There are so many ways to begin our collaborative conversation about our course, and to be honest, my head is full of all sorts of possible paths to take in this post. There really are so many questions that we could begin to think about together, from your impressions of Susan Sontag’s analysis of metaphor to the representation of people living with HIV/AIDS in Rent.
But I think I'm most interested in hearing more about your initial impressions and response to the prospect ahead of us: our work with Project Angel Heart. Let me share a memory as way to open up this conversation.
In my first year as an undergraduate student, I volunteered for an AIDS hospice in Tacoma, Washington. I did this mostly because a friend of mine also volunteered there, and she spoke so passionately about the work she did that her stories encouraged me to spend some time there, as well.
The hospice was an old Victorian home that had been remodeled for four or five men with late-stage AIDS to live in and have a place to die with dignity. With its wrap-around porch and sturdy architecture, it projected a feeling of warmth, protection, and a quiet kind of respect for the men living there. The staff who worked there intentionally cultivated this atmosphere, and despite the very real and material presence of illness—and implicitly of death's approach (this was before the more successful HIV/AIDS drug treatments were available)—the space was comfortable, even reassuring.
Still, I remember completing my first few shifts feeling anxious—that churning-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach kind of anxiety. Nervous I would do something wrong or say something inappropriate, I was uncertain and felt awkward spending time there. In my mind, it seemed like such a daunting task, helping care for these men who were so close to death. What should I say to them? How would we interact? How to talk to the one man who seemed intolerably grumpy? And what about the man who never seemed to leave his bedroom? For the more experienced, these fears might have seemed naive or immature, but for me, they were real.
As I continued working, I grew more comfortable and adjusted to the social conventions of this place. Surprisingly, I begin to see our work there like any other. Despite our closeness to death, life continued on in its daily routines. We cooked meals for the men, played card games, and had the most typical of conversations. Death didn't pervade every interaction, endowing our work with meaning at every turn. It just was.
I reflect on this experience as a way to ask you all about how you're feeling right now about working for Project Angel Heart. Do you have any reservations or anxieties? If so, what are they? Have you done work like this in the past, either with regard to this issue or involving community service in other capacities? If so, what was it like? What's your impression thus far of our attempt to forge a connection between academic writing and research and a non-profit organization like Project Angel Heart?
Please take time before Sunday evening and use the comment feature to reply to this post. And be as candid as you're able. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
15 comments:
Ever since we viewed the DVD concerning Project Angel Heart, I have been excited to volunteer with this organization. From what I could see, they are very welcoming of new volunteers. With some of my attempts in the past to volunteer, I felt unwelcome and not wanted or needed. It seems as though Project Angel Heart has consistent volunteer schedules and encourages anyone to help in any of the areas.
After reviewing the volunteer schedule, it looks like I’m only going to be able to do the delivery shifts, which isn’t disappointing because it is what really draws me. I’m interested to see how people with illness handle their daily lives. In particular, how do people who know that they are dying continue on in life? I’m interested to see if people with terminal illnesses radiate with the same humor and good heartedness as those who are currently healthy.
I have a little experience with community service. One experience I want to share was when I was in middle school. An academic club I participated in made crafts to take to a nearby nursing home once a week. When I was that young, I didn’t fully appreciate the opportunity because I felt annoyed with the smell of the home and the stares and glares that seemed to be given by all of the residents. Though, I did see the good in cheering up some of the residents who didn’t receive many visitors. Once I got to high school, I participated in a summer marching band that besides parades, would play once every few weeks at a near by nursing home. All of the residents would gather out on the patio to watch us march in. As we played our tunes, they would clap along. After our performance, it was optional for us to chat with the residents. Many of the residents had Alzheimer’s, so they most likely wouldn’t remember speaking with us, but some were able to tell us about their lives. It was good to know that they enjoyed what we could provide for them.
Merging academic writing and research with Project Angel Heart develops a hands-on learning environment. I think that the attempt to forge a connection between the two works great because the skills that we will receive with Project Angel Heart are applicable to life.
My father always used to say "help those who cant help themselves." This message has been ingrained in me since my early childhood. Our family always found time to help out the less fortunate. Helping out in the community was always a very fun and enriching experience for me.
Since coming to college I have not spent much time volunteering. It has been hard to find time due to my busy schedule. I think helping out Project Angel Heart will be a very full filing and enriching experience. I am excited to work with dedicated people in the greater Denver community and work towards a common goal. PAH sounds like a great organization with a lot of dedication to there community.
Back home I worked with an organization called "Meals on wheels" where we would deliver food to people who could not make it themselves. PAH sounds a lot like Meals on Wheels. I had a great time helping out in high school and I'm sure I will have a great time working for PAH as well.
