Lee McKinnis (57)
Kristina Marynczak (37)
Killian Noonan (36)
Melissa Castillo (32)
NikoVelazquez (27)
Shannon Ratzel (23)
Michelle Reyes (22)
Kyle Barczak (21)
Maura Bilek (21)
Susan Bayaa (21)
For this journal entry I would like to talk about the volunteer fair that we all participated in. When arrived at the library on Thursday and got my groups table assignment, I started looking around at all of the other display boards, and I have to say that they were all amazing. There were two speakers at this event, the first speaker was from the Sertoma center, there were several things that she spoke about but the one thing that really intrigued me was the health benefits that a person can sustain from doing service work, such as volunteering. She told us that these benefits include lowered cholesterol, lowered risk of heart attack, stroke, and cancer. After the lady from the Sertoma center finished speaking, it was time to set up our table. Looking around at all of the different poster boards and admiring all of the hard work that everyone put into their projects it was no wonder why the fair was such a huge success. Not tool long after my group set up our table the second speaker came on, Mona Perdy from the Share Your Soles foundation. What a truly amazing and wonderful person. Mona shared her story about how she started the Share Your Soles foundation and even shared a video that she had recorded from one of her tips to Haiti. I really enjoyed working on my project for this fair, and the donating didn’t stop. When I left the fair I drove right over to the Animal Welfare League and donated the display board to them, they were such a great help to our group, answering all of our questions, letting us play with the animals and giving us a tour. I am so glad I got to be a part of this amazing experience.
Act Out. Volunteer Fair. Moraine Valley Community College. 1 May 2012
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Gregory Laurenzana
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Gregory Laurenzana
Conclusion
As you can see from what you have just read, is that I love to volunteer and yes it can be tiring and yes it can even be stressful at times, but it is something that I think everyone can do and something that everyone can relate to. There are people that devote their whole lives to volunteering, service, and activism, and all of these things help bring people and communities closer together. Though my work at the marathons in Chicago I have met so many different and interesting people from all different back rounds, cultures, and walks of life. All of these people have come together for one thing, because they want to help.
As I have said before, I understand that volunteering isn’t for everyone, but maybe that’s because you think it’s not for you. Perhaps you just haven’t found the right volunteer fit for you and your life or life style. There are many opportunities, and not just the ones you read about here. You could volunteer in a hospital or a nursing home answering phones or reading and visiting with seniors. You may even be interested in doing some volunteer work at a food pantry or soup kitchen, helping those in your community who have no idea where there next meal is coming from. You might also consider doing service work with a local or not so local political campaign, if you’re into that sort of thing. The point is, is that there are many different things that can be done on a volunteer basis, you just have to find the right fit for you.
Once you find that fit, keep with it. If you are interested in becoming a staff member with the same facility you are volunteering at they may just consider hiring you. When I was volunteering for the hospital, I knew that I wanted to work there as a Certified Nursing Assistant. The only positions that they had available at the time were for Emergency Room Technicians. Not only did I know that I wanted to work at the hospital, but I wanted, more than anything to work in the Emergency Room. So I applied. After a couple of weeks, not hearing anything about the position I applied for I started to call the Human Resources Department to check on the status of my application. I called about every other day, every other day turned into every day. I was even calling from the Emergency Room, where I was a volunteer. Finally all of my persistence paid off, and I go an interview, then I got the job. So you see how a simple volunteer work can turn into a life altering event.
Now, I am not saying that this exact thing will happen to you, but who knows you could one day run the company or organization that you once volunteered for. I know that I have talked a lot about how volunteering and service helps other and can help you in the process, but let’s be honest here, the main reason we would even consider doing any of this is because it could benefit us. Everyone, yes everyone, is selfish in his or her own way. Sure we tell ourselves and our friends and families that were not, but who are we trying to convince, us or them? You know what, it’s ok to be selfish. Not all of us our selfish all of the time, but a lot of the reasons we do things is for us, because it will make us feel good or we just want to for no reason at all. But, no reasons are selfish ones too.
I really hope that you are inspired to go out and volunteer for something. Find what works for you, do it for the people in need, do it for the people what you to, and do it for you. I can’t promise that you will always like it but I can promise that what kind of service you choose, you will be great at it. I have learned in my time writing these series of short stories that not only can I help others hand help myself thought my volunteer work but, I also have the power to motivate people to want to join me in service. By talking about my experiences with you, I have realized that this could possibly open another door for me: motivational speaking. Not very exciting, I know. But what have I done here. Hopefully I have motivated you into helping! -
Gregory Laurenzana
Introduction
When I began the journey of writing this portfolio I had no idea what I was in store for. There were several things to do, several thinks to remember; but though some heard work and dedication I was able to complete this work and bring it to you. Since I am restarting my college career it was really difficult to become motivated to do this project; I am really not a writing nor do I have any interest in becoming one, but I have to say that I am very proud of the work you are about to read. With special help from my family, some friends and even some of my classmates I am able to bring you this collection of, well, let’s call them short stories. And let’s call this collection of short stories “I Can Make a Difference”.
It’s true, you know, anyone can make a difference. From the old to the young, from the tall to the short, as long as there is a need and goal there are people willing to donate their time, money of both to the things that they trust and believe in the most. Look at all of the people on today’s society that have become great influences in their communities. Mona Purdy, after running a marathon in a foreign country she started the Share Your Soles Foundation and have shipped thousands of shoes to over forty countries, all because she noticed that the children in the country where she was running didn’t have shoes and had to paint the bottoms of their feet with tar. Or how about Jason Russell, who started Invisible Children; an organization to help bring down a man from Uganda who is kidnapping children; forcing the boys to become killers and the girls to become sex slaves. These are just two examples of people that have actively made a difference in the lives of so many people.
I have been doing volunteer work since high school. I started volunteering in a hospital when I was seventeen and have been hooked ever since. Now, I will admit that I didn’t do any volunteer work for a while, due to a crazy work schedule; but with my recent volunteer tasks at the marathons that Chicago hosts every year, it made me wonder why I stopped at all. Then, of course I had to do some volunteer work with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Animal Welfare League and I realized more than ever, this is what I love to do; this is what I am supposed to be doing with my life. Volunteering to make a difference in peoples and even animals lives, doing this can be very rewarding for you and for the person or animal you are helping. I know that in my experience with volunteering, everyone that I helped was so grateful that I was there is help them with whatever it was that they needed. In turn, it made me feel good to know that I have helped someone.
