It'a a Wrap: Today was the last day for implementation.Calling me from downstairs and hands on her wait, I heard the echo my lovely and adorable lil' sis Lupita yelling " Jesse, you better hurray!" Out the door, we hussled to Castro to help setup! We ended up getting there around 6:30am.
Balloons: Whoever thought of the concept of Balloons, should truely win a humanitarian award. They make everything lively! Per Jeanine I was asked to help Felipe tie balloons around the walk site. To much delight the sky blue balloons picketed around the walk area gave a celebratory yet corral setup to walk.
Feature on Channel 4 News: To further cast our message of Trotting Thursdays, Channel 4 News was invited to capture students taking "baby steps to better health." Hence the pin up of baby blue and posters charting a course of replacing a cookie with an apple.
7:25am: Lupita has been there through thick and thin. She is the other teammate. From project 1 she has been in and out of meetings, kicking off projects, posting flyers around metro and sometimes keeping me, her bro on task. :) Knowing that she needed to be at school at 7:45am, she kept my phone in her pocket to remind me when it was getting close to 7:25am. The time we were going to leave.
Bro as I am often called, its 7:20am. We gotta go! Knowing that I wouldn't be back to help out with the remainder of the festivities, Lupita and I headed to my my silver Honda to take her to school. (The bell rings at 7:45am) She is my little sister and I love her lots! She keeps me in line and she's my buddy. Her aspirations.... I'm gonna be a fashion designer!
The Final Hours Until Presentation: This project has definately been different from all others. We have done the majority of our planning via email and brief check-ins. Being a regular communicator, this is new to me. But, everyone has there shot to be Team Lead. As the final hours pass until tomorrow's presentation. I will be preparing my portion of the presentation by outlining a sustainability plan for Live Well Westwood. My prior experience working for an elementary schools gives me some insight on what to include and I think its going to be a big help!
The Board Room: If you are reading this and have not purchased a ticket to the boardroom please do! We need all the support we can and If you so happen to wear a t-shirt with Team Martinez on...Thank you!. All I have to say is it has been an exciting time and I hope you can come join us and see all the hard work we put into our projects! I am glad and honored to be a part of the Apprentice and represent Metro State!
Good Luck to My Peers: Its been fun!
Want to know what happens tomorrow and what the judges say... just wait!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
What happens when we're gone?
It takes a village... What I most admire about organizations making a difference in the lives of kids is that in every effort they mobilize the entire community to allow kids the opportunity to dream big. That after every brainstorm they take on inevitable to remove barriers and daily struggles so that hope no longer exists and the stars are no longer out of reach but the possibilities are endless.
This is what its all about: After graduating from high school a few years back (my friends would say add more years!) I decided to volunteer as an AmeriCorps VISTA member (like Peace Corps for US) for my local school district, Mesa County Valley School District #51.
In doing so I was in charge of integrating service-learning in seven schools, ranging from elementary to high school. During my year of service and only making $800 a month, I realized that it really does take a village to raise a child. Getting the community involved to take learning outside the school, we applied school lessons to community service projects in the community by integrating service with academic standards. Towards the end of my 1st year of service I worked with three main schools as a site coordinator. I had the opportunity to work with an amazing woman at Dos Rios Elementary named Sarah Hutchinson. Still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and what to study in college, she encouraged me to work with her for another year of service as an AmeriCorps member but solely at Dos Rios.
I took her offer and devoted my time to the Dos Rios Elementary Family Resource Center where she mentored me. I learned so much from her and she believed in me. We were two peas in a pod. We both were visionaries and believers that nothing is impossible. I give much credit to my life mentor Sarah for believing in me. She entrusted me to oversee the student youth council, assist in the planning and coordination of the Family Resource Center (FRC) and developing an After School program. The funniest thing is that I used to go to this elementary school and the principal that I had, Mr.Phillips was still there. He too believed in me and assigned the task of developing the school's after school program simply by his trust.
With 70% of the students having Free or Reduced Lunch, the mission of the FRC was modeled after Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Provide basic needs from tooth brushing, a change of clothing, to offering a safe place for children to talk. By focusing on basic needs, the child was able to focus on learning rather than being sick or shoes with holes in them.
This was my beginning: This is where I began my commitment to service. And my journey and experience comes full circle with being able to help out with project 4. But, I will always have a special place for Sarah who I will always call my boss and Mr. Phillips who trusted me.
What happens when we're gone? Even though our projects only last 3 weeks, I chose to make a lasting impact by compiling the team's sustainability plan. So that when we leave Castro, Knapp and Monroe Elementary that we can provide recommendations and the framework for Live Well Westwood to begin a walking and healthy living program in partnership with these schools.
