful for our contribution to their organization, and we feel satisfied with our efforts in this project.
Northwest Therapeutic Riding CenterThe Northwest Therapeutic Riding Center (NWTRC) is a non-profit organization, located in Bellingham, WA, focused on providing therapeutic horseback riding to people of all ages with a wide range of disabilities. The NWTRC is dedicated to enriching the physical, mental, emotional, and social well being of riders and their families in an environment that is safe, nurturing, challenging, and fun.
The center was developed in 1993 by Julia Bozzo to provide services to mentally, physically, and emotionally challenged children and adults in Whatcom and Skagit counties. The NWTRC currently has the capacity to serve up to 32 riders per week. Participants include individuals with autism, Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, brain injuries, and learning/behavior disabilities. Riders in the past have ranged in age from 2 to 74. Each of the NWTRC’s participants receives an individually tailored lesson plan that gears their riding session toward achieving a specific therapeutic goal. Each session involves a certified riding instructor. For each individual, up to four volunteers may be needed to serve as horse leaders, side-walkers, and assistants. Group lessons often require up to 12 volunteers per session. The cost to the participants is usually $30 per hour, but the actual cost is closer to $60. The difference is subsidized by the center.
For the past seven years, the NWTRC has held a golf tournament to raise money for the program. When we learned of the social change project we were to complete for this course, one of our group members recalled seeing a flyer for the golf tournament. With further research, all three group members decided the NWTRC had a noble cause and we agreed that raising money for this tournament would be the best way to assist the organization. To do this, we contacted various companies around the area for monetary support.
Although we asked many businesses for their support, only one was willing to deliver- Cascade DAFO. We decided to pursue Cascade because their mission is aligned very closely with that of the NWTRC. The company makes foot orthoses for children who suffer from neuromuscular challenges. We spoke to the President of the company, Don Buethorn, who was more than willing to relinquish $300 to sponsor a hole at the golf tournament. In addition, he was so impressed with the NWTRC, he was interested in sponsoring the tournament next year. We feel this may evolve into a lasting relationship between the two organizations.
An analysis of the costs and benefits of this undertaking shows we had great success. After everything was tabulated, we accrued $4,382 in benefits for the NWTRC. We estimate the time all three group members invested into the project to be twenty two hours. This means each hour we spent working on the project was worth an hourly rate of $199.18. There are three ethical frameworks that relate to this project. The first is utilitarianism. Those who have donated to us and who are playing in the golf tournament feel the benefits of the NWTRC far outweigh the opportunity costs of giving up money from their own pockets. The second framework is the ethic of care. This is fairly obvious because if our group didn’t recognize the moral worth of the relationship we’ve built with the NWTRC, we wouldn’t be doing this project in the first place. The final theory is distributive justice. We feel it isn’t right to make underprivileged people worse off than they already are, which is why we raised money to help them.
May Day BasketsMission
Bringing younger and older members of our community together in an effort to create more joy in the world was what we intended to accomplish. With the abandonment of extended family units, the elderly often feel as though they are being forgotten about. Tucked away in their retirement homes, it becomes easy for them to feel a strong sense of loneliness. Liberties being stripped away as their days are planned out for them, all in an effort to ‘keep them out of society’s way’ gave us the desire to do something positive for them. Showing that the community around them still cares and respects them, instead of Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, or Judge Judy being their only sense of connection was an important motivator for our group.Choosing a project
While brainstorming for social change project ideas, our group came up with a repeating theme of helping and working with both the elderly and children. From there, ideas were presented and discussed as a group. We finally decided on an idea to find a way for local businesses to donate supplies for the creation of May Day baskets which would be given as unexpected gifts to residents of a local retirement home. We decided that the creation of the May Day baskets could some how involve children while benefiting the residence of the retirement home, which fulfilled both of our initial brainstorming themes.What we did
Our project had a slow start, but ended up going better than we could have hoped. Local flower shops were contacted in the hopes of finding someone who would donate flowers to make the May Day baskets. To our surprise, we were unable to find a locally owned flower shop that was willing to do that for us. We were finally able to work out an agreement with Haggen’s for a $50 donation so that we could buy flowers from them. Along with an anonymous business that donated paper to our cause, we were ready to begin the creation of our baskets. We contacted the Boys and Girls Club and found them to be more than eager for us to make a date to come share the fun of designing the May Day baskets with them. Luckily we finished them up just in time, and were able to deliver the baskets to the doors of the individuals living at Rosewood Villas.Our Success