As part of a project I was recently involved in there was a volunteer fair. At this fair there were where a couple of speakers and one of the speakers were from Satoma. She shared some interesting facts about volunteering. Facts like, it had been found that volunteering can improve a person’s health and reduce the risk of cancer. I would imagine that this all has something to do with the endorphins that are released when you get the good feeling from doing service work. So, see volunteering and service work makes everyone happy, and it could even save your life or, the lives of others.
For some of us we view volunteering as something that we have to do, some may even call it their civic duty, but I call it a civic opportunity. When this opportunity presents itself, I encourage you to take full advantage of it. We have already discussed the health benefits of volunteering and the satisfaction that a person feels when they are being helped or even helping. All of these things are truly amazing and I want everyone to feel it for themselves; I understand that volunteering may not be for everyone, but if you just gave it a fair shot, I promise you will not be disappointed. I know that I have never been, and you will see that when you read the rest of my work. You will see and hopefully feel the passion that I have for helping people and helping myself in the process. I hope you enjoy what you read and that you are inspired to take some action and volunteer to make the world a better place. -
Gregory Laurenzana
Action Project 5: Animal Cruelty
Volunteer work can be fun and exhausting all at the same time. It can be incredibly rewarding to help others in need, whether it is people or animals that you are helping, it is very satisfying to know that you made a difference or brightened someone day. I am part of a group that chose to spent some time with animals and the people that make the Animal Welfare League possible. This should be a great experience, now while we are only getting to spend a short amount of time at the Animal Welfare League me and my other team member are planning on making the most of our visit, interviewing and working with the animals and really trying to understand what it takes to run and organize a place that helps animals in their greatest time of need.
For over 75 years the AWL had been working to stop animal abuse in the Chicago land area. At the beginning of 2011 the AWL reported a total of 1,148 dogs and cats by the end of the year it was reported that the AWL was housing 1,257 dogs and cats, a difference of 109 animals. Some people may be wondering why did it go up so much, well, there could be several reasons for this. Some people have to move to smaller homes, an apartment perhaps; and they are unable to keep their pet. Maybe, some folk just couldn’t provide for their animal anymore. Those are the nice reasons; some of the not so reasons are people who abuse their dogs and cats, beating them, not feeding them or giving them water. Some people even hoard animals, holding hundreds or cats or dog and not being able to care them properly so they wind up dying. Sometimes that police even have to intervene and remove animals from their homes for their safety. There is no excuse for any of these kinds of behaviors, If a person can’t take care of themselves, they certainly can’t take care of a helpless animal who can’t make any choices for its self.
No only can a person bring their unwanted pet the AWL, but if your looking for a pet it is a great place to adopt. There is a whole adoption procedure the staff at the AWL would be more then happy to help anyone through that process. And not only do they have cats and dogs for adoption, but they also have birds and reptiles and small animals, that anyone can adopt at anytime.
This amazing organisation also has two very convenient locations one on the south side of Chicago and one in the heart of the city. They both might be worth checking out if not for you, then for the abused or abandoned animals that these people have dedicated their lives to helping. If you would like, you can reach the AWL though this link http://www.animalwelfareleague.com/contactus.asp.
I am very glad that we have decided to work with AWL for our group project. No one ever seems to think about the animals and if they do then its usually during a commercial for the ASPCA or something like it and they hurry to change the channel. You can change the channel or just completely ignore the fact that on a daily basis animals are being abuse, abandoned, or worse. If we can stand up and fight for our rights and privileges and for the rights and privileges of others, then why can’t we take a stand and put a stand up and put a stop to animal abuse and cruelty? Yes, it sad and heart breaking, but then again so is child abuse and people take a stand on that all the time. I know that cash is tight for a lot of people, but time isn’t. So use your time wisely and do something productive with it, volunteer, make a difference.
Works Cited
http://www.animalwelfareleague.com/aboutus.asp
http://www.animalwelfareleague.com/upload/AWL_2011_Statistics.pdf
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Gregory Laurenzana
I know that everyone has already done their journal entries on “The Cycle of Socialization” but I haven’t yet, so please humor me. I found this whole article very interesting, but what I found the most intriguing was “The Beginning (Circle no.1)” . This particular part of the cycle caught my attention because when I “came out of the closet” one of the things that my mother said to me was ‘I wish I could have you kidnapped and reprogrammed’ to which I responded ‘ um… that’s not the way it works. No one gave me the choice, before I was born to be heterosexual or homosexual.’ Now, please don’t get me wrong, I love my mother and we have a wonderful relationship. This was just all very new to her, having a gay son and thinking that I my never giver her grandchildren. But that is not what I really wanted to talk about. In “The Beginning (circle no.1)” portion of this article Harro discusses the different groups people are immediately born into: the Agent group and the target group. I was born into both groups. As Harro explains those who are are born into the Agent Group are men, white people, middle – upper class, abled people, middle aged people, heterosexuals, and gentiles. I fall into five of those demographics. As Far as the target group goes, they are described as being: women, racially oppressed groups, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, disabled people, Jews, elderly, youth, and people living in poverty. Yes, I only fall into one category here, but still… its there. I did not choose it, it just happened and I have to live with everyday and I couldn’t be happier. What I was born into and what you were born into is not, and was not a choice
Harro, Bobbie “Prejudiced and Discrimination” The Cycle of Socialization. 15-21. Web. 11 April 2012 -
Gregory Laurenzana
Service Learning Reflection
Sit back, close your eyes and ask yourself: can I make a difference in someone’s life? The answer should be yes. In just a few short hours you can make a dramatic impact in someone’s life that will be everlasting. There are several ways that you can give your time you help someone in need. I chose to donate some of my time to The Greater Chicago Food Depository. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I volunteered for this, but let just tell you that it was very fulfilling and rewarding work; knowing that I was instrumental in helping those who are not as fortunate as I have been.
