M.E.N.D. Service Learning 4/27/12

Today, on Friday April 27th, I volunteered for the last time at M.E.N.D. Once again I volunteered at the clothing department where I always work. The first task I was assigned to do was to organize and fix all the shoes that were placed in the storage area of the department. I basically had to go through a huge bin full of donated shoes where I had to find pairs if I could, then from there had to determine if they were decent enough to be worn again. If they were, I would put a label  sticker on it indicating its shoe size then would place it on a shelf where it is later then put on display for M.E.N.D. recipients to get if they want. In addition, my second task was to throw away all the unpaired shoes I found as well as shoes that were very dirty and not able to be worn again. Basically my whole day consisted of working at the shoe section area where I cleaned and organized for the most part. In conclusion, I had a productive time volunteering here at M.E.N.D. and hopefully might work here again in the future.

I volunteered 4 hours (4/20/12)

 http://mendpoverty.org/

M.E.N.D. Service Learning 4/26/12

Yesterday, on Thursday April 26th, I volunteered for the fourth time at M.E.N.D. I had the opportunity to work at the Clothing Department again as usual, where I was assigned to sort out a full bin of hangers and put them together in sets of 10 as my first task. By doing this, the clothing department workers are able to get hangers easily in order to hang all the donated clothing that comes in. I basically did this the majority of the day, due to the fact that there were a lot of hangers in two huge bins that I had to organize. My last task that I was assigned was to remove former volunteer's name which were on stickers stuck in the lockers. These lockers are specifically for volunteers where they can put their stuff while working. This task was a hassle in my honest opinion due to the fact that it was really hard taking off the stickers. I was lucky enough to get a razor blade which one of the clothing supervisors gave me after seeing how much of a hard time I was having trying to take it off. In conclusion, this day was no different than all the other days I've volunteered, was busy as usual but had fun working as well.


I volunteered 4 hours (4/26/12)

 http://mendpoverty.org/

M.E.N.D. Service Learning 4/20/12

On Friday April 20th, I volunteered for the third time at M.E.N.D. Just like my first and second time volunteering, I had the opportunity to work at the clothing department where I was assigned to do numerous tasks. The first task I was assigned was to get boxes full of cups, plates, wine glasses, etc in the storage area where I was to put them in a table which was in the front and on display where M.E.N.D recipients can get if they like. Before putting these stuff on the table, I had to enter each item that was in the boxes into the computer so that M.E.N.D. would have it on record. My second task was to fix the shoe shelf and get men's shoes at the back which i thought were good enough to be on display for M.E.N.D. recipients to get from. Just like how i entered each item for the boxes into the computer, I had to do the same for the shoes but instead count each pair of shoes as one single item. After fixing the shoe shelf, i had to wipe it and try to take away all the dust that was accumulating and made sure it looked neat and tidy. My third task was to organize a box full of hangers into sets of 10 and then tie them with a piece of yarn which was then placed into another box where it is to be used by other volunteers to hang clothes. Finally, my fourth task was to help one of the clothing department managers count the donated money from random people and clients and then to record the amount into a sheet then make copies of it so that it can be on file. In conclusion, this day was one of the busiest days I've volunteered but very rewarding.

I volunteered 4 hours (4/20/12)

 http://mendpoverty.org/

M.E.N.D. Service Learning 4/19/12

On Thursday April 19th, I volunteered for the second time at M.E.N.D. Just like my first time volunteering, I had the opportunity to work at the clothing department where I was assigned to organize clothing in the back where there were a bunch of shelves to put them in. While organizing the clothes that were either out of style, date, or not in good condition were to be put in these two big baskets which are then sent out to "Outreach" which I have no idea what it was, because I wasn't told anything about it. However, after I organized all the clothes, I then got all the clothes in the 2 big baskets that were for "Outreach" and put them in several big bags which each had like about 100 pieces of clothing inside them. Then i would put a sticker outside the bag indicating how many pieces of clothing there were inside and record it on paper so that M.E.N.D. would have it on file. After all of this was done, I was assigned to organize a table that was full of stuff which were on display for M.E.N.D. recipients to get from if they choose. On this table were glasses, cups, plates, movies, etc. There were several cups and plates that I had to wash, because they were dirty but other than that everything was good. After organizing the stuff that was on the table, I was done for the day. In conclusion, I was humbled again to help those who are in need and are less fortunate than us.

I volunteered 4 hours (4/19/12)

 http://mendpoverty.org/

M.E.N.D. Service Learning 3/23/12

On Friday, March 23rd i volunteered for the first time at M.E.N.D. (Meeting Each Need with Dignity)  a non-profit organization that helps those who are in poverty and who are in need the most in the San Fernando Valley. 75% of our MEND recipients live on $10,000 or less a year. This organization is also 99% volunteer driven and is privately funded with no solicited government grants. I specifically was able to work at the clothing department where donated goods are put out on display like a store and are picked out for free by MEND recipients who are eligible to receive these goods. They have a time limit and are only able to get a limited number of items so that others can have a chance as well to pick and get what they want. I was basically assigned to take out hangers that were lying around and put them in a container where they are to be used again. I also went to the back storage where all the donated goods are kept and picked out several items such as shoes, bags, purses, etc. that i felt were good enough to be on display for MEND recipients to be able to get. After picking out which i thought was good enough, i would go to the inventory computer that they had and would check out those items so that MEND would know that these items were put out on display. Finally, the last assignment i did that day was assigned to help out set out round tables and chairs outside, which i believe was for a seminar for incoming volunteers that was going to happen later on that day. In conclusion, i enjoyed my first time working here at MEND and look forward to volunteering here again.

I volunteered 4 hours (3/23/12)

 http://mendpoverty.org/