From kids, parents, teachers, principals and the community: It takes a village. And I am glad to help build community so that one child can dream big!
This is what its all about: After graduating from high school a few years back (my friends would say add more years!) I decided to volunteer as an AmeriCorps VISTA member (like Peace Corps for US) for my local school district, Mesa County Valley School District #51.
In doing so I was in charge of integrating service-learning in seven schools, ranging from elementary to high school. During my year of service and only making $800 a month, I realized that it really does take a village to raise a child. Getting the community involved to take learning outside the school, we applied school lessons to community service projects in the community by integrating service with academic standards. Towards the end of my 1st year of service I worked with three main schools as a site coordinator. I had the opportunity to work with an amazing woman at Dos Rios Elementary named Sarah Hutchinson. Still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and what to study in college, she encouraged me to work with her for another year of service as an AmeriCorps member but solely at Dos Rios.
I took her offer and devoted my time to the Dos Rios Elementary Family Resource Center where she mentored me. I learned so much from her and she believed in me. We were two peas in a pod. We both were visionaries and believers that nothing is impossible. I give much credit to my life mentor Sarah for believing in me. She entrusted me to oversee the student youth council, assist in the planning and coordination of the Family Resource Center (FRC) and developing an After School program. The funniest thing is that I used to go to this elementary school and the principal that I had, Mr.Phillips was still there. He too believed in me and assigned the task of developing the school's after school program simply by his trust.
With 70% of the students having Free or Reduced Lunch, the mission of the FRC was modeled after Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Provide basic needs from tooth brushing, a change of clothing, to offering a safe place for children to talk. By focusing on basic needs, the child was able to focus on learning rather than being sick or shoes with holes in them.
This was my beginning: This is where I began my commitment to service. And my journey and experience comes full circle with being able to help out with project 4. But, I will always have a special place for Sarah who I will always call my boss and Mr. Phillips who trusted me.
What happens when we're gone? Even though our projects only last 3 weeks, I chose to make a lasting impact by compiling the team's sustainability plan. So that when we leave Castro, Knapp and Monroe Elementary that we can provide recommendations and the framework for Live Well Westwood to begin a walking and healthy living program in partnership with these schools.
From kids, parents, teachers, principals and the community: It takes a village. And I am glad to help build community so that one child can dream big!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Project 4: We're coming to an end!
Live Well Colorado: Last Friday we kicked off project 4, where we will be working with Live Well Westwood and Kaiser to promote Walking Wednesdays at three elementary schools in Westwood.
The Reason: Did you know by 2017 that 2 out of 3 Coloradoans will be obese.
Teach them when they are Young: Our project will entail working with 3 elementary schools in Westwood promoting Live Well Westwood or Viva Bien Westwood's Walking Wednesdays!
Stopping Obesity: Starting with kids, we are promoting health living choices while keeping them active. That's why we will be pushing kids to put on their kicks (shoes) and walk to school.
But... There is a big parental concern for safe neighborhoods. So our task is much more than kids walking to school. How do we mobilize parents and the community to make their community safe for kids and families?
Up Next... This is our mission. Even though this is our last, this is our task at hand. We are eager to make a lasting impression and promote Living Well in Westwood.
Join Live Well Colorado: Join www.livewellcolorado.com and learn about what healthy activities are going on in your community.
Stay tuned... and learn about our Hussle (Our Strategy)... Signing Off Folks!
Thanks for reading! J. Martinez
The Reason: Did you know by 2017 that 2 out of 3 Coloradoans will be obese.
Teach them when they are Young: Our project will entail working with 3 elementary schools in Westwood promoting Live Well Westwood or Viva Bien Westwood's Walking Wednesdays!
Stopping Obesity: Starting with kids, we are promoting health living choices while keeping them active. That's why we will be pushing kids to put on their kicks (shoes) and walk to school.
But... There is a big parental concern for safe neighborhoods. So our task is much more than kids walking to school. How do we mobilize parents and the community to make their community safe for kids and families?
Up Next... This is our mission. Even though this is our last, this is our task at hand. We are eager to make a lasting impression and promote Living Well in Westwood.
Join Live Well Colorado: Join www.livewellcolorado.com and learn about what healthy activities are going on in your community.
Stay tuned... and learn about our Hussle (Our Strategy)... Signing Off Folks!
Thanks for reading! J. Martinez
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Our Strategy!
Flooding the Market: Our strategy:
1.) Blanket Marketing: Create a new message that would be tailored to this population through postcards mailings that would marketing tools that would drive consumers to different communication outlets like text message "myhome" and your zip code to 313131 to find your local housing counseling agency and online chats, where consumers could log on to an online chat to have a confidential outlet to communicate and ask questions about foreclosure.