When I first arrived at The Greater Chicago Food Depository I really didn’t know what to expect. A group of us were escorted in this huge room where we had to sign in, and then we got a brief orientation, where we were told what jobs we would be doing for the few hours we were there. I was in the clean room; here most of us had to wear hairnets and gloves. However, everyone had to wear an apron. Once we were all suited up and had our stations it was time to get to work. There were some of my team member who were taking big shovels full of dry pasta and placing it into these big trays, where others where scooping it into bags and handing them off to other team members who were weighing the bags of pasta. After the bags of pasta where weighed and tied off they were handed to another group of people who were labeling the bags and the boxes that the bags were going in. I was the last stop for the pasta on this assembly line. My job was to make sure that there were twelve bags per box, everything was labeled properly and to tape the boxes closed and organize then neatly onto palates. There were to be 35 boxes per palate, and all together I stacked five palates.
As I was working to tape closed and stack the boxes, I thought to myself: what an operation they have going on here. From The Greater Chicago Food Depository Hundreds of thousands of people are fed each year through soup kitchens and food pantries. Pretty amazing, right? That’s what I thought too. I really enjoyed my time volunteering at The Greater Chicago Food Depository. I have always truly enjoyed helping people. Even working in healthcare, I always found a sense of purpose. That purpose is to help people, people who may not have what you have or people who just need a little assistance. Either way helping people is what I love to do.
So you probably want to know what I thought of my experience working for The Greater Chicago Food Depository. Well, by the time I left I had a renewed sense of that need to help people. Working together as a team with only one goal in mind: helping! From the moment I walked into the building to the moment I got in my car and left, I felt as though I had a connection with the people that I was helping. Even though, I would never speak to them or even meet them it felt awesome just to know that I was helping to feed a hungry child or family.
There are many people in this world that need assistance in one form or another. We all need to be doing our part to make sure that people that need assistance get it and the people that can offer assistance do. I do truly believe that if we all just donated some of our time and maybe even a little bit of money every once in a while that it would give us a renewed sense of spirit. With this renewed spirit we and take on the world; fighting hunger, poverty, or any other issue that may come to mind. We have power to change minds and to change lives-
Grace Cosentino
Your first paragraph is awesome I really liked the way you chose to open up your paper as a reader it got me hooked right away and I felt that you took a risky and different approach then everyone else by saying “sit back close your eyes” but it really worked because it just got me hooked to read the rest of the paper. I also liked the fact that you said it only takes a few hours to make a dramatic impact on someone’s life because it is so true it really does and that’s why volunteer work is so great. I feel that by putting it in those words made someone think wow how can I make a dramatic impact on someone’s life it made them want to read your paper to find out how they could do so. I liked how great you described what you did in your service work. I feel that the main point of this assignment was to make the reader feel as though they were there even though they may have not been. In my opinion you gave a great detailed explanation of your work area and it made be able to somewhat imagine in my head what you did that day. I liked that you actually gave a statistic of how many people the Greater Chicago Food Depository feeds each year that made me as a reader really understand that this organization is helping people a lot and it gives me a sense that I would like to help this organization. Giving a statistic may also drive people that already helped to go back to think “we can do better” and that’s always a good thing because you can always do better and get more people to help or you can just go a lot more when you choose to. I liked the fact throughout your entire paper you were speaking well of the Greater Chicago Food Depository as you should be because every orginization that helps make this world a better place should be spoken well of and I think you did a really good job of making the reader want to go and check it out for themselves. I liked that you said that you felt a connection to the people that you were helping because that’s a really good feeling that anybody that helps want to feel and its awesome that you felt this way. You also put that second to last paragraph into perspective by saying you “may never know them or meet the family’s that you helped” but you still good about yourself because you know that you have helped and that’s all that matters and that’s good enough for you and I think everyone should feel this way just because you don’t know someone personally in trouble does not mean that you should not help. I feel that sometimes people are in a huge rush to help close ones in trouble but there are others out there that need the help and they’ll take it from anyone so we need to be aware and be able to give it. Your paper showed that you cared about this assignment and that’s what made it a great paper.
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Gregory Laurenzana
There are many evil forces at work in today’s society. Most of these evils come in human form. The overall, general theme of the this class is service/ activism, and I would like to pay a little tribute to Joesph Russell. Now some of you may, or may not have heard of this campaign to bring to justice a person who the “International Criminal Court has branded as a War Criminal”, this mans name is Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is the leader of a group called the Lord’s Resistance Army or the LRA and he has been abducting children in Uganda; turning the girls into “Sex Slaves” and the boys into “Cold-blooded killers” for the better part of 20 years. When Mr. Russell found this out, he leaped in to action and started organizing a group to try and bring this man to justice. Joseph Kony has reached the top of the list of the ICC’s most dangerous men in the world. Because of all this, Mr. Russell started a non-profit organization in 2006 called Invisible Children. As the organization grew, several members went to speak to congress men and woman about this growing threat in Africa. Then some time later “President Barack Obama deployed american military advisers to Uganda.” Now the campaign has reached a point where Mr. Russell and his army want to make “Kony a household name” According to his video that was posted on his website Kony2012. Please visit this website (link below), no child should ever have to live in fear of being abducted and forced to brutally kill and disfigure Innocent people. http://s3.amazonaws.com/kony2012/kony_5.html
Unknown, “Kony 2012: Invisible Children Campaign Pressures U.S. Government To Capture Joseph Kony (TAKE ACTION)” http://www.huffingtonpost.com. 7 March 2012. Web. 7 March 2012 -
Gregory Laurenzana
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
I had no idea that hate crimes were still an issue in today’s society. I mean, lets gain some perspective here, it is the twenty first century. I was reading an article about a 17 year old black boy that was physically and verbally abused by some of classmates and he even thought that they were his friends. These white boys put a noose around his neck and threatened him with a knife, all while spewing racial slurs. These boys went to Brother Rice high school, and I know the victim; he is a customer of mine at Wojo’s. Whenever I read a story like this all I can think is ‘wow, how barbaric.’ There should be no room or tolerance for this kind of behavior in our society. We should be more sophisticated and accepting of people. Just like bullying, when stuff like hate crimes and racial profiling occur we prove to ourselves and the rest of the world that we are no more sophisticated or accepting of other people then we were way back when white people owned black people as slaves. Really this behavior starts in the home, it can’t be taught in the public or privet schools. We learn how to act and what to think from our parents, and that starts at a very young age. So maybe, just maybe our parents; not us could use a lesson in social norms.Sincerely
