My final 3PM Blog!

After looking back at this past term, I would have to say, it hasn’t been easy for me. I am graduating in a little under two weeks and I just cannot believe how four years has gone by so fast! Just yesterday I presented my senior project that I had been working on all this past year. I presented on a class I taught to people with disabilities called “Healthy Lifestyles”.  Now I am happy to say I will be done tomorrow and the last thing I have is our final paper for this class!

First off, I think it is really cool that the DanceAbility International segment was posted. I have worked with a few people who are huge advocates for this group and Emery Blackwell is a great man. It is cool to think of the various art form expressions out there as well as the different types of dancing. I think my favorite part of this class was talking about social service nonprofits working specifically to advocate and help people in the human services sector.  After interning at Hilyard Community Center, I want to advocate for more nonprofit social services agencies. I would like to work for community centers and advocate for this population.

In these past couple of weeks, I would say that parts that interested me the most was talking about healthcare, the new Obama Healthcare Plan as well as talking about nonprofit hospitals and the influence they have on communities. I support the ideas that President Obama has for change when it comes to health care and I strongly do believe that someday, we can have free healthcare for all in America, if not, Canada here I come! It is crazy to think how developed America is but how there are so many cracks and gaps in services for the common good of people. After watching the movie John Q as well as the documentary by Michael Moore titled “Sicko”, I have thought about how sad it is when money/insurance takes over the importance of humanity and the basic health of all people. I would say the two most interesting portions of this class would be when talking about nonprofit hospitals-healthcare as well as talking about environmental nonprofits and the impact they have on EVERY community.

As my final paper goes, it is a little harder than I thought to write on the subject that I am advocating on. I am talking about the disabilities population and giving two sides on the matter. First, about how nonprofits can continue support this population and what is being done to advocate for this cause as well as how there is a lack of education and knowledge on this population and there needs to be community wide awareness to support this wide group of people. After working for this population for this past year, I have done a lot of research on the lack of services and education this group receives and how high risk they can be for a variety of things. Looking forward to writing the rest of this paper.

This was an enjoyable class, I am not going to lie though, I was really focused on my senior project for the FHS program as well as an array of many things, I wish I would have put a little more time and effort into the class, but overall, I did learn a lot and feel these classes should be required for all, they are important and necessary to learn about the positive affects of nonprofits and how vital they are to a functioning society. Thank you!

Post Numero Seis

Good afternoon,

I am feeling under the weather today and did not want to contaminate everybody with my sickness so I am writing my post in the comforts of my own bed.  This week has been super crazy but looking forward to my final projects in school as well as my end of the term paper.  This week I am writing on International nonprofits. I thought it was interesting learning about all the various international nonprofits and all they have done to help relief support and other services in our world, especially in third world countries.  After hearing about the CARE program, I looked into the information on their website. International nonprofits I feel are the most powerful agencies because they stretch worldwide and aid in assistance to protect rain-forests, contributions to people in need, healthcare workers, teachers, etc.  

When discussing private colleges and their donations, it is cool to see how much effort and money goes to bringing others outside the U.S. to come get a good education at an accredited school.  Also, it is cool how they host scholars abroad and it is awesome that college students such as myself have the opportunity to go travel abroad to become educated about culture, life, and to learn about other nonprofits and ways to help out in communities around the world.  Going back to the CARE program, I was amazed to learn that this organization annually serves 25 million people in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.  Growing up I would send “care” packages through my church during the holiday season to third world countries to young children. These packages would include: socks, toothbrush, coloring book, etc.  To this day I encourage others to donate their goods to the Salvation Army, through churches, and other places because I truly do believe someone’s unwanted goods or trash is somebody else’s treasures.  I think a lot of Americans have so many material items that they really do not need and I think people should be encouraged more to donate their goods across seas to support others in need.  I cannot remember the shoe company but I was excited to hear that this company donated a pair of shoes to someone in need every time you bought a new pair! 