The new message: You are the Key
2.) Partner Advertising: Partner with businesses and organizations that are also being affected by foreclosure. For instance, partner with insurance companies, utility companies (water, cable, electricity) to include the marketing material in billing or add the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline to their billing statements.
3.) Segmentation Marketing: Because there are companies wanting to make profit from people who are in foreclosure. Some for-profit businesses are pulling credit report mailing lists for every one who has missed one mortagage payment or more... 6 to 8 months before any NED is being filed.
Due to this, we thought it would be wise to compete right along these companies to push our message of "You are the Key" and Free housing counseling services. We have heard stories of lawyers and foreclosure businesses making consumers pay them $900 tbho $3000 to help them get out of foreclosure.
That is why would would like to do the same and pull credit report mailing lists for missed mortgage payments to educate consumers about Free Foreclosure assistance rather than paying $3000 or more for foreclosure help!
Campaign or Targeted: Our marketing strategy can be used a both a monthly campaign or a targeted strategy for marketing specific populations.
As a campaign you can market using partner businesses to advertise and create a foreclosure month that would educate the community and bring awareness to the community. We called it Foreclosure February.
Spring Break: And then there was spring break. We all did take a break from the project, but we were losing time so we planned to meet on Thursday after we had met that prior tuesday with the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline.
But... it snowed like crazy with wind blowing...Blizzard 2009 or it felt like it. So we ended up meeting the next day. Cleaning our cars off toppled with snow.
Meetings, meetings, meetings: Even though this was our plan. It took us till the next meeting to finalize our marketing strategy.
Staying up late: Just 2 days later... we were finalizing our powerpoint presentation and refining everyones tasks for the presentation. We ended up staying up till 12:30am to get things finished.
Wakey, Wakey Eggs and Bacy: I went to bed at 1:30am and decided to meet up with Felipe at 7:00am to print off the powerpoint presentation. I woke up at 6:45am and ended up arrriving at the school by 7:30.
Printing: Felipe has told me since project 2 that we can use his printing account through MSCD to print off anything we needed. Well thinking he still had money in his account I awaited to make a few copies of our powerpoint. But, he said he was out of money because he was printing off his marketing plan that was going to be included in the judge's packets.
Oh No!: Luckily, I have an emergency stash of coinage in my backpack for worst case senarios. From parking cash to the purchase of scantrons. Although, the machine that replenishes your printing account only takes dollar bills. Felipe asked people in the computer lab if they had dollars for exchange. They did and we hussled to print off the powerpoint presentation.
The Presentation: Awaiting our time to speak, we forgot to hand out the judges packets until the time I spoke. Which was 5 slides into the presentation. It was kinda of funny but embarassing. I started with "Well, now that you have your packets, were on slide 6" everyone laughed, but it still seemed a little awkward. :)
The Finish: As Chantay spoke on the last slide, we were in relief that we had finished.
The Judging: The deliberation. We wait and the judges come back to ask us a number of questions. This had to be one of the longest Q & A session we have had in any of our project presentations. They were good questions but some of them were hard to answer. But, we gave a go and hoped we made a good argument.
The Results: We had a lot of great feedback. Even though this was by far the largest judging panel we had. They gave us some really good feedback that helped us in future projects and presentations. You'll have to see at our Boardroom!
The Reward: A One-night stay at the Curtis Hotel with Dinner at The Office and theater tickets to watch " A prayer by Owen"
What a Great Reward!: Everyone was able to attend from the team and enjoyed a relaxing and fun reward. We checked in by 5:30 at the Curtis Hotel and headed to dinner. Getting our food we enjoyed eachothers company. Walking to the theater, I was excited to see my first play in Denver.
The play was long... But amazing. If you have time to kill and want to go to a great play. Go watch a "Prayer for Owen." It's just great to see people act right in front of you with a setting of improvization.
The Comfy Bed: Wrapping up the rainy cold night, I headed to my room to jump into my PJs and sleep in my comfy bed! What a awesome day. From presenation to my one night stay in the Curtis Hotel!
Up Next: Project 4 Revealed...
1.) Blanket Marketing: Create a new message that would be tailored to this population through postcards mailings that would marketing tools that would drive consumers to different communication outlets like text message "myhome" and your zip code to 313131 to find your local housing counseling agency and online chats, where consumers could log on to an online chat to have a confidential outlet to communicate and ask questions about foreclosure.
The new message: You are the Key
2.) Partner Advertising: Partner with businesses and organizations that are also being affected by foreclosure. For instance, partner with insurance companies, utility companies (water, cable, electricity) to include the marketing material in billing or add the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline to their billing statements.
