During class this week, our groups had to make a powerpoint on our charity. During the presentation, we had to pitch of what charity we would donate to and why? In the beginning, I felt that I would be difficult to do this but when I went up with my group to speak, I felt it was a piece of cake. All the money we would earn would go directly to Morris Habitat for Humanity. Sadly, our fundraiser hasn’t begun yet and will start Monday during PEP. I hope we can make 50 dollars on this to get our total to $350.

I decided to interview my dad about his life. During his time, he was able to afford the things that my family does today. He wished that this program could have been around his time because he would do it.

Thanks

Robert

Throughout the past two weeks, we had various charities come to our classes to tell us about their cause. Although the purpose for these charities is to raise money to survive, most felt money wasn’t important. Take Morris Habitat for Humanity. He wants us to come up their to help out for a day to help improve skills of giving back. In the near future, I’ll try to go up to Randolph to help them out. Also, these charities did reflect us on who we are going to donate to at week 9. I found each charity interesting of what they do.

Our fundraiser is a volleyball tournament during PEP Monday. All are welcomed to come and play.

While reading through the other logs this week, there was one blog that stood out to me. That blog was Renald. He mentioned that he wants to get back into the program and play a role. I was able to see that  the change is coming to him that it is time for one to help raise money for charities.

Robert

During class this week, we went over the qualitative analysis for the charities we chose. This analysis would determine of what charities were decent enough to donate to. While calculating for the Morris Habitat for Humanity, it received a 12/15. The effect of how it didn’t get higher was is stability since it would last for 5 months. On the other hand, the community foundation of NJ had a 14/15. The reason it didn’t obtain a perfect 15 was the amount of money going into the charity to function. After the discussion of qualitative analysis, our ambassadors prepared us for the panel session for the next two classes. Key questions I would ask the charities come are, how do you promote yourself to the people and how financially stable you been since your inception?  Asking questions will help all of us during the process of selecting the charities we would be donating too.

Also, Yale told us a story about a lady from Mississippi. When I was listening to him speak, I learned that it didn’t matter of who you are to make a difference of the world. Currently, our group is planning to a Volleyball Tournament on Dec 4 during PEP.

When I heard that the charities I called wanted to attended these panel sessions, it made me feel proud. During the calls, I felt that they wouldn’t come, especially Morris Habitat of Humanity. During the call, Chris Palazzi sounded angry at me since I knew his phone number but once I started talking, he calmed down.

Have a nice Thanksgiving,

Robert

This week in our class, we discussed about doing a tax report. Before the class, the only thing I knew about taxes is that it directed on all goods except for food in grocery stores. But, taxes do have an impact on us and this nation because they are used to help fund our government and public services. Without taxes, there would be no schools to provide us education or provide protection from the police. When calculating, we had to look at an  IRS 990 to help calculate important values for our charities. By using guidestar, I was easily able to find my information of the charities I contacted. When in class, Yale told us that to focus on these values of charities. The question he asked us was: Do you want a charity that they care about their employees or spend more than they can take? When I calculated the charities I contacted, I learned more about these charities. I was able to find the truth about these companies. While calculating, I felt it was getting easy to calculate.

During class this week, our teams had to develop a purpose, mission and vision statements. At first, I thought making these statements would be a piece of cake. However, it didn’t end well because everyone else had different statements. It was difficult to agree on one statement for vision, mission and purpose statements. During the week, I encounter various of organizations to support us. I was able to contact the executive director of the Morris Habitat for Humanity. At first, he thought I was prank calling him since I got his number. I explained to him that when I called Morris Habitat for Humanity, it said “For Chris Palazzi, call his cell number.” I followed the tips given in class and convinced him to come to one of our panel sessions. T

During class this week, we had to bring  in a brown paper bag. In this bag, it had to contain 3 items that represent us. My first item was a baseball card, which was given from my uncle’s collection. The next two were a bsa handbook and my life patch. This represents my journey of getting to Eagle Scout, in which my uncle couldn’t get to because he never got it. I don’t want to repeat of what happened and want to be the first in my family to get Eagle Scout. This represent my determination of not giving up. I learned more about my group members than I knew before.  Their items represent their personalities. Our group is still decideding of what to do for our project to a charity of our choice.

See you next week

Robert

During our first class, we had to do an activity called Make A Difference or MAD for short. Throughout this activity, we had to pick 3 value cards that we felt our important to us. While working with Sameer, I was able to learn more about what he values as important. He chose the environment as his top concern. I knew he would chose this because of his concerns about keeping our environment clear. I chose People with Physical and Mental Disabilities as my top concern. I chose this because I felt that we should treat everyone the same, no matter who or what they are. I learned that we should treat the people the same just like the once Abraham Lincoln said. Lincoln believed that we should treat the people the same. This experience helped me learn of what concerns bother people that they feel important.

What I am looking for in this program is to learn to be a much better person. I want to help raise money for people who really need it. I also want to take this experience and take it with me on my trek during my Eagle Scout Project.

See you next week

Robert