We judged our success to be fairly high since we met all of our early goals and had fun while doing it. What initially seemed like a ‘hokey’ social change project turned out to be anything but. Interacting with the children at the Boys and Girls Club and personally distributing the May Day flower baskets to the residence of Rosewood Villas was such a rewarding experience. It is no coincidence that the aspect of the project that we enjoyed the most ties in with the ethical framework that applied most to our project.Ethical Framework
The ethic of care is the framework that ties most closely with our social change project. Taking into consideration the moral worth of relationships, particularly those characterized by caring and tying that concept to our project is easily done. The interaction we had with both the children who helped us decorate the May Day baskets and the surprised faces of the elderly residence of the Rosewood Villas were actions that quickened the pace of bonds being formed. You could see the genuine appreciation on the faces of those receiving the baskets. Also, while the children at the Boys and Girls Club were helping to decorate the baskets, many of them were putting things like ‘love Sarah’ or ‘Happy May Day Grandma’. Taking into consideration the confusion that likely brought about such action, we explained that this was not for their grandparents or other family members. The best part was it didn’t matter to these kids. In response, one of the children said “It’s someone’s grandma”.Conclusion
The social change project we undertook was a positive experience. For some members of the group, it was the first time they had done something like it. The work and organization that was put into making this happen didn’t feel like work in the end when we were able to witness first hand the impact something so simple could make.
Whatcom Center for Early LearningLocal businesses give a community its unique feeling and character. For our social change project, our group chose to bring together two local organizations and provide them with a chance to gain recognition throughout the community and future financial success. We chose one profit driven business and one non-profit organization to see if we could provide both with benefits. The two organizations in our social change project were Sirena Gelato Café and Whatcom Center for Early Learning (WCEL).
Our group decided on WCEL soon after we developed the idea to raise money for a nonprofit. We contacted them to get approval and to see if they could provide any ideas for fundraising. WCEL was eager to be involved and Sandra threw a lot of names and businesses to us for help in developing a project we could carry out. Our time frame and resources led to some constraint on many of the ideas we had come up with. Businesses that were chains or larger companies had the money and popularity we desired, but there was a lot of tape to get through, and many unreturned phone calls. The business that ended up being the best match was Sirena Gelato Café.
Once we decided on the companies, the next task for our group was to figure out what we wanted to provide each organization and how we could best accomplish our goals. After talking to Fahri, the owner of Sirena, he helped make that decision simpler by offering to donate ten percent of two day’s sales to WCEL. The days of the week with less business at Sirena are Mondays, so we chose May 8th and 15th for the times of our fundraiser. Between determining and carrying out our plan, we held meetings and made lists of everything to do. We split up advertising duties and all agreed to spread the idea by word of mouth as well. The event was small and the organizations are not well known, in the eyes of many advertisers, so there were some obstacles involved. A couple of the newspapers were not going to be issued until after our event had occurred. In addition, some said that our event was too small for them to advertise for us.
The results of our fundraiser ended up being very different on each of the days. Monday the 8th was a good learning experience. It showed us what changes we needed to make for our second day. It made us thankful we had set up the next Monday to continue getting donations and we had time to put our new changes into use. The changes we made mostly had to do with advertising. There was some miscommunication about displaying flyers in the store. We did not have them far enough in advance to hand out many before our first fundraising day.
We were lucky to see a wonderful sunny day again on our second Monday. We planned better the second time to have flyers out and posters up in advance at Sirena and in other areas to make sure people had better advance knowledge of the event. The store was constantly busy, and this time we managed to get a donation box out to gather any spare change people might want to donate. By the end of the 15th, we felt like we had accomplished a lot and managed to collect a good amount of money for the WCEL.
We earned a total of $161 from the two-day event and put in 32 hours of our time advertising, contacting people, and meeting. Therefore, we only earned $5.03 per hour. This may seem small, but the event also increased the goodwill of both organizations.
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