Dear Internet World,
It has been a while, has it not? With the winding down semester comes more time for writing! Many of the students at UMass Boston have headed home, and are awaiting the holiday season. Our classes officially end tomorrow and won’t resume until the 26th of January. This means more fun planning for events and activities.
What have I been up to lately? Well last month was a huge month of events for us at UMass Boston. I planned almost all of the programming. I organized a speaker panel on Hunger and Homelessness with local organizations including One Family, MHASA (Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance) and Homelessness Empowerment/Spare Change present. I also organized a Fair Trade awareness day and raffle which was really cool. I had items donated that were Fair Trade from jewelry to chocolate samples and we got to offer them to students, staff, and anyone in the building. I really enjoyed this event because it turned something I’m passionate about, food and fair trade, into part of my work plan!
We also did two volunteer days one at Habitat for Humanity and one at the Red Cross Food Distribution center. While at the Habitat for Humanity build day, we gathered a new group of students for service. There were 7 students present. I had only met one of the students before, but all who signed up showed up enthusiastic for the day. We had several different jobs throughout the day, including hammering, sawing metal bars, raking, and more. Despite the cold, we really got quite a lot of work done, and built a small community of workers and friends during the event. The vibe we had going was just all positive. We kept busy finding new jobs and the students present really worked hard at the site. I think the site coordinator was very happy with us at the end of the day. At another recent volunteer day during Hunger and Homelessness week, I volunteered at the Red Cross with a group of 8 students. Most of the students really wanted to do more volunteering work after the day of service, so I promised to continue to email them opportunities. Throughout the day we sorted food and handed it out to patrons. The students all were very enthusiastic, and again I only had met one of the students previously. One student got very lost, but despite her frustration, still managed to find her way to the shelter. Another student I was unable to meet during the event. On the train ride back into town she happened to notice I was on the same train as her. She came over to thank me for running the event, and was very excited for the service she had done.
I also just had my first fundraiser for Alternative Spring Break. We wrapped gifts at Borders bookstore. Borders offer a gift wrapping table and all supplies to non-profit organizations during the holidays, and we are able to collect donations. It was a ton of fun, we spent our down time trying to learn origami together and we rose over $100.00 between the two dates. The students got to know each other better and we had a blast (despite the lack of sleep from all present due to finals). ~Erika