G. Laurenzana-
Grace Cosentino
Your first sentence really made me sad because it is so true it’s the twentieth century and our society is still not over being hateful towards other races. It’s sad that a lot of these races went through so much like marches and protests to stand their ground and get out of cruel treatment and people still give them hate. I liked how automatically you gave an example of what you are talking about with the black boy getting bothered in class by classmates because then I automatically knew okay he’s talking about prejudice. I liked how you started me out thinking but then didn’t keep the reader waiting too long you clarified right away what you meant by “hate crimes”. My uncle went to brother rice so I liked that I knew what you were talking about since most of your readers are from class it was a good idea to use kind of a local place to give an explanation of how hate crimes are still going on today. I also liked that you went into detail of what the boys did to the black boy so that your reader knows what happened. You didn’t just say briefly that there was an incident then just leave it hanging you explained it in detail. It also makes your paper that much better and more accurate that you actually knew the victim personally because then everyone gets a sense you are speaking the truth not just speaking of random person that you don’t even know. I personally like personal stories as a reader so I really liked that you knew him because it just made it really emotional, the fact that this terrible act actually is still going on at high schools today and local ones at that. I think to make this a little better you could make it a little bit longer and maybe talk about bullying a little bit more and maybe how it affects one’s mind and personal habits or something like that. Maybe even give statistics of how many students and children are bullied on a daily basis for people that are reading to realize how big of a problem this is. I’ve noticed that people like to see numbers of how many this is really happening too so I think adding that in your letter would be a really good touch to make it a perfect paper. I agree with your last couple sentences one hundred percent parents are the cause of this, this kind of learning comes from inside the home. Children learn from their parents and when their parents are filled with hate that’s what the children will express when they are away from them. When children of a young age especially seventeen I know that doesn’t seem young but it still is for them to be acting this way they grew up learning hate from the closest people to them which is their parents it’s really sad I agree with you. Great letter though Greg you did a really good job on it.
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Thomas Vasquez
People nowadays don’t believe things like this still exist they are just like horses with blinders and keep walking in a forward motion living out there days acting like they can’t see all the horrible things going on in today’s society around them. Reading about what happened to this kid you knew made me saddened because some people do not realize the traumatizing effects they can be having on people or on themselves when they do stupid stuff like this. People need to stand up for kids being bullied I know throughout my life there were a couple of instances where I wish I would have stood up for a kid being bullied but didn’t and I feel bad for It now. With how some kids act you can’t really tell if they are being guys joking around or actually hurting this kid. In your paper I know we are supposed to be short and straight to the point but maybe you can erase some things or try and find some areas u can tweak and then add in some ways that people can help someone who is being bullied or get help if they are bullied. I know especially now you can find tons of stuff about bullying online so this should not be too hard to find. Maybe if you have enough room explains how someone who is asked for help with a bully can react to the situation. Some people think that you just ignore the kid or situation and it will just go away but that is not always the choice and I hope that the bullying thing stops soon because eventually when I have kids I would not want them have to worry about being bullied. Now I was never bullied in school but for a short time I picked on a kid and I don’t know why but I regret it every time I think about it I always just think what was I doing and what was the point I really wish I could go back and stop myself from ever picking on that kid. Other than adding some facts I do think this short letter to the editor is a great piece because you made it straight to the point you get your topic out there and you just can tell that this was a topic that you really want to change.
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Gregory Laurenzana
I just read a paper that a student wrote about suicide. Even though, I shared some of my thoughts with the writer I thought I would do a journal entry about about. It is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people. Most of us know at least one person that has committed suicide or at the very least have attempted it. My father’s father shot at killed himself several years ago, and while this didn’t affect me much; mainly because I never new his dad. My dad was really torn up about it. This was still his father and I could only imagine how empty he felt inside when he learned the news of his father’s death. One of my best friend’s daughters tried hanging herself in the bathroom of their apartment. She failed of course but it was a real wake up call to her mother, who said she had no idea that her daughter was having any issues. In my grandfathers case, I believe that he was very serious and wanted to die. In the case of my friends daughter, I believe that her attempt was a cry for attention and/ or help. Well she got it, after that her mother but her in counseling and now she is living with her life partner and planing to join that air force. My friends daughter is the perfect example of what a person can miss in their life if they end it.
Xiques, Jackie. Suicide. Splatter.writing101.net. Web. 1 March 2012 -
Gregory Laurenzana
I just read a paper that a student wrote about suicide. Even though, I shared some of my thoughts with the writer I thought I would do a journal entry about about. It is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people. Most of us know at least one person that has committed suicide or at the very least have attempted it. My father’s father shot at killed himself several years ago, and while this didn’t affect me much; mainly because I never new his dad. My dad was really torn up about it. This was still his father and I could only imagine how empty he felt inside when he learned the news of his father’s death. One of my best friend’s daughters tried hanging herself in the bathroom of their apartment. She failed of course but it was a real wake up call to her mother, who said she had no idea that her daughter was having any issues. In my grandfathers case, I believe that he was very serious and wanted to die. In the case of my friends daughter, I believe that her attempt was a cry for attention and/ or help. Well she got it, after that her mother but her in counseling and now she is living with her life partner and planing to join that air force. My friends daughter is the perfect example of what a person can miss in their life if they end it.
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Gregory Laurenzana
Outline For Elevator Speech
Intro: There is a huge need for skilled and compassionate volunteers. In the marathoning community there are literally hundreds of thousands of runners, and they all depend on the race day and medical volunteers to help keep them on course an all become winners.
Point1: The roll of of the volunteer. Different volunteers have different different jobs. Some put up tent, while others hand the runners water and cheer them to the finish line. And then there are some of us that worn under the medical tents.
Point2: While this might not be a huge problem, there is a need and it can be very rewarding work.
Point3: According to the Ram Racing website there are at least six races in Chicago a year, however there are two more then that, that I am aware of.
