May Extra Blog Post

Done with senior project!!!!!

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

1. Positive Statement
What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or senior project? Why?

• From my Block Presentation I am most proud of the fact that I was able to make time. Aside from that I was very proud that I gave a lot of examples/pictures in my power point to help the students understand. I was also proud that the students were able to use their phones during my activity, as it probably stood out to them. Also I really liked giving the little goodie bags with Scooby Doo Graham crackers (kind of irrelevant but I thought they were cute!).
• From my overall senior project I am very proud that I came into senior year not knowing what I would focus on and yet I picked a topic I really came to enjoy. Most people dislike there topic, but im proud to tell people what I focused on for 9 months. 

2. Questions to Consider
A. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?

• P

B. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project?

• P

3. What worked for you in your senior project?

• For me, having time to do research checks in class was very helpful. It was time given to develop answers and although it seemed like a drag at the time, looking back it really helped me out for senior project. Another thing was advisory meetings. These blocks really helped in giving tips on your senior presentation as the teacher would tell you what they were looking for.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine to go back in time, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

• To improve my senior project I would have finished my independent component 1 hours much sooner. I had to turn then in a week later so I was not able to get a P but instead I got an AP.

5. (Finding Value) How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

• Senior project has been very helpful because it forced me to get out of my comfort zone. When I was first looking for a pkace to mentor at, I didn't even like the idea of calling an organization to see if they had available volunteer opportunities. From early on I had to call multiple organizations and explain the situation I was in. I had to get over my fear of talking to people I didn't know. This was especially seen throughout my whole mentorship experience.  I have met a variety of people and it has helped develop a memorable senior year filled with new experiences I wouldnt have thought to do otherwise.

Blog 21: Mentorship

Literal

• On right side of blog
• Priceless Pet Rescue, Chino Hills
• Lisa Anderson-(951)532-2241

Interpretive

• The most important thing that I have gained from this is the experience itself. I was able to volunteer my time with dogs rescued from high kill shelters or surrenders. I was able to meet many new people I would have never met regularly. I was able to help a photographer take photos of some of the dogs. Most importantly I was able to be part of the Fundraising Committee for Priceless Pets Rescue. In these meetings I was able to see all the effort, planning, and communication it took to raise funds for the organization. It was also really cool to see Priceless Pets Rescue do some of the tips that I had been researching on. 

Applied

• What I have done has helped me answer my EQ because I became much more involved with the organization. I have had first hand experiences volunteering at fundraising events and joining the fundraising committee is one of my answers. Without actually volunteering at Priceless Pets Rescue, everything would be completely different and the EQ would have no meaning to me. 

April Extra Blog Post

April

One of Aprils main event was the Easter Eggcitment. This even was located in front of the Walmart in Chino Hills. The fundraiser was realyed to Easter as we had an easter egg basket with slips of paper on each one. One slip of paper said "basket" and the other said "toy". (NOTE: this event was mainly for little kids) each egg was $1 and depending on which egg they chose determined what prize they'd get. The baskets were homeade and were rather inexpensive as well as the toys

Blog 20: Exit Interview

• (1) What is your essential question and answers?  What is your best answer and why?

Eq: What is the best way to raise funds for a nonprofit animal rescue?

Answer 1. By having an up to date and eye-catching website to raise online donations

Answer 2. By having a variety of social media accounts to allow people to follow your organization.

Answer 3. By following up with your fundraising committee to discuss previous or future events to come in monthly meetings. 

BEST ANSWER?  By having a variety of social media accounts to allow people to follow your organization.

WHY? When interviewing my mentor Lisa Anderson,  whom is a Supervisor at Priceless Pets Rescue, is part of the Fundraising Committee, and volunteers at least twice a week at Priceless Pets Rescue with the dogs mentioned that the biggest factor contributing on how to get people to attend your events is through out their Social Media Account. Its the cheapest and quickest way to get the word out about the organization to people. She also stated that they use this method for everything. For example, Priceless Pets Rescue raised $1,600 through a restaurant fundraiser in one night by putting it all over there Facebook and Instagram.

• (2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

I first came across this answer through my foundational pieces. They would mention how a huge majority of nonprofit organizations that were successful had social networks. Apart from that, I noticed that all the "big" nonprofits such as Red Cross and YMCA have social media sites. 

• (3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The one problem I faced was on how to complete my 2nd semester Independent Component 30 hours because I was not sure how or on what I could focus on. I resolved this by finding out that Priceless Pets Rescue had a Fundraising Committee and joining it. This extremely helped me because I was putting my EQ into action. This committee focused on raising funds for the organization which is what my EQ is trying to find. 

• (4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

My first significant source would have to be my mentor Lisa Anderson. As I mentioned above she is heavily involved within the organization and she has helped me discover answers to my EQ plus answer any questions I have about the organization or use her opinions to further research possible answers. My  second significant source was a book written by llona Bray J.D. titled "Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work". This was also an important source because not only was it written in 2013, the most recent possible but it breaks down every aspect of Fundraising for a nonprofit.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Literal

• A. I Daisy Zavala affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
• B. The biggest source that helped me complete my independent component would have to be my mentor Lisa Anderson and the fundraising committee at Priceless Pets Rescue. By joining the fundraising committee I was able to ask questions and listen to the meetings to see how Priceless Pets gains their funds.
• C. Above Mentorship Log
• D. In this Independent Component, I was able to be "behind the scenes" in the organization. I listened to problems facing the organization, future event preparation and ideas, and saw how Priceless Pets runs their meetings. Everyone talks in an order for what they have to say for the month and subcommittees are formed. They discuss how much profit they've made from the past month in either donations, events, or fundraisers. Along with attending these monthly meetings, I also worked on some events such as the Easter Eggcitment event and the Bruxie Restaurant Fundraiser.  

Interpretative

• For every meeting I attended, I have the printed sheet that gets passed out to everyone in the committee and Lisa could confirm that I have attended those meetings for the rest of the events I have pictures that I was actually there and are time stamped as well. 

Applied

• This component has helped me answer my EQ entirely. Without attending those meetings, I would not have came up with my third answer. In fact those monthly meetings are my third answer. It showed me the importance of getting together with your committee to discuss what has been going on within the organization. 

March Extra Blog Post

March

Wow, we are now at the end of March. 2 more months and we start presentations. Graduation is near. On another note, volunteering at Priceless Pets Rescue has been great. I am still part of the Fundraising Committee and I have to say it is really fun. This months major event was the Bruxie Fundraiser. A restaurant in Chino Hills, donated 20% of the profit to the organization. Plus, we had dogs available for adoption at the restaurant since it has a patio as well. Overall a very good event! In the month of March Priceless Pets Rescue had 94 adoptions!