John F. Kennedy once said, “Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world.” If this is true, then we also have the responsibility to make it happen. Volunteering is a very capable way of doing this.
Volunteering is a very real way to make a difference, there are people who need help and there are people who are able to give it. Project Angel Heart is a very real organization that makes it a priority to help those who cannot always help themselves.
My most recent volunteering endeavor was at a hospital. I did whatever administrative duties they asked of me, but I was also able to work in the different departments of the hospital: pediatrics, the ER, the cafeteria. I changed sheets, saw new babies, saw extraordinary cases in the emergency room, and prepared and delivered meals to patients in their rooms. I enjoyed every part of that experience.
I am excited to volunteer for Project Angel Heart to get what I believe will be a similar but different experience. I like the fact that the whole project is volunteer based unlike at the hospital where patients paid to stay. Even though I worked for free it was slightly different; the patients were still gracious, but I feel as if I will be giving so much more and receiving a lot from the “customers” of Project Angel Hearts graciousness. I would be interested in trying all of the volunteer positions to offer something different to those who need it.
Professor Bateman,
I recall the very first day of class last quarter when you had us all tell each other a secretive sin about ourselves. My response to the class was that I am a food network fan! Weird, right? Well actually, my infinity for food is what is truly drawing me in and fueling my passion and desire to work with Project Angel Heart.
Food has always been a passion of mine. I enjoy eating it, but more so I enjoy cooking it. With this in mind, I am very excited about the prospect to be able to cook implement my passion to better serve my community. Being able to cook a delicious meal for someone sick or incapable of doing so is so personally rewarding, but even more so, I believe it has the power to warm the heart and provide a cure.
Knowing this, I am looking forward to giving my time to help Project Angel Heart in whatever way possible. Although I am perfectly willing and content to perform whatever function they need me to, I know that I could do the best civic good preparing the actual food for delivery. My heart would be full, and their stomachs would too!
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.” This concise statement truly resonates with me. I believe that if I am capable, then I have an obligation to those who are not. Furthermore, I believe that we all have different capabilities, different things to offer the world. And if we all offered the things that we are capable of, then the world would be a drastically different place.
I am very excited to start volunteering with Project Angel Heart. This seems like a wonderful organization performing a much needed service. I cannot even begin to imagine what these meals mean to the people receiving them. Food, our basic means of sustenance, is a necessity to life that is too often taken for granted. Taken for granted, that is, until it is taken away. In the case of the people receiving food from Project Angel Heart, their circumstances are particularly disheartening. These are people who were once capable of providing for themselves and, due to illness, are no longer capable. I cannot fathom how helplessness these people must feel.
On the flip side, what an incredible opportunity for those of us who are capable to make a difference in the lives of these people. I am excited to be involved in any and every aspect of Project Angel Heart, to see different parts of the process, beginning to end. I am most excited, however, to participate in the deliveries. I look forward to seeing the people actually benefiting from these services. I expect that these people will have a wide range of outlooks on life. Wherever a person may be in his or her own personal life, however, I hope that these meals will be a spot of hope in an otherwise dreary day.
Margaret Mead once said, “Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed, they are the only ones who ever have.” Project Angel Heart is one such group, and I cannot wait to count myself among them.
It is always somewhat uncomfortable to walk into a situation not part of my normal routine. This is especially true when faced with the tough realities of life that Project Angle Heart deals with on a daily basis. That said, I have found the more I live and experience, the more I just find a way to make things work. In high school I did a lot of community service for my civics class, Student Leadership, National Honor Society, etcetera. On one NHS outing, we were going to have lunch with some elderly in our community. I must admit I was a little nervous. I didn’t know if I would be able to swallow the beef they were serving or if I could muster up any sort of conversation flow with someone so much older than myself. My fears were only made worse when before I could sit down, one of the men at the table asked me what 12 multiplied by 9 was. It took me about 30 seconds to come up with the answer, but it felt like a lifetime. After I found the answer, the man told me that I could sit down. Then he proceeded to grumble about kids and calculators. So, even though it was an uncomfortable beginning I spent about an hour with the man and others at his table. There were some awkward silences but there was also some laughter. I left feeling satisfied knowing that if nothing else I had provided some variety to his day.
Because of this and other experiences, I know that working with Project Angel Heart will be a positive experience, even if it is uncomfortable sometimes. I am really looking forward to working with the program. I think I will not only enjoy working with the program, but also the direction and focus it provides for our class. The connection to the organization makes the class a more meaningful experience rather than a typical academic situation. Especially for me, someone who does not count writing even close to my favorite thing to do, I am excited to get something beyond research skills out of the class.