I also really enjoy learning about international nonprofits because the majority of private funders as well as relief agencies (religious institutions) give towards this cause. I wouldn’t say I am a religious person (do not like that word) but I am spiritual and I love to give and I feel church has helped me feel this way about philanthropy.  All in all, I really enjoyed reading this chapter. I someday want to travel somewhere, maybe such as Africa and help administer clothing, food, and other general care to a larger population of people. When I was  a junior in high school, I went on a missions trip to Ensenada Mexico for two weeks and helped rebuild a church as well as many other opportunities. It was such an exciting experience and you really do get to reap the benefits of feeling good for helping out others. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

International nonprofits are what is saving many lives in countries all over our world and someday my goal is to work for a bigger organization and travel around the world and as cliche as this is, save other peoples’ lives.  (Back to napping!)

Oopss… I needed to still post my 5 questions

So after finally figuring out what I wanted to write my paper on, I have decided to write on a topic I’m pretty knowledgeable  about, this is: persons with disabilities.  I originally wanted to write on healthcare but figured I would write a better quality paper on something that I have had experience in for over a year. My paper is going to focus on the resources and skills nonprofits provide for persons with disabilities (advocating and supporting) as well as speaking on what better actions need to be done in order to assist this population and provide them with the resources they need to live healthy, safe, independent lives. There is a gap when it comes to funding and providing for this population, I will advocate for what is being done and what still needs to be done. My point: The disabilities population needs more support and resources in our communities, especially in Lane County.

My five questions are as follows:

How can nonprofits better advocate for persons with disabilities?

What added resources can be of support when working with this population?

How can we advocate more for persons with disabilities?

What is Oregon, specifically Lane County, doing to support this population?

How can we get the funding and supports needed to continue the advocacy for these groups?

How can our community be more aware and educated on this population?

I have a lot of questions, but I will be addressing a ton in my paper! I am a huge advocate for this population. Excited to write this paper!

Environmental nonprofits and final paper topic

Let me first say that I am oh-so-happy to have completed week 7, busiest week of my college career and so relieved to have accomplished all that I have before graduation. I just started thinking about what I wanted to write my final paper on but I do know I want to write about healthcare in America. I am curious about how nonprofits and for profits deal with healthcare and how they differ from one another in policies and practices as well as how they relate. I also wanted to talk about  our new healthcare plan and how America’s healthcare system is still very different from other third world as well as progressive countries.  I have a lot of ideas, I just need to narrow it down. I have a lot of feelings towards a human’s right for health services and am excited to express myself in this 10-12 page paper.

In regards to Sarah’s question, I was surprised that there was not a section in our book on environmental nonprofits. I believe the environment is one of the top three if not the most important sectors to speak on. After looking at the slideshow last Monday, I was actually confused with the amount of environmental nonprofits in the United States (only having 27,000) for some reason I figured there would be more. Also, I remember reading Rachel Carlson’s Silent Spring a few years back and I remember the powerful message she had in her passages. I think it is an important book for everyone to read especially if not educated about our environment. Our earth should be the biggest concern for everyone, obviously since we live in it but also because our environment affects our daily lives and how we live.  I read an article recently on what plastic bags are doing to our environment, well…plastic in general and how it is killing wildlife as well as underwater animals.  Other important issues that were spoken about in this article include: greenhouse effects, smog, ozone depletion, global warming, etc.  These are current issues that are occurring in our world and I do not think people realize how important it is to take care of our environment (ex: recycling, using less water, use of energy efficient appliances, use of biodegradable products, and bio fuel.  These easy steps can help the environment in a  variety of ways. Also, I believe it is important that more Americans use more green living techniques in order to preserve energy, cut down costs, and create healthier lifestyles.  I am currently teaching a Healthy Lifestyles class at my internship at the Hilyard Community Center and we currently spoke about healthy eating and how going green can help the environment as well as how to take care of our community, as well as driving less and biking and walking more.

I think America should take after other progressive countries such as Argentina or England where its people walk, bike, and bus everywhere. Since America is the fattest country in the world, I think it would be smart for people to cut back on McDonalds and start walking more. I recently spoke to someone from Sweden and they said they do not even have their license because apparently in Stockholm only %15 of their people drive when in the city.  To make my point clear, I think it is important to address nonprofits (especially in this book we are reading) because it is important to be educated on the issues going on in our world, especially in America on what techniques and practices we are going to ensure we are living in a clean and safe environment.  I would be more interested in learning about environmental nonprofits and the various types of work they do.  I recently have been making small steps towards becoming green friendly and I hope to continue with my successes (even if it is using a reusable bag at the grocery store).  

