August 22-28
This is the first week of school and I'm trying to figure out what I want to make my issue for this project. I think I am going to volunteer at one of the Banner Hospitals because I am going into the nursing field and want to gain some experience.
August 29-September 4
This week I have applied to the Banner Hospitals to volunteer. I was really surprised to see that it does not clarify how long it will take to process the application and when I will find out if I have been selected to volunteer.
September 6-11
I still have not heard from Banner at all about my application. I have not called them yet to ask about my application because I think it probably takes at least two weeks for them to receive and process the application.
September 12-18
I am still waiting to hear back from Banner about my application. I did not realize that it would take this long to process the application and to hear back from them. This has definitely been a frustrating for me. If I do not hear anything from Banner this Thursday then I will call Friday and find out what exactly is going on.
September 19-25
I have had to make changes to my service learning project. Banner had already chosen their September volunteers and would not be choosing volunteers again until October. Banner's website did not describe their application process very well and I did not find out that much information until I called and talked to a woman about my application. I have decided to change my issue to why there are so many homeless animals and why people give up their pets. I will be volunteering with the East Valley Bunny Rescue. I will be going to PetSmart on Power and Mckellips during the week and taking care of the cats there.
September 26-October 2
This week I went to PetSmart and took care of the cats that are up for adoption there. I played with the cats, cleaned their litter boxes, made sure they had food and water. It is interesting to see all the cats' personalities. It was really fun to play with them and to let them out of their kennels. Some of the cats are scared and frighten while others are super friendly. I'm really excited to start volunteering and to get my project going.
October 3-9
This week I went to PetSmart and did the usual volunteer work with the cats. Also, a man this week came to the store and abandon a cat while he was there. The cat is running around the store and people are trying to catch it. I think it is so selfish that a person would do that. A store like PetSmart is no place to dump animals. If the man did not want the cat then he should have contacted a animal rescue and given it to them.
October 10-16
This week I went to PetSmart played with the cats, made sure they had plenty of food and water, cleaned their litterboxes, and made sure they were in good health. This week I also adopted out one of my favorite cats out to an older couple. The couple had been looking for cats all day and had finally come to our PetSmart. The couple was interested in a short haired orange cat and a long haired tuxedo cat. The couple ended up adopting the long haired tuxedo cat. I was so happy because I know this cat has been up for adoption a long time and she was also a sweetheart. I'm glad she finally got to go home with a good family.
October 17-23
This week I did the usual volunteer work at PetSmart. I went and played with the cats, made sure they had food and water, cleaned their kennels, and made sure they were happy and healthy. I also began my Project HOPE this week. For my Project HOPE I decided that I would research how teen moms stay in school and how becoming pregnant affects an education.
October 24-30
This week I went to PetSmart and volunteered with the cats and made sure they were happy and healthy. I also began to do research for my Project HOPE. I began to look through online articles and get a feel for what I'm researching. I also have used the skills that I have learned in this class to look at statistics, facts, graphs, pictures, ads, cartoons, and speeches on teen pregnancy. The skills that I have learned from this class on how to analyze media has definitely come in handy for this project. Once, I find valid data and sources I am going to put everything together in a PowerPoint presentation.
October 31- November 6
This week I did not go and volunteer at PetSmart and dedicated all my time to doing my Project HOPE. This project was definitely eye opening to me. The research I found definitely had the same underlying message about teen pregnancy; teen moms are less likely to complete high school. While I was going through the Internet and doing research I saw quite a few different cartoons that made me laugh because I realized they were completely true about teen pregnancy. The ad that I found was from the Candie's Foundation and it showed Bristol Palin and her son. The caption read "I never thought I would be a statisic". I thought this was a great ad. It shows that she never thought she would get pregnant, then she did and now she has to face the consequences. In all this project was a great way to show the skills I have learned in the class and I also became very informed on teen pregnancy and the options that are out there for girls/young women who get pregnant.
November 7-14
This week I did the usual volunteer work at PetSmart. I cleaned the cats' kennels, made sure they had food and water, played with them, and gave them fresh towels. This is the last week of really doing assignments for this class. Now it is time to make sure my website and projects and going great and are almost complete. I plan to post all the media that I have found on animal abuse on this website.
Service Report
This semester for my service learning project I will be volunteering at the East Valley Bunny Rescue. This organization is run by one main woman who is in her 70’s. This woman houses the cats by her house and at the PetSmart located on Power and McKellips. Most of the volunteers help Angel on the weekends by coming into the PetSmart and playing with the cats, cleaning the kennels, giving the cats food and water, brushing the cats, and cleaning the litter boxes. I will be doing the exact same volunteer work that the other volunteers do but I will be going during the week day and around seven or eight at night.
As this semester progressed I really begin to enjoy going and taking care of the cats. I really thought it was interesting to see how differently the cats acted towards me and how some were friendlier than others. At first when I began to do my volunteer work some of the cats seemed really skeptical of me and wouldn’t let me pet them where as others would automatically come up to me and want me to pet them. As time went on the cats became more trusting and friendly the more and more I went to take care of them. I learned that the adoption agency can rotate the cats to see if other cats will get adopted. I thought that the cats would stay in the same place until they were adopted and that once a cat was adopted another cat would take their spot. I think this is a great concept because if a cat has been at PetSmart for quite a long time and has not been adopted then why not switch them out with another cat to see if that cat will get adopted.
What I learned about myself while doing this service learning project was that doing service learning can make you feel wonderful. I feel that I am doing something great and that I’m helping someone or the cats in this case out. It made me feel good when I would take the cats out of their kennels and let them run around and stretch their legs because I felt bad how the cats have to stay in their kennels all day. These kennels definitely give the cats enough room to be comfortable and to move around I just wish they could be somewhat larger. When I began to research animal abuse and homeless animals I realized that this is a bigger issue than I expected. I never realized how many people would give up their pet or they would bring an animal in because they found it until I began working at PetSmart and in the adoption area. In all, this project made me feel great.
The best thing that I experienced from this service project was seeing how attached I could become to the cats that are up for adoption and how it made me feel to go and take care of the cats. I would become attached to some of the cats that were up for adoption and just love to come and play with them. It almost seemed that some of the cats would know when I would come and start to meow as soon as I would walk in the room. Every time I would be cleaning and taking care of the cats I would get the best feeling in the world because I knew that I was the only person giving them some attention that day. I really hated to leave the cats after I would get done cleaning the kennels because they never wanted to go back into their kennels, just wanted to stay out and play. Once I would get the cats back into their kennels they would just stare and meow at me and it would just break my heart.
The thing that surprised me the most about doing this service project was finding how much fun it could be to go and take care of the cats. At first I did not think it was that much fun to go and take care of the cats simply because they seemed shy and would move when I would go to pet them but as time progressed and they began to trust me I found it more fun. It also surprised me to see how different the cats’ personalities could be from one another. Some of the cats would be extremely friendly from the start where as others would hiss at me and then once I began cleaning they would see it was ok and that I did not mean to harm them. All of the cats seem to be really sweet and lovable and I really hope they all get adopted.
I plan on continuing my volunteer work at the PetSmart and taking care of the cats. I have really enjoyed this experience and it is now part of my routine. I probably will not be able to go as much as I did this semester it just depends on the amount of schoolwork that I have to do.
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