Conclusion: As these races grow so will the need for volunteers at of their events. -
Gregory Laurenzana
I just read a very interesting paper on animal cruelty. It was not just focusing on the cruelty of household pets and how they can be abused by the people that are supposed to love them. The writer also talks about “Puppy Mills” She writes that dogs in these puppy mills have only one purpose;breeding. These poor animals are not permitted to play or go out side at all. This is the part of the paper that spoke to me the most. When I read that, I couldn’t get the image of these poor, helpless, defenseless creatures not being able to live their lives with people that would love and care for them. Animals just like people deserve the best and all of us, human and animal alike, should be treated with love and respect.
“Everything and Anything Should Get a Change To Live” Grace Casentino, Spalatter the Messy Art of Writing. splatter.writing101.net. Web Feb 22 2012 -
Gregory Laurenzana
Marathon Volunteers Can Make a Difference: And Here’s How
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines service as a: the work performed by one that serves b: HELP, USE, BENEFIT c: contribution to the welfare of others d: disposal for use . It also defines activism as: a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue. I would define service as, to help or to provide assistance through knowledge and wisdom. Activism I would define as making a stand in support of something that you are passionate about. There are many ways that people from all walks of life can get involved. From working on a political cause to helping the homeless by working in a soup kitchen, from volunteering in a hospital to offering to give up your time to work with disabled children or adults. The fact is, different organizations are in need of committed volunteers who are willing to donate their time and talents for a great cause. Anyone, at any age can do this and get the satisfaction that they have helped others who may be less fortunate then themselves or at the very least, maybe help themselves realize something about them that they didn’t know before. As I mentioned there are several places that a person can to some volunteer work; any hospital, for example or a foundation answering phones or packaging food to send to third work countries, like do at Feed My Starving Children. Another great place to get involved in some volunteer work is to look for events such as marathons. Many people don’t even think about working at a marathon, but the reality of it is, is that there are thousands of volunteers at marathons all over the country. But let’s narrow it down a bit, and look at Chicago. Every year in Chicago there are roughly about eight marathons, starting with Cinco de Miler, followed by the North Shore ½ marathon and 5K, and after that there is the Terrapin 5K, Bucktown 5K, North Shore Turkey Trot, Hot Chocolate 15/5K, and let’s not forget about the Rock ‘N Roll ½ Marathon and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. At any one or all of these marathons runners from all over the world come to test their endurance and stamina. Volunteering for these types of events can be fun and exciting; you can meet different people from all different back rounds. At these events there are many different types of volunteers. So let us take a look at a few of them.
Race day Volunteers are some of the most important people in the whole process, because these are the volunteers that set up the tents bring the supplies to all the different aid stations, I will explain more about the aid stations a little later on. Without the race day volunteers there would be no one to hand the runner’s water as they zoomed by on their way to the finish line. Most of the race day volunteers that I have encountered are also very encouraging to the runners supporting them and cheering them on as they reach for that paper cup of water. So maybe this would be something that would interest you, if you are in energetic person and love to support and root for people and their accomplishments but also don’t mind a little bit of hard work; you would love being a race day volunteer. One of the nice things about volunteering in any capacity is that you and everyone else that has chosen to donate their time and talents have one thing in common in that very moment. You all are working for a singular purpose: to try and make the world a little better by caring. And who knows you may also develop some life-long friendships on the way.
There are also several different types of medical volunteers, now with medical volunteering it is preferred that you have a license with some sort of experience in that field, but let me let you that sometimes they will take anyone that is willing to work as a medical volunteer. I have worked at several races as a medical volunteer, I am a licensed emergency medical technician in the state of Illinois and I have experience working in high stress situations that move a fast pace. But I have worked with a couple of people at these races that have no license and no experience working in the medical field. Let’s take a look at some of the types of medical volunteers for these marathons right now.
Doctors and Physician Assistants are the ones that usually run show. Even though most of the medical staff has a license to practice they all work under the medical director’s license. He is one the picks and chooses who he wants to be the team leaders. The team leaders are comprised of MDs and PAs, and these people lead and guide their team of RNs EMTs and many others. They lay out o plan of action for the runners who come to the aid stations seeking medical attention. The MDs and PAs also assign their team members to different stations, like triage and treatment. Even thought the MDs and PAs are in position of authority that doesn’t mean that they don’t listen to the team members suggestions about patient care then it’s offered. Last year at the Rock ‘N Roll ½ marathon I was taking care of a runner who came to us because he was feeling weak and dizzy. We took the appropriate measures and tried to rehydrate him with Gatorade and having him rest. But he only seemed to get worse. Now there is a one golden rule at every aid station at the marathons; no patient is to be there for more than 40 minutes without improvement, if there is no improvement after the 40 min the patient goes the hospital. Once we realized that he was not improving the Dr. wanted to check his blood sugar, which was on the low side of normal. We gave him a few pieces of candy in an attempt to raise his blood glucose level, now by this time the patient had been under the med tent for 45 minutes. I had informed the Dr. about how long the man had under our care, but the Dr. didn’t want to send him to the emergency room because he wanted to “save the patient the bill”, just then this man started vomiting up the candy and Gatorade we gave him and I looked at the Dr. and said “Can we send him to the ER now?” and of course the Dr. agreed. This is just one of many examples of how the medical staff works together for the welfare of runners at these marathons.
Other then MDs and PAs, Registered Nurses (RNs) are probably the largest group of volunteers at the marathons. Just like in the ER OR ICU it takes more than one RN to take care of a critical patient, and some of the marathon runners can become quite critical very fast. Following the DRs Orders then nurses get busy trying to stabilize the patient to either be released or to be transported by the ambulance to nearest hospital emergency room. Now sometimes this not really all the exciting, the last marathon I worked at, I was stationed at a med tent on the course and a female runner came limping up to me claiming she couldn’t feel her foot. I had her sit on the cot and I removed her shoe, then her sock. I looked up at her she looked at me and said “I can feel my foot now!” I told her she couldn’t feel her foot because her shoe was tied too tight. Sometimes you have to deal with people who aren’t thinking logically or rationally, all they know is that something is wrong and they want it fixed. That is why there are trained nurses at these events to not only help the runners medically but also logically. Also, nurses have been trained to deal with people in crises and are experts at defusing that kind of situation.