I am hoping I can come up with a specific question to research, if anybody has ideas, let me know! Sarah thank you for letting my submit my blog a little late! Have a wonderful Sunday night!

Advocacy & the Arts & Culture

          In these past few weeks, I felt I have gained a strong grasp on the non profit sector and how these organizations differ from for profits.  After reading chapter 7 on Advocacy, I have learned that there were 8,300 social advocacy organizations in the U.S. in 1997.  I have always thought of non profits as just being social services agencies but after reading about advocacy non profits, I am encouraged look more into what type of non profits advocate for social rights issues and see what agencies are present in Eugene.  Although advocacy organizations are small, I was surprised that there are almost 2,000 nonprofit “civil rights, social action, and advocacy” agencies.  When looking into the trends and issues of advocacy groups, I thought it was interesting that serious issues were being presented during the black civil rights movement, led by non profits such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference among others.  Through these dramatic events of this movement, the results were tragic, examples of this includes the death of Martin Luther King Jr. and police dog attacks.  I was surprised to hear that groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 along with other human rights groups were formed in the 1960′s because of the various issues and urgencies to fix the problems in the U.S.  I am a firm believer in civil rights and an advocate for persons with disabilities.  Since I currently intern at the Hilyard Community Center I am interested to see which advocacy groups they work with and when their actions first took place.
              I believe the unique thing about advocacy groups is the fact that even though they have few ties to business and government, these groups often bring about changes that are beneficial not only to society’s victims but also to business and government themselves as well as nonprofits, tying these ideas together to from larger advocacy groups. Organizations I am highly interested in is animal rights groups.  I am a strong believer in animals being treated with respect just like humans and have always wanted to join PETA, this chapter had given me more of a push to do so. This was by far my favorite chapter and I want to know how advocacy groups are started and what struggles they face when dealing with oppositional forces. 
             When reading chapter 8 on the Arts and Culture, I was more interested in the cultural aspect of it and I think it is interesting how there are many government agencies and how they can begin locally and travel and collaborate with other agencies across and outside of the U.S. I was surprised that arts and culture organizations receive most of their funding through private sources especially with the fees and and contributions and the fact that the government only accounts for 8 percent of arts revenue.  I had no idea that arts and culture were such a small part of the non profit sector. I am curious to know what arts and culture non profits there are in Eugene and what their contribution are to communities.  Do arts and culture support various groups and children? Do they improve these individuals lives? I am a little confused on how beneficial these agencies are to the general population.  However, I am now curious to learn more about the arts.  I am interested in the culture aspect of nonprofits and would like to know how nonprofits carry themselves nationally and grow to become a bigger effort.  How do organizations get their BIG name? and  does money play a big effort in how popular an organization is?

Reading Response #3-Health Care & Education

                  During this past week in class, we have discussed important yet controversial topics such as health care and education. I thought the two chapters covering these subjects related a lot to a book I read last year called Philanthrocapitalism which focuses on the lives of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and other big philanthrocapitalists (Bon Jovi, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Madonna, etc). I have learned that when big names have big money, they have basic control over where funding goes to especially when it comes to education.  Growing up, I received less than par education grades 8-12. I remember sitting in class thinking, “how did this teacher even get hired?” or “I really wish this instructor didn’t put me to sleep every 5 seconds”.  High schools particularly struggle to keep kids engaged in school and the fact that half of all minority students drop out of high school and 40% do not graduate from school, is a huge amount. With this being said, I think there is a huge gap between high schools and colleges. How prepared are students in the transition period? What do high school teachers do to prepare students for college? Why don’t colleges and high schools within the same state work together to ensure more kids can go and succeed in college? In a sense I am surprised I have made it as far as I did considering my high school did not prepare me for college. I do, however, want to get my masters in social work in the future. Also, considering Bill Gates has billions upon billions of dollars, it would be cool for him to not only support the STEM system but also put more money towards other important topics such as arts, music, cultural competency classes, etc. Each high school is similar yet different, some schools concentrate more on theatre arts and some have a huge emphasis on community service and outreach.  It would be awesome if the Bill Gates Foundation could allocate small amounts of money to acredited schools to improve the services and classes provided. Although math and sciences are important, not everyone wants to be an accountant or a biochemist, there are many people who would be interested in non profits such as this one, if there were the funds to teach classes that are not required by the states. I think the k-12 education system has a lot of problems and who is the best person to address them? Philanthrocapitalists such as Bill Gates. How can we propose to bring in nontraditional classes into the school system? Also, how can we ensure that teachers are worthy/credited to teach the material taught at schools? How can we prepare future children to succeed? 

