It's been a long and hard process trying to figure out which organizations were my favorite that fit my criteria because there were so many! There were also some organizations that I was able to easily rule out due to horrible grammar and lack of effort in filling out the application. Also, I did not consider those that were submitted late because if an organization wants $10,000, which by the way is a large sum of money, the organization should have been more careful about the deadline which was set two weeks after the application was given to them. After looking through all of the organizations though, I was able to choose three finalist organizations that I believed deserved the grant from our class.
1) Boys and Girls Club of Binghamton
Since my issue area was regarding poverty and education and my values were empowerment and self-reliance, I found the Boys and Girls Club of Binghamton to fit my criteria extremely well. The organization provides a variety of academic enrichment programs while also promoting a healthy lifestyle which is essential in any person's life. By providing opportunities such as tutoring sessions and homework help, the club empowers the children to be able to succeed in school. Additionally, other aspects of the program such as their basketball club and physical wellness programs provide a healthy habit for these children to follow for the rest of their lives. What stood out for me from the application was the organization's ability to efficiently allocate the money to necessary equipment such as improved computers or art room supplies. By improving computers, the organization will be able to allow the children to more effectively research topics, complete homework, or educate themselves.
2) Liberty Partnership Program
Another program that I felt was deserving of our grant money was the Liberty Partnership Program. The program targets at-risk middle or high schoolers to transition them into further education. I felt the program would be extremely beneficial to these adolescents because they are in crucial moments of their lives which could change the outcome of their lives. Since the program utilizes undergraduate or graduate students as tutors and mentors, there would be more connection between the pupil and the mentor. Also, by targeting only those at-risk teenagers, the organization is able to empower those who are not motivated to do well in school into students who aspire to achieve something greater. Since the money will be allocated into programs of academic achievement and civic engagement, I feel that our grant money will be used most efficiently in the empowerment of the children.
3) Broome County Urban League
The final organization that I thought the grant money should go to was the Broome County Urban League. This was another organization that fit my criteria of empowering disadvantaged children into being self-reliant. Although the organization would be using the grant money in a different fashion compared to the two organizations described previously, I felt that it was an innovative method that would introduce children into other areas of employment opportunities. The organization targets at-risk disadvantaged youth and provides them services for academic achievement. The money, however, would be allocated to a radio station in which children would be able to participate and gain more knowledge in. This opportunity opens different areas of social entrepreneurship that these children may have never witnessed before. Through this innovative method, I believe that the children can be empowered to pursue other career paths than traditional education outside of secondary school.
The list may be biased toward my issue areas and goals, but what is the purpose of giving if you do not have a strong urge to do so? Hopefully we can come to a consensus on an organization that we all truly feel is deserving of our grant money that could use the full extent of the money.
This sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteBut I have to disagree slightly with something you said in the beginning. You are right, if organizations are serious about recieving our grant money, they should have submitted our short credential (our application) in a timely matter. However, some workers in non-profits are harder to reach via email in which they relay information personally or via phone (sometimes their days are so compact and their roles are stretched thin, it takes them days and sometimes weeks to actually thoroughly go through email: but then again this is not an excuse.
In terms of my top choices, I have a hard time narrowing the five finalists down any shorter although I don't think we have any other choice.
I constantly voice how supportive I am on the Boys and Girls Club and this would be my first organization that I would chose to give the grant money to. (I always have stories about the BGC because I have worked at a main site for one in the past, and have seen how much of a tremendous impact the offerings of the club have on its club members.) Like yourself, I was astonished that the club wanted to allocate funds to new computers for their children. This is great! Many at risk youth live in poverty and do not have access to computers at home. The BGC offers this but very poorly now. We have the opportunity to touch the lives of their members by providing them with the funds needed to have a utility that seems so free and overlooked by ourselves because we have access to them almost everywhere we go as college students; we're privileged.
At Risk youth are very expressive and sometimes channel their inner suppressed feelings in the arts as a way to meditate and to express. It can be soothing to them. Not having adequate art supplies, I believe is detrimental. These youth whom depend on the club can find other ways to express their inner feelings which may include violence or other things that may get them in trouble, and if we can prevent this, we should.
Different from your choices, I would have to say my last choice is the Soup and Sandwich Saturday Free Lunch Program.
Volunteering for this organization many times last semester pushed me to say that they are in dire need of our money (at least some). A lot of residents depend heavily on this non-profit to provide themselves and their families with proper nutrition on the weekends. However, their food supply always seems expired and from CHOW which I do not think is a good thing. Although the food may be kept frozen, I think it is evident that this org seems to be doing all that they can to make an impact on individuals who are going through unfortunate circumstances.
Money should be split between these two organizations in my opinion. However, I am open to other opinions like those of Seoyoon's.
ReplyDeleteSeoyoon,
I definitely agree with you about the deadline. I was actually surprised by the amount of people in our class who were interested in considering those applications. All I could think was, if I submitted an application late to college, would I have even be considered? Absolutely not. But then again, our classmates are definitely a lot more considerate and empathetic than college admissions counselors ☺ !
Like yourself, my issue area was regarding poverty and education as well. The Boys and Girls Club, while I agree fits our issue area, already receives a lot of support from the University. Initially, my thought process was, shouldn’t we be helping out the underdog? Like the SOS shelter? Only, the Boys and Girls Club is a well-known organization in the area, and is well connected with the community. You point out parts of their programs that I never really thought of before, like how they help establish healthy habits in the lives of young children. Healthy habits are certainly necessary in any person’s life, and early intervention and awareness is totally key! If we are to help the Boys and Girls Club, they will have the ability to strengthen their programs. However, as Professor Campbell pointed out in class, we have either given the Boys and Girls Club money in the past two or three times, and I’m not positive if we should make this a recurring pattern. However, if their application was one of the strongest, they definitely deserve it! Clearly, I’m pretty conflicted here, which isn’t helping anyone out. I’d like to make a site visit to the Boys and Girls Club, since I’m personally uninformed about their mission and their overall involvement in the greater Binghamton area.
Lastly, I like that you stand with your convictions. As you write, “The list may be biased toward my issue areas and goals, but what is the purpose of giving if you do not have a strong urge to do so?” Only, all of us will need to have that “strong urge” that you refer to. I’m really interested to see how we are going to reach a consensus!