Medical Doctors, Physician Assistant’s, and registered Nurses are not the only licensed professionals that are on any one of the medical teams. Emergency Medical Technicians, Athletic Trainers, and Physical Therapists all make up the remaining members of the medical staff. Now I know that you may be thinking, ‘why Athletic Trainers and Physical Therapists?’ well the answer is simple. Running is a very athletic sport and these people are subject to injury, sprained or strained ankles, injured feet and toes. EMTs are also valued members of the medical team. EMTs provide support to the nursing staff in patient care.
Volunteering at the marathon is also a great way for medical and nursing students to gain some experience. As a volunteer I have had the privilege of working with some of these students, they seem well prepared and knowledgeable about sports medicine.
Whether you sign up to be a race day volunteer or a medical volunteer, you are providing a service to the runners and they are all so grateful that you are there. There are a couple of websites you can visit to become a volunteer, http://www.chicagomarathon.com, then go to Event information, then scroll down to volunteers. There is also http://www.ramracing.com; here you can volunteer for the Hot Chocolate 15/5K or the Cinco de Miler and many more. There is always a need for people willing to donate their time and talents.
Every volunteer at every race gets either a jacket or a t-shirt or a hat that has to be worn so the runners can identify you as volunteer. Medical volunteers wear red and all other volunteers wear blue. Now, there is 2 ways to get your gear, you can either go McCormick Place and go to the marathon expo; or arrive early on the day of the race and check in to get your gear. Along with your jacket, t-shirt, or hat you will also get a tag to hang around your neck with your credentials and some important phone numbers, like the number to the race coordinator and the medical director. After you receive your race day gear and depending what type of volunteer you are, you can go to the volunteer tent to get some coffee or other refreshment and then off to get your assignment. The Medical staff would go to the main medical tent for a brief orientation.
During the duration of the race, as a medical volunteer you kind of just sit there and chit chat with the volunteers under the tent. Once in a while you will get a runner who is looking for Band-Aids or Vaseline. Most of the action however, starts after the race ends, most runners come to the aid station with blisters on their feet or sore legs, but some just simply don’t feel well and may be dehydrated. All of these people we treat accordingly and some (depending on what is going in with their condition) may have to be transported to the hospital via ambulance.
This is an easy and fun way to spent a day and make a difference. You may not think so, but without volunteers at these races, there would be no one to hand the runners their water, and no one to provide them with the medical attention that they need, and deserve. By working at one of these races you can give that runner the extra umph he needs to make to the finish line according to the goal he has set for himself, or like the runner who had her shoe tied to tight, may have been thinking that I wasn’t going to let her run anymore that day. As we all now know, that was not the case. The one thing that we as volunteers need to understand is that these races are very important to the runners. They have trained for a long time for this moment (some of them for years) and their goal is to make it to the finish line. Anything we can do to help them reach that goal is a great feeling for you and for them.
So as a marathon volunteer you can make a difference in a runner’s day, and even their life. Whether you’re setting up a tent, handing them water to replenish, or providing medical care you can and will make a difference. It very easy to sign up and may also be very rewarding for you. Once you sign up and attend your first race your life may be changed forever. You might also make some life-long friends, people that you have things in common with and people who u can relate to. If this is something that you think you would be interested in doing, just go to one of the websites I mentioned earlier and sing up. It’s not something that you will ever regret. I have worked three marathons and plan on signing up for more. I love helping people and making a difference in their lives, it’s why I do what I do and its why I want to be nurse.
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Grace Cosentino
Your first paragraph almost felt as though you just kind of copied and pasted it like it wasn’t really in your own words. I felt maybe that you should have put a little more feeling in it and show that you really care about this issue. As a reader also the way you started out kind of made me a little confused because you started out with dictionary stuff on volunteering. With all the different letters and definitions the beginning paragraph got a little confusing. In your second paragraph you started out with the race day volunteers and then said you would explain them later which I feel that as my opinion you should not bring them up in the paragraph and then state that you’re going to refer to them later on you just should keep them out of the essay until you’re ready to address them. I liked how you talked about volunteering as caring because it is true that you should care for others but yourself and that is what volunteering is all about. If no one was there to help these races would not go on like you said in your paper and I like how you made it obvious to the reader how important it is that people care and volunteer their time to help. Once I really got into your essay I liked that you knew what you were talking about because you have been a medical volunteer at these races so you aren’t just blindly trying to teach someone about this topic. You have actually done this and can share real life issues and things you’ve been through with this race. Since you also know how these events work it is easy for you to tell someone how to get involved and as a reader I feel like I could listen to you more since you didn’t just find your information on Google like most of the classmates. You also mentioned that you do not have to be licensed to help so I think that people will want to go for it more because it’s easier to get into and it is kind of a fun activity to go to. A race is a fun event and I feel that a lot of younger people would like to volunteer in something like this other than some soup kitchen because you get to be energetic and have fun while you’re helping. I really liked your last paragraph it was very persuading to try one of these events because you were really serious about it by saying that you would not regret it and since you have been to these events it really persuaded me as a reader to try it. I really liked your paper and I enjoyed reading it because I knew that you knew what you were talking about. Since you actually work at these events it is obviously something that you honestly care about I feel that you should maybe revise your first paragraph and this paper would be awesome.
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Gregory Laurenzana
In our reading of “Why White Rice” this week one particular thing stuck out to me, it was written by Michael McGuire. This insert is about writing with no “map”, no specific guidelines or real plan. I love the free spirit, and adventitious tone of this writing. Michael McGuire is my composition Professor (but that is NOT why I chose to write about this insert), and even though I read all the inserts that are in WWR Chapter 4, and beyond; this is the one that spoke to me the most. I really enjoyed the story about when he and his future wife took a road trip with very little money in their pockets, and all of the different things that they experienced and all of the different people that they met. The insert had some strong examples about comparing living a free spirited life and letting that reflect through writing. There were a couple of instances in the writing be Professor McGuire, I thought it was very entertaining and well written.