                         When it comes to health care, it is hard for me to give much opinion, I believe strongly in certain aspects of health care but won’t get too heavy into it. Although, for the most part I support Obama’s Healthcare Plan and believe everyone should have access to healthcare. After watching Michael Moore’s documentary  Sicko, I was disgusted to find out how little support lower class (people without health insurance) have in their communities.  It is crazy that in places like Canada that first off, college is basically free and healthcare is wonderful. Other established nations include France and England. How is it that the richest country  such as America cannot give its people free healthcare and education? How is it that we are so in debt and depending on U.S. citizens to carry the country? Also, it is like the movie John Q, because John and his wife could not afford a lifesaving procedure for their son, the hospital/state denied them rights to undergo a surgery. This movie is powerful and shows how screwed over Americans are when they have little to no health insurance. It is ludacris. Regardless of how rich or poor you are, everyone is human and should have the right to be treated whether this is a sprained leg or having to undergo open heart surgery. There needs to be better support, money, and resources provided to support the general public and take care of everyone. This is not just an ethical issues, its the matter of life and death and there shouldn’t be cost when it comes to a human being’s life. 

 

Post #2 -Religion and Social Services in the nonprofit sector

The two main chapters discussed in Nonprofit Nation were on topics of religion and social services, which I believe are the two most interesting types of nonprofits out there. The United States is one of the most religious developed nations in the whole world and consists of 375,00 religious organizations. I was surprised to hear of how many individuals in the U.S. either attend church or have a spiritual background, around 97% of Americans believe in some type of higher power or being. I wonder why religion is so apparent here as opposed to other developed nations or undeveloped for that matter.  Considering I have a faith and attend church, I think it is good that religious institutions are not required to register or file reports with the IRS.  Even though the statistics are very low on churches, I don’t think the state should have much control over these institutions.  The “establishment  clause”, church-state separation, is wonderful because I do believe that Congress should not have a law on prohibiting the exercise of free religion. Even though religion is important in the United States, it also stems off into controversial and hate issues. In politics, religion is always an issue, which is frustrating, because you can be a good person and have good values and not be religious. The fact that wars have been created over religion is ridiculous. The fact that the U.S. has not experienced a major decline of religious belief and practice is interesting to me and I would like to research the different types of religious practices in America and what makes people stick to these certain beliefs. In the book it mentions that an increase in religion may have occurred after the horrific event of 911.  The fact that Americans can practice any religion is a powerful thing as well as the amount of volunteers churches receive, especially throughout the years. I always have wanted to travel to an underdeveloped country and see how their religious rights are played out and discover what types of beliefs systems are outside of the U.S. Religion is a heavy and hot issue but important to talk about and I am curious to what is going to be said in this class about the topic. Secondly, it was cool to read about the various social service nonprofits and the most popular in the country. I think it is cool that social services can basically help out anyone in any situation. However, I believe nonprofit social service organizations are at times under served and unappreciated. Having experiences in nonprofits, I have encountered agencies having to deal with budget cuts because of lack of government and funding support. Also, some nonprofits are not highly advocated for and it is difficult to see any agency struggle when they deserve a ton of support because of the services they provide. I believe social services is the most desirable career, considering I am in the Family and Human Services program, I feel without social services, our country would have a lot more problems than it already has. I would like to research more nonprofits in the social service sector and think of beneficial ways to help them raise money without raising any costs to the clients and being in debt to other funders and to the government.  I know grants are important to the workings of social service agencies and I know fundraising and private donations are very good ways to raise money. I have an interest in learning about the revenues of nonprofits and how the system works and am hoping I will have a good idea by the end of the term. I would like to learn about philanthropists that donate to both religious and social service causes. My questions are how do nonprofits continue to receive support from certain funders and the state? and how are unregistered nonprofits working if the government doesn’t have as much control over them? Who oversees to make sure nonprofits are running smoothly and getting the support they need?