Working for an organization like Project Angel Heart creates a great opportunity to help out the Denver and surrounding areas sick patients who need extra help in supporting and feeding themselves and their families. I am very excited to work in the kitchen with the other volunteers, but I feel a little anxious about delivering the food and meeting the people. After my grandfather died from Alzheimer’s, it is always difficult for me to hear first hand stories of struggle with illness. It does give me comfort though to know how appreciative they are and that these gifts of food bring hope.
Most recently, I volunteered in the Special Education of 1st and 2nd graders. There were many different levels of this education that I worked with. Some of the kids just needed one on one help with subjects like reading and math. I also worked on physical strength, like walking and grip strength; and on improving hand/ eye coordination. These kids had such a different aspect and look on life, and I could always see them fighting to learn more every day. I learned a lot from them also, like to be more positive and the time that you put into something really makes a difference and is appreciated.
I like the idea of writing for a real purpose, like writing for Project Angel Heart. I like that our writings will mean more than just a grade, they will be used for newsletters or on the website. I think this will inspire everybody to write better because everybody likes to help a cause.
Volunteering opens our eyes to the world around us. It is easy to settle into routine, going about our day-to-day lives, not bothering to look up and notice the outside world. This new generation has fallen into a track of individualism and--I would not necessarily call it selfishness--apathy.
For me, it is easy to feel discouraged. I have gotten incredibly impassioned about current issues. I would think to myself, “Yes! We can make a difference! We can change!” But experience taught me otherwise. Change is a long process. People do not like change and have set up every obstacle possible in order to prevent it. In high school, I wanted to change the way our “Student Senate” functioned. A wanted it to truly become a representative body that operated for the students by the students. Any student, outside of the organization, that I talked to shared my views but responded with, “Well, what can we really do?” Their cynicism proved true. I petitioned and I appealed. I even had a sit-in. Every thing I tried met the same answer: no.
This story seems like an irrelevant tangent, but it partially represents my feelings about civic engagement. I feel like I cannot really make a difference for the better because I am one person in a huge country.
But, I must also contradict myself. In high school, I was a member of National Honor Society, through which, we participated in the “adopt a family program.” We would “adopt” a family for the holiday season that was underprivileged. We provided food and gifts that they would have otherwise done without. I was the project chair during my senior year, so the responsibility of delivery actually fell onto me.
I have never considered myself a privileged person. I drove a beat up car and worked for everything I had. But as I contacted and met these families, my perception was readjusted. I was able to work and I was able to provide for myself, which gives me privilege over some other people. Meeting these people showed me that I can make a difference to individuals, even if it is not changing the world, and sometimes, that is all that counts.
I do not know what to expect with project angel heart. I hope that I reap the same rewards that I did from the “Adopt a Family Program”, and that I do not get frustrated as I did with my Senate reform initiative. I can see room for personal growth in this project and I am eager to give it a chance.
As young people attending a private university, it is easy for us to take for granted what a privilege it is to be an environment where life's essentials are easily accessible. Rare is the moment when we are in want of anything, which is why I believe Project Angel Heart is an opportunity that will benefit not only the disadvantaged, but those who have chosen to help. So often is our immediate culture concerned with materialistic gain, that they loose sight of what I believe to be a fundamental truth: the best things in life are free. Though cliché the previous statement might be, recently I can say I have come to live by it. What is free, and most important is building relationships with other people, especially people who can offer another perspective on life. It is through developing an understanding of these people that one can develop empathy and compassion, two outward focused motives too frequently substituted for selfishness and greed. As a volunteer with Intercambio de Communidades, I know for a fact that volunteering, while intimidating at first, is a gratifying experience worth the time and effort.
Blog 2
When first entering this class, I was surprised to find that the core subject of this writing class was to help the sick through a non- profit association: Angel Heart. Having never physically worked with a local non-profit association like this before, I was a little uncomfortable. Would I be able to fit these visits into my schedule, could I interact with them, and what would they be like? All these questions and more were floating through my mind the first day of class. Although there is still some uneasiness and butterflies in my stomach, I’m up for the task. The last time that I participated in a community service type activity, I ended up having some extremely great experiences. Putney Travel brought a handful of students and I to repair a broken playground in the heart of Brazil. Nervous at first, I began to get used to my new surrounding and its language barrier. From there on I not only meet some great people but learned a lot about the culture of Brazil and had a great feeling of accomplishment when we finished our work and watched the enjoyment it brought to the local school children. Hopefully, our class experience at Angel Hear will be as enjoying and fulfilling as my last community service participation.
As for my impression on forging a connection to academic writing/research and a non-profit organization, I feel very comfortable. Luckily last quarter, I took a writing class whose primary focus was to relate to homelessness. Whether it was about a certain non-profit organization such as Denver Rescue Mission or the statistical aspect of homelessness in America, this writing class really helped prepare me for what’s in store this spring quarter.