3.) Segmentation Marketing: Because there are companies wanting to make profit from people who are in foreclosure. Some for-profit businesses are pulling credit report mailing lists for every one who has missed one mortagage payment or more... 6 to 8 months before any NED is being filed.
Due to this, we thought it would be wise to compete right along these companies to push our message of "You are the Key" and Free housing counseling services. We have heard stories of lawyers and foreclosure businesses making consumers pay them $900 tbho $3000 to help them get out of foreclosure.
That is why would would like to do the same and pull credit report mailing lists for missed mortgage payments to educate consumers about Free Foreclosure assistance rather than paying $3000 or more for foreclosure help!
Campaign or Targeted: Our marketing strategy can be used a both a monthly campaign or a targeted strategy for marketing specific populations.
As a campaign you can market using partner businesses to advertise and create a foreclosure month that would educate the community and bring awareness to the community. We called it Foreclosure February.
Spring Break: And then there was spring break. We all did take a break from the project, but we were losing time so we planned to meet on Thursday after we had met that prior tuesday with the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline.
But... it snowed like crazy with wind blowing...Blizzard 2009 or it felt like it. So we ended up meeting the next day. Cleaning our cars off toppled with snow.
Meetings, meetings, meetings: Even though this was our plan. It took us till the next meeting to finalize our marketing strategy.
Staying up late: Just 2 days later... we were finalizing our powerpoint presentation and refining everyones tasks for the presentation. We ended up staying up till 12:30am to get things finished.
Wakey, Wakey Eggs and Bacy: I went to bed at 1:30am and decided to meet up with Felipe at 7:00am to print off the powerpoint presentation. I woke up at 6:45am and ended up arrriving at the school by 7:30.
Printing: Felipe has told me since project 2 that we can use his printing account through MSCD to print off anything we needed. Well thinking he still had money in his account I awaited to make a few copies of our powerpoint. But, he said he was out of money because he was printing off his marketing plan that was going to be included in the judge's packets.
Oh No!: Luckily, I have an emergency stash of coinage in my backpack for worst case senarios. From parking cash to the purchase of scantrons. Although, the machine that replenishes your printing account only takes dollar bills. Felipe asked people in the computer lab if they had dollars for exchange. They did and we hussled to print off the powerpoint presentation.
The Presentation: Awaiting our time to speak, we forgot to hand out the judges packets until the time I spoke. Which was 5 slides into the presentation. It was kinda of funny but embarassing. I started with "Well, now that you have your packets, were on slide 6" everyone laughed, but it still seemed a little awkward. :)
The Finish: As Chantay spoke on the last slide, we were in relief that we had finished.
The Judging: The deliberation. We wait and the judges come back to ask us a number of questions. This had to be one of the longest Q & A session we have had in any of our project presentations. They were good questions but some of them were hard to answer. But, we gave a go and hoped we made a good argument.
The Results: We had a lot of great feedback. Even though this was by far the largest judging panel we had. They gave us some really good feedback that helped us in future projects and presentations. You'll have to see at our Boardroom!
The Reward: A One-night stay at the Curtis Hotel with Dinner at The Office and theater tickets to watch " A prayer by Owen"
What a Great Reward!: Everyone was able to attend from the team and enjoyed a relaxing and fun reward. We checked in by 5:30 at the Curtis Hotel and headed to dinner. Getting our food we enjoyed eachothers company. Walking to the theater, I was excited to see my first play in Denver.
The play was long... But amazing. If you have time to kill and want to go to a great play. Go watch a "Prayer for Owen." It's just great to see people act right in front of you with a setting of improvization.
The Comfy Bed: Wrapping up the rainy cold night, I headed to my room to jump into my PJs and sleep in my comfy bed! What a awesome day. From presenation to my one night stay in the Curtis Hotel!
Up Next: Project 4 Revealed...
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Project Three: Foreclosure
What is project 3: Working with the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) we were set out to create a marketing strategy that would target two zip codes (80134 & 80138) in Parker.
The Reason: Foreclosure. CHFA identified these two zip codes as areas with low call volume to the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline and an area with high NED homes.
Terms of Foreclosure: (NED) is "Notice of Election and Demand." The notice that is filed with the public trustee placing a home into foreclosure.
Time Frame: It can take up to 6-8 months for a homeowner to be placed into foreclosure or for a Notice of Election and Demand to be placed on a home.
Loss Mitigation Counseling: Because of this time frame, it is encouraged that homeowners speak with a housing counselor to prevent foreclosure.
Foreclosure Assistance Fair: We started our project by attending a foreclosure fair in Arvada. Special Agent Banks aka Chantay was our Team Lead. After taking a detour because of the wrong address. We (Chantay, Rachel , Felipe and I ) finally arrived at the forclosure fair.