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Gregory Laurenzana
I hope its ok with everyone that I am posting about this! But this afternoon, at the age of 48 Whitney Houston has passed away! Its very sad and tragic, so I was wondering what everyone’s favorite Whitney song or movie is! Go…
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Gregory Laurenzana
I Wanna Dance With Somebody
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Anahi Perez
I wasn’t too familiar with her songs but the one that always stuck was “I will always love you.” She had an amazing voice!
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Michelle Reyes
I wanna dance with somebody and i will always love you are my two favorite songs by whitney! :)
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Gregory Laurenzana
I loved reading the “Village Voice” by Peter Hessler. This is truly an inspiring story of courage and bravery. Rajeev Goyal fought, against all odds for what he believed in. The Peace Corps, founded in October of 1960 by John F. Kennedy was not brought about by this great idea of helping people and counties around the word, but instead it was formed out of a political debate. I really liked reading this because it gave me hope that there are still good people in this world that are still doing amazing things. Although, I am not really sure what Beyonce and Jay-Z have to do with the article, it was nice to see and even though they have not publicly announced their support for the Peace Corps I think that its really encouraging that even people who are in the entertainment industry, or any industry for that matter are not above helping those people in need. Anyone can make a difference. Even Rajeev Goyal, he was just one man, and yet he made a huge difference. To us and his family and friends Rajeev probable seems like just your every day guy with every day hopes and dreams, but to the people of the small village of Namje we was most likely a hero. After all he did create an underground water reserve system for them, and then they shared what Rajeev had taught them with their neighboring villages. I personally think that all it takes is one, one persons motivation, inspiration, and commitment to do truly wonderful things.
Hessler, Peter. “A Reporter at Large The Village Voice The Peace Corps’s Brightest Hope.” New York: The New Yorker, 2010. 101-109. Splatter: The Messy Art of Writing, Web. 8 Feb. 2012 -
Gregory Laurenzana
I only got one peer review and I was wondering if there was anyone else who needs to complete this part of the assignment, please feel free to write a review on my Live, Kill, Die paper- Thanks :)
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Lee McKinnis
im lookin….
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Gregory Laurenzana
Thanks lee if u wanna review mine please do! I would love your input!
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Lee McKinnis
ok. its not really a long review and i did me quota already im just reading.
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Gregory Laurenzana
I know that this semester just started, but I have to say, this is my least favorite assignment so far. I really didn’t like picking people to live or die. It seemed the me that the point of this assignment was survival if the fittest. My group chose to kill off Bobby Lang, mostly because we all felt he would have been dead weight and not able to contribute much the groups survival. Jean Hernandez, because; even though she is still nursing her mother would have to eat more in order for then both to live. Mr. Newton, we all felt would cause some issues with the others in the group due to his bitter attitude concerning racial issues. Dr. Garcia, it seemed to us that because of his failing health that he would probably not survive a nuclear attack anyway.Some thing like a nuclear attack does seem like a survival of the fittest event and even though it pained me to to kill off a couple of the children I understand that sometimes sacrifices must be made.
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Gregory Laurenzana
“What it Means When a Crowd in a Fanfare Nation Takes a Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him From His Vehicle, and Mutilates His Body in the Dust.”; is a very powerful and gripping story. Even though, it is very short it is still filled with so much emotion. I did feel that this piece was hard to follow at times, but Dave Eggers; the writer made you feel everything that the man he was writing about felt. ‘He felt anxiety and unease. These were feelings foreign to the man.’ Could this man have had some sort of telepathic connection to the deceased soldier that he saw on the front page of the paper? ‘The picture caused him to gasp, alone in his home.’ Or could it be that the man was some how related to the soldier? Either way it seemed that for most of the day the man felt very sad and depressed. This is a very sad story, but a very good story about some of the things that I am sure people feel when they hear that the men and women that protect our country have been tortured and even murdered in foreign countries due to war. I know that I feel that way sometimes, and I am very thankful and grateful to those men and women who live, fight and die for our rights to remain free.
Eggers, Dave. “How We Are Hungry”. What it Means When a Crowd in a Fanfare Nation Takes a Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him From Him Vehicle, and Mutilates His Body in the Dust. McSweeney’s, 2004. 17-18. Splatter: The Messy Art of Writing, Web. 1 Feb 2012 -
Gregory Laurenzana
Live? Die? Kill?: For a Selfish Reason
When I started writing this paper it was going to be for a non selfish reasons. I was going to writing stuff about how my friends and family and how they are the most important things in my life and that I live for them and would also die and kill for them. Then I thought some more about it and talked with my mother about what I wanted to write about and she told me “As a member of your family, I don’t want you to live, die or kill for me. I want you to do those things for yourself!” So I decided to create a paper about me, in a selfish way, if you will. In our everyday lives we get up, go to work or school, hang out with friends and family, have dinners, go to bars, and do it all over again the next day. Why do we do this? What makes us function like this? Since everyone has there own answer to these questions, let me give you mine. I get up everyday for one purpose, ME. I am the driving forces in my life, I know that to make a descent life for myself I have to go to work, I have to go to school, I have to maintain relationships with my friends and family. To be quite honest, if I don’t look out for myself then who will? As much as I love my friends and family I know that I am really the only one that I can live for, the only one I can die for and the only one I would ever kill for. This may seem out of the norm and very selfish to most people, and please believe me when I say I am not a self absorbed person at all. But lets be realistic here, we can all say that we would die and kill for our friends and families, but would you really? So, the only person on this entire planet that I live for, would die for, and would kill for above all, the more important man in my life. Me!
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Thomas Vasquez
First off with your paper all I can say is bravo. You have taken this assignment in a different direction than probably ninety percent of any of the students and it worked really well for you. Your paper is written very well and not very much I would suggest for you to change. One thing I noticed is that you have a good amount of typos or sentences that you should look at I’m not going to point them all out but I think you should reread your paper and change some of the things. For example you used live a lot and if I’m correct I think they should be life. These aren’t really major problems because every rough draft has typos. I really like how you took the approach of fighting for your own life and still talked about how you still care for your friends and family but only really need you. I also like how you give a little backstory about yourself making me feel like I know you personally and have known some of your struggles. Another thing is your final paragraph I’m not sure if you were looking for a couple more words to meet the requirement but I would think of restructuring it you say the whole live, die, kill thing in the first and second sentence where I don’t think it is needed. Your first paragraph is very strong and drew me in to wanting to keep reading more and more.