As a member of the Social Justice living and learning community, there is a large emphasis on community service work. In addition to participating in group volunteering activities, we have to complete 40 hours of volunteering for the year. I have been doing my volunteering at a day shelter for women called The Gathering Place. I help in the family area, taking care of and playing with children of the women accessing services. I love going every Friday, getting off campus and playing with the children and sometimes wish I could spend more time there. However, I think that volunteering is actually impacting my life more than the people I am interacting with. It is making me aware of problems and the hardships people deal with on a day-to-day basis. It has also helped me become more conscious of the privileges that I unknowingly possess.
So, I am very excited to volunteer with Project Angel Heart. I must agree however that it is difficult to break out of my normal daily routine and venture into a new situation, as happens when volunteering. I think the more experience I get in volunteering, the easier the process might become and even maybe become less awkward as well. Hopefully I can be involved in the preparartion of food as well the distribution.
I love the idea of forging writing and research with actual service learning. Hopefully I can connect my academic researching and writing, which usually has no real relevance in my life, to actual things I experience in Project Angel Heart.
When I initially heard about our volunteer work with Project Angel Heart I suppose I had some of the same feelings Professor Bateman initially had. I am a little anxious to help and interact with people who are dying. While I have done volunteer work in the past, and currently in college, I have never really done a task that required me to work with people who don’t have much longer to live. What do I talk to them about? Should I avoid their whole illness all together? Because the thing I fear the most is insulting these people in some way.
The thing with me though, a skill that I can count on, is my people skills. While I may be initially anxious at first about what to say or what to do, I’m confident that all those worries will disappear altogether. Working in the restaurant business for nearly three years now, I have learned how to interact with people. A good portion of that is dealing with customers whom are irritated with something about their food, unhappy about the service, etc. So I have learned how to become a very personable guy, trying to make everyone happy again.
So while I may have some anxieties going into Project Angel Heart, I feel like once I meet the people we are helping all my worries will seem foolish. So I am ready to help these people, who need our aid desperately, are you ready to help?
I have volunteered a lot before. In high school, I worked with the Helen Woodward Animal Center, which is a non-profit organization in San Diego that provides an array of services for sick, homeless, and troubled animals, for almost four years. I always felt good being of help to the organization, and especially the animals. I did other community service activities, but not many that included directly helping sick or underprivileged individuals. Though one year, on Christmas Day, I drove in a truck with my friend and her father and delivered gifts to poor children in underprivileged neighborhoods. The smiles and thanks I received that day were ones I will never forget. I am excited for this next step in my experience as a volunteer, as I think these types, directly helping less fortunate individuals, are one of the most important. In addition, I think I will experience much more emotion from the act, than I previously have from volunteering.
I agree with Hannah, that as students at a private university, it is easy for us to take our privileges for granted. For this reason, I feel that volunteering for Project Angel Heart will not only help those in need, but also remind us about the importance of giving to others in less fortunate positions. I am also excited to volunteer in a setting where there is so much gratefulness and appreciation of people receiving the service.
In terms of volunteering for Project Angel Heart in the context of being part of a writing and research course, I feel that it has great potential. Not only are we learning to write more effectively, but at the same time, learning how to apply our writing to ideas that matter. It is promising that some of the writing we produce in the course, will actually go somewhere to help others. This is not a common part of education, but it should definitely become one.
Thank you all for your candid reflections on the work we are about to do. It seems like a lot of you have had a great deal of experience volunteering or doing community service. As we continue to do our work together, I'll be curious to hear how volunteering and writing for Project Angel Heart compares and what you learn from it.
I've always been slightly uncomfortable working with those who suffer from life-threatening or terminal illnesses. It is a fear that I cannot comprehend nor wrap my head around. From never having dealt with the darker sides of life, I have never had a loved one die of cancer, my entire family was blessed with the correct number of chromosomes, and I watched my relatives die of old age and natural causes, for the most part.
My intrigue with diseases such as AIDS or HIV stems from the same kind of curiosity that makes you slow down to look at the car wreck as you drive by. It's not the kind of curiosity that I care to admit to because it's almost shameful to be interested in watching. People that deal with diseases like that have an aura about them that separates them from the people around them. They walk closer to death than any of us can imagine. It's not that we're not aware of the fact that we can die at any time, it's just that the majority of humanity is not forced to come to terms with the fact that death is rapidly coming for them. As a mild-control freak, thinking of having to deal with the fact that I have no control of the rest of my life, that a disease I can only feel as it slowly kills me has decided my fate, makes my head spin.
My experiences with community service are not extensive by any means, but I have participated in various service-learning projects throughout the years. Always focusing with the less fortunate, I have fed them, built them housing, helped teach their children how to read, but never have I directly interacted with those inflicted with life threatening diseases. The experience should be one that helps to expand my narrow view of these diseases and the people afflicted.
Post a Comment