Reality: The reality of foreclosure set in as individuals and famlies attended workshops, spoke with housing counselors and picked up brochures linking services that they might potentially need in the near future.
Finding Resolve: After sitting down to speak with Brothers Redevelopment, a non-profit that assists people with housing counseling to prevent foreclosure. A woman interrupted to ask a question on the topic of foreclosure. Having a arm full of papers in her hands, she sought advice about her home. Having not missed a payment, she said its just about getting there and is there anything I can do?
Reflecting: The woman had brought all her paperwork as to seek a result or resolution of her situation. Even though events like the fair are not meant and fit to hold a actual housing counseling session, the conversation lasted about an hour and a half. Thinking about all that was said, I examined what could be done differently?
I am a functionalist: Before the Apprentice Challenge, I used to work for Foothills United Way as a program manager for the PIE program. PIE is a matched-savings program designed to match participant savings at a 4:1 ratio in order to purchase their first time home, attend college or start a small business. The goal is to help people save their way out of poverty.
One of my jobs was to write grants. Upon reviewing the data, I noticed numerous individuals joining the program but exiting the program within a few months or upon reaching theirs savings goal of $750 dollars. Why?
A further examination: New to the program I began reviewing the process of how we qualified participants from start to finish and investigating the why? After much review, I concluded that many participants joined the program especially the first time homeowner track without knowing whether they were ready to buy a home.
The Idea: Creating a readiness assessment. A readiness assessment would be combined with our application, but it would ask further questions allowing us to have snapshot of a participants lifestyle. Such questions like: Do you have transportation? Do you currenty have a monthly budget? Do you save? How long have you been at your current employement? Do you know your credit score?
Above all the goal of the readiness assessment was to gauge how ready a participant was to save each month and successfully graduate from our program. By scoring these different questions, it allowed us to determine what areas of support a participant may need to successfully complete our program and purchase a high cost asset.
Bleeding into Project 3: Using the same concept of the readiness assessment, I reflected at the Arvada fair that this system needs to be more efficent. Even though the woman who came in sought advice and the fair wasn't the right forum for a housing session. I could only imagine what a real housing counseling session maybe like, and how much time is spent in a session.
If our mission was to develop a marketing strategy, what happens then to the housing counselor... I thought? If this much time is spent in a session and we flood the two zip codes with marketing material that would make homeowners begin to start calling the hotline and the housing counselors then what happens next?
Understanding foreclosure from a Housing Counselor perspective: Learning that if our marketing strategy were to come into play and an increase call volume to the Housing Counselor would exist...how would the agency cope with this? The Douglas County Housing Partnership (DCHP) handles all of Douglas County and Parker exists in Douglas County. As of now, there is only one part-time housing counselor that handels foreclosure assistance counseling.
The Plan: Develop a uniform application that people can access via internet to register and apply for foreclosure assistance. Once a participant fills out the application and it is submitted, it will be sent via email to the housing counselor and already scored. Giving a priority listing, that would allow the housing counselor to manage their case load by already having a priority score on the application ( [1] Pre-Foreclosure counseling to [5] Immediate Foreclosure Assistance)
Our Theme: "Keep it simple for the Homeowner and the Housing Counselor." By having people fill out the application online, individuals will be able to be referred to their housing counseling agency with a full profile. Making homeowners feel that they are taking their first step in resolving their situation with a click of their mouse.
By submitting an application online, housing counselors will reduce the amount of time spent on reviewing paperwork during a session and more time finding a solution to prevent foreclosure. By receiving the application with a priority score, it will allow housing counselors to regulate its caseload and become a better advocate for the consumer in neogiating a deal with the lender. Freeing up time and ensuring a efficent process that keeps it simple for the homeowner and the housing counselor.
Up next... Our strategy for flooding the market, Meetings and our Presentation!
The Reason: Foreclosure. CHFA identified these two zip codes as areas with low call volume to the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline and an area with high NED homes.
Terms of Foreclosure: (NED) is "Notice of Election and Demand." The notice that is filed with the public trustee placing a home into foreclosure.
Time Frame: It can take up to 6-8 months for a homeowner to be placed into foreclosure or for a Notice of Election and Demand to be placed on a home.
Loss Mitigation Counseling: Because of this time frame, it is encouraged that homeowners speak with a housing counselor to prevent foreclosure.
Foreclosure Assistance Fair: We started our project by attending a foreclosure fair in Arvada. Special Agent Banks aka Chantay was our Team Lead. After taking a detour because of the wrong address. We (Chantay, Rachel , Felipe and I ) finally arrived at the forclosure fair.