What I don’t like about your paper is that you kind of just ramble at some points which I know you kind of had to because when you are writing a paper like this to defend that you only want to live die or kill for you there aren’t to many examples you can give for these like how in my paper I wrote a little example of each you have no real examples to give except that you only need you in your life until you get where you want to be which I believe makes you a very strong individual to be able to come out and just say that. For people including me to say they will live die or kill for their family there is no real way to tell if this is true and I guarantee people do not want to have to come to the circumstances of having to kill someone for someone else or die for someone else. Your paper is strucutured really well for example in your writing you don’t talk about something in the second paragraph stop and go back to It later which is really good for a paper of this style because from my own experience I know it is tough to come up with enough words on one subject without jumping back to something u talked about earlier. My final thoughts are that this paper is written very well with minor flaws that can be changed in very short time which is really good for a rough draft.
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Lee McKinnis
ive noticed a lot of people have their papers on how they live for themselves actually. though that is awesome due to people being honest!
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Lee McKinnis
Your paper does have a stream-of-counciousness in its’ works that is nice, it shows your progression going from ‘i will be selfless and die heroically!’ to ‘No! Don’t die for me, live for yourself as the real struggle is to live on!’
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Lee McKinnis
Your ‘the education system works!’ comment is interesting, and i guess useful from a POV. Though explain that too, explaining it will help too.
>>, I know that to make a descent life for myself I have to go to work, I have to go to school, I have to maintain relationships with my friends and family.
This is also something that should be elaborated on for shut-ins :D
(i.e. “friends get you jobs, having a significant other keeps people more happy, etc”)
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Grace Cosentino
When I first started reading your paper I thought it did sound kind of selfish almost like you only cared about yourself and my whole life growing up family was very important to me and I always learned to put others first so you probably can understand my first initial thought. As I read on I realized that maybe you are not selfish and generally are speaking the truth that many people are afraid to admit. Many people just generally thought to jump to saying they would kill and die for all these people but like you said would they really do that because that is something that no one can just say innless they were truly put into that type of situation where they had to practice what they preach. I liked your paper because you were not afraid to admit this and you really I feel took this assignment seriously and put in the reality of the big picture that you can say you’re going to do something but if you will really do it is the key factor. The truth is you do have to take into consideration that you’re the only person in your life that can make your life what it is. Just because your family and friends can help you along the way they cannot set your life up for you you’re the only person that can make a successful life for yourself. I liked the part in your paper when you said that you would never take back anything that you had done in your life or regret the things that have happened to you because they all taught you something about the person that you are. I feel the same way because you cannot regret your life you just have to keep going and when bad things happen to you, you have to hope for better ones to come your way in the future. One of the major things I liked about your writing is I felt you were not shy with it you told the readers personal information about you and it helps the reader get a personal insight on your life and it helps them better understand what kinds of things you went through in your life. As I read your paper I really got a sense of the type of person you are by your introduction I thought you were kind of selfish but by your conclusion you made me realize you are actually very good hearted and you made me realize a different side of this essay a different view that I really didn’t see in anyone else’s paper and that made me really like your writing because it made your paper stand out from everyone else’s. As a personal person I like to see different views on things and you really made me understand the meaning of the topic and I feel that you honestly went deeper with it and gave your honest opinion and answer and that’s what makes a great and bold writer.
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Gregory Laurenzana
I believe that to be ecologically literate means that a person is aware of current condition of the environment and how all of the parts of the ecosystem works. Now, I don’t think that I am the most ecologically literate person, but I do think that for a person to become educated on the ecosystem and the present state of our environments condition is to pay attention. If we all started to recycle, using energy saving appliances and light bulbs this could make a significant impact on the ecosystem. We all can play a part in this, making little changes in our day to day activities or our daily routines can have a huge impact on the ecosystem. By making any one of these small changes, recycling, using energy saving appliances and light bulbs, using public transportation or walking we can help save the plants, animals and the microorganisms that assist is sustaining human life. If we all did our part the world would be a much cleaner, safer and healthier place to live, for this generation and for generations to come.
Capra,Fritjof Web of Life, The
Grace Cosentino is discussing. 
Thomas Vasquez, and 
Michelle Reyes, 
Anahi Perez, and 
Gregory Laurenzana are discussing. 
Lee McKinnis, and 
Grace Cosentino 10:27 am on April 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I liked your opening because from reading your other work I know that you love to volunteer and you actually mean what you right which is awesome! I couldn’t agree with you more that it is just as satisfying helping animals not just people. I did my last paper on Animal cruelty so I could relate to this paper and as soon as I saw the title I couldn’t wait to read what you did to help since this is a subject close to my heart. I liked the way you wrapped up your introduction in your first paragraph by saying that you will only get to spend a short time but you are planning to make the best of it. It shows me the reader that you are really going into this project with your head held high and that you are looking at this project in a positive way which like I said before is AWSOME! Mr. Mcguire talked about in class that one of the points of this project was to really try and understand this organization on an outside view perspective. To really try and not only help out this time but put yourself in someone else’s shoes and try and understand why these individuals live and work the way that they do. Which is the whole point of the project and I liked the way you actually said you intended to do this. I liked that in your second paragraph you gave background information on what the point of these organizations are and what is going on that makes it necessary for us to step in and help. I like that you put statistics in so that people know the truth of this subject and at the end of your essay you have works cited so the reader knows that you’re not just making up this information and statistics. I think the thing that really makes a writer’s piece great in my opinion is knowing as the reader that the writer is giving you factual information and you’re not just reading false statistics. That is the whole point of a piece to get the reader to have trust in you as a writer, and by the works cited to back up the information in your piece it gave the reader a sense of security with you as a writer. I liked that you suggested this is a great place to adopt a pet because I would love to see people take full advantage of these shelters and getting the pets out of there as quickly as possible. I would love to see these animals get the home that they deserve. I think that it was a good move to give your readers a link they could go to to check out the organization for themselves and make it possible for them to maybe help out if they got motivated by your paper. I think that your paper was very informational and you did a great job on it.