Reality: The reality of foreclosure set in as individuals and famlies attended workshops, spoke with housing counselors and picked up brochures linking services that they might potentially need in the near future.
Finding Resolve: After sitting down to speak with Brothers Redevelopment, a non-profit that assists people with housing counseling to prevent foreclosure. A woman interrupted to ask a question on the topic of foreclosure. Having a arm full of papers in her hands, she sought advice about her home. Having not missed a payment, she said its just about getting there and is there anything I can do?
Reflecting: The woman had brought all her paperwork as to seek a result or resolution of her situation. Even though events like the fair are not meant and fit to hold a actual housing counseling session, the conversation lasted about an hour and a half. Thinking about all that was said, I examined what could be done differently?
I am a functionalist: Before the Apprentice Challenge, I used to work for Foothills United Way as a program manager for the PIE program. PIE is a matched-savings program designed to match participant savings at a 4:1 ratio in order to purchase their first time home, attend college or start a small business. The goal is to help people save their way out of poverty.
One of my jobs was to write grants. Upon reviewing the data, I noticed numerous individuals joining the program but exiting the program within a few months or upon reaching theirs savings goal of $750 dollars. Why?
A further examination: New to the program I began reviewing the process of how we qualified participants from start to finish and investigating the why? After much review, I concluded that many participants joined the program especially the first time homeowner track without knowing whether they were ready to buy a home.
The Idea: Creating a readiness assessment. A readiness assessment would be combined with our application, but it would ask further questions allowing us to have snapshot of a participants lifestyle. Such questions like: Do you have transportation? Do you currenty have a monthly budget? Do you save? How long have you been at your current employement? Do you know your credit score?
Above all the goal of the readiness assessment was to gauge how ready a participant was to save each month and successfully graduate from our program. By scoring these different questions, it allowed us to determine what areas of support a participant may need to successfully complete our program and purchase a high cost asset.
Bleeding into Project 3: Using the same concept of the readiness assessment, I reflected at the Arvada fair that this system needs to be more efficent. Even though the woman who came in sought advice and the fair wasn't the right forum for a housing session. I could only imagine what a real housing counseling session maybe like, and how much time is spent in a session.
If our mission was to develop a marketing strategy, what happens then to the housing counselor... I thought? If this much time is spent in a session and we flood the two zip codes with marketing material that would make homeowners begin to start calling the hotline and the housing counselors then what happens next?
Understanding foreclosure from a Housing Counselor perspective: Learning that if our marketing strategy were to come into play and an increase call volume to the Housing Counselor would exist...how would the agency cope with this? The Douglas County Housing Partnership (DCHP) handles all of Douglas County and Parker exists in Douglas County. As of now, there is only one part-time housing counselor that handels foreclosure assistance counseling.
The Plan: Develop a uniform application that people can access via internet to register and apply for foreclosure assistance. Once a participant fills out the application and it is submitted, it will be sent via email to the housing counselor and already scored. Giving a priority listing, that would allow the housing counselor to manage their case load by already having a priority score on the application ( [1] Pre-Foreclosure counseling to [5] Immediate Foreclosure Assistance)
Our Theme: "Keep it simple for the Homeowner and the Housing Counselor." By having people fill out the application online, individuals will be able to be referred to their housing counseling agency with a full profile. Making homeowners feel that they are taking their first step in resolving their situation with a click of their mouse.
By submitting an application online, housing counselors will reduce the amount of time spent on reviewing paperwork during a session and more time finding a solution to prevent foreclosure. By receiving the application with a priority score, it will allow housing counselors to regulate its caseload and become a better advocate for the consumer in neogiating a deal with the lender. Freeing up time and ensuring a efficent process that keeps it simple for the homeowner and the housing counselor.
Up next... Our strategy for flooding the market, Meetings and our Presentation!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Project Two: The Moral of the Story
Remember How I told you to remind me about being Optimistic? Well, here it goes... What I learned from this project was having a clear vision of our plan. By having a clear plan, everybody...meaning Felipe and I ... had a clear idea of how things were going to play out.
Learning from Eachother: Felipe and I worked together every step of the way. Sometimes interrupting to spit my idea out, I learned I have to listen before I speak... one idea write my thought down before I interrupt.
Ok, to the Moral: In such cases you can always be prepared, you can always have a plan. Yes, Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. But, in the end you have to remain positive and optimistic. At the Rally on March 7th as Felipe describes in his blog I was in a little panic.... Yes, I would say just a little...Don't ask Felipe though :)
But, overall Felipe was like "Come on dude, It's going to be alright. Don't worry! It's going to work." With just a little time, we refocused our plan and organized ourselves back at square one. We were back in business and the plan didn't flop. It was these words of encouragement that I often heed that were spoken to me in a time of anxious panic.
In my bio, you can read about my thoughts on how we precieve barriers. In one more moment, I had the chance to offer the same optimism in return. As Felipe worked on the Powerpoint all night and we were still up at 2am. Felipe worried we wouldn't be done in time for our presentation. Another worry, we wouldn't have time to practice. With encouragement, I said "Felipe, Don't worry we'll get it done and You'll do fine on the presentation" To much awe, we did finish our powerpoint in time and he rocked the presentation.
Overall, the moral is: Stay optimistic! In times of doubt, we can't consume ourselves in what if's and fears. We need to believe we can see over this horizon and remain positive. Many times we can’t see beyond our own clouded perception, a barrier that blocks our sight. But, as time passes, we begin to see our obstacles through a different lens, one that allows us to see optimism in the face of unknown fear. A time when we allow ourselves to percieve a different outcome.
A thought came to me... while reflecting on doubt and how to walk away from it. A reflection of something that was once good and now no longer exist. I sketched this quote on a napkin... it resolved a moment of perception I had... It may not make sense and have no cadence, but it made me think about where I stood.
Learning from Eachother: Felipe and I worked together every step of the way. Sometimes interrupting to spit my idea out, I learned I have to listen before I speak... one idea write my thought down before I interrupt.
Ok, to the Moral: In such cases you can always be prepared, you can always have a plan. Yes, Plan A, Plan B and Plan C. But, in the end you have to remain positive and optimistic. At the Rally on March 7th as Felipe describes in his blog I was in a little panic.... Yes, I would say just a little...Don't ask Felipe though :)
But, overall Felipe was like "Come on dude, It's going to be alright. Don't worry! It's going to work." With just a little time, we refocused our plan and organized ourselves back at square one. We were back in business and the plan didn't flop. It was these words of encouragement that I often heed that were spoken to me in a time of anxious panic.
In my bio, you can read about my thoughts on how we precieve barriers. In one more moment, I had the chance to offer the same optimism in return. As Felipe worked on the Powerpoint all night and we were still up at 2am. Felipe worried we wouldn't be done in time for our presentation. Another worry, we wouldn't have time to practice. With encouragement, I said "Felipe, Don't worry we'll get it done and You'll do fine on the presentation" To much awe, we did finish our powerpoint in time and he rocked the presentation.
Overall, the moral is: Stay optimistic! In times of doubt, we can't consume ourselves in what if's and fears. We need to believe we can see over this horizon and remain positive. Many times we can’t see beyond our own clouded perception, a barrier that blocks our sight. But, as time passes, we begin to see our obstacles through a different lens, one that allows us to see optimism in the face of unknown fear. A time when we allow ourselves to percieve a different outcome.
A thought came to me... while reflecting on doubt and how to walk away from it. A reflection of something that was once good and now no longer exist. I sketched this quote on a napkin... it resolved a moment of perception I had... It may not make sense and have no cadence, but it made me think about where I stood.
"Never to be disappointed, we will always forgive good fortune"
In Closing: Forever giving and Good will
The Presentation
As the Team Lead... this story never seems to end. After tackling this project and competing with Team Tripple Threat, we still had one more objective...The Presentation.
Till the Very End: Felipe and I worked hard on Project 2. With no lifeline (community volunteer who would assist us) we grappled with this challenge to showcase our resliency. Till the very end, we were compelled to work hard and win! Working on our powerpoint we highlighted main points that would zinger our success...
Such Zinger topics included, but not limited to:
Text 'Ewaste' to 313131 ... Auraria Campus E-Cycle Rally... Featured E-Cycle story in The Metropolitian ... Volunteers ... 15 Day Countdown ... Post-Rally Education ... Survey... Demanufacturing Slideshow... Update Voicemail!
Not done, yet: Felipe worked on the powerpoint for the evening while I put together the last touches of our post-educational prospects and last minute voicemail. Through our text messaging service, I recorded a message that would be sent to all our phone numbers that were collected through the rallies informing them about our success. Scheduling the phone call to be sent at 9am the next day while our presentation began--I thought what a strategic move!
"Jesse, the Powerpoint "says Felipe: Felipe was already over the powerpoint and wanted some help. After setting all our slides on a table we deleted some and refined our presentation. Still at school till 10pm we closed the West Classroom (Rm 244) Computer Lab. We ended up stayed up until 1 or 2 am to finalize our discussions on our Powerpoint. After a couple practices, we decided to cut a few pages to decrease the amount of time we spoke. The goal... have our presentation be under 20 minutes. We were already over by 6 minutes, so we got to cutting.
Worried Once More: Will we have time to update our powerpoint? That was certainly a question that we running through Felipe's mind...Taking the optimistic approach at 2am I was like sure no worries...we'll just get up at 6am and be at the school computer lab by 7am.
@ 7am: Dunn, dunn, dunnnnnn.... (This is my musical score of detriment!...oh no!) So were at the computer lab (West classroom 244) at 7am putting our final touches on the powerpoint.
What were the final touches you ask... Well inserting live action photos of us working away, deleting slides and making our packets for the judges.
We only have 10 minutes, What?: Such suspense...right. With only 10 minutes to spare we printed off our powerpoint in color and inserted them into our presentation folders. We had to be there by 8:30am to ensure that nobody would be late to the presentations that started at 9am. Briskly walking to the Administration Building, we made it right at 8:30am. Already prepared we sat drinking our coffee, organizing our thoughts and ready to present our side of the challenge.
A Flip of the Coin... Heads or Tails? As heads was called team Tripple Threat chose to have us go first. We were ready, but after being heavily involved in every aspect of the project (the both of us) we knew we couldn't talk too much and had to stick to our points.
The points we sometimes forgot: In the end, we sold our case on project 2 but we did leave out some of the fun details.
The Judges: They deliberate... we wait.
The Q & A: I love the Q & A session because it allows room for us to discuss sections of our presentation that we might have missed through the questions.
The Results: We Won! & I was so happy!
The Reward: Going to the Nuggets game with a tour of the facilities along with watching the team practice courtside. I was awarded two additional tickets that would allow me to invite whoever I wish.
The Reward Night... To be continued....
Till the Very End: Felipe and I worked hard on Project 2. With no lifeline (community volunteer who would assist us) we grappled with this challenge to showcase our resliency. Till the very end, we were compelled to work hard and win! Working on our powerpoint we highlighted main points that would zinger our success...
Such Zinger topics included, but not limited to:
Text 'Ewaste' to 313131 ... Auraria Campus E-Cycle Rally... Featured E-Cycle story in The Metropolitian ... Volunteers ... 15 Day Countdown ... Post-Rally Education ... Survey... Demanufacturing Slideshow... Update Voicemail!
Not done, yet: Felipe worked on the powerpoint for the evening while I put together the last touches of our post-educational prospects and last minute voicemail. Through our text messaging service, I recorded a message that would be sent to all our phone numbers that were collected through the rallies informing them about our success. Scheduling the phone call to be sent at 9am the next day while our presentation began--I thought what a strategic move!
"Jesse, the Powerpoint "says Felipe: Felipe was already over the powerpoint and wanted some help. After setting all our slides on a table we deleted some and refined our presentation. Still at school till 10pm we closed the West Classroom (Rm 244) Computer Lab. We ended up stayed up until 1 or 2 am to finalize our discussions on our Powerpoint. After a couple practices, we decided to cut a few pages to decrease the amount of time we spoke. The goal... have our presentation be under 20 minutes. We were already over by 6 minutes, so we got to cutting.
Worried Once More: Will we have time to update our powerpoint? That was certainly a question that we running through Felipe's mind...Taking the optimistic approach at 2am I was like sure no worries...we'll just get up at 6am and be at the school computer lab by 7am.
~Remind me to discuss why being optimistic is important!
@ 7am: Dunn, dunn, dunnnnnn.... (This is my musical score of detriment!...oh no!) So were at the computer lab (West classroom 244) at 7am putting our final touches on the powerpoint.
What were the final touches you ask... Well inserting live action photos of us working away, deleting slides and making our packets for the judges.
We only have 10 minutes, What?: Such suspense...right. With only 10 minutes to spare we printed off our powerpoint in color and inserted them into our presentation folders. We had to be there by 8:30am to ensure that nobody would be late to the presentations that started at 9am. Briskly walking to the Administration Building, we made it right at 8:30am. Already prepared we sat drinking our coffee, organizing our thoughts and ready to present our side of the challenge.
A Flip of the Coin... Heads or Tails? As heads was called team Tripple Threat chose to have us go first. We were ready, but after being heavily involved in every aspect of the project (the both of us) we knew we couldn't talk too much and had to stick to our points.
The points we sometimes forgot: In the end, we sold our case on project 2 but we did leave out some of the fun details.
The Judges: They deliberate... we wait.
The Q & A: I love the Q & A session because it allows room for us to discuss sections of our presentation that we might have missed through the questions.
The Results: We Won! & I was so happy!
The Reward: Going to the Nuggets game with a tour of the facilities along with watching the team practice courtside. I was awarded two additional tickets that would allow me to invite whoever I wish.
The Reward Night... To be continued....
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
What a WiLd RiDe!
Where do I start?: There is not one single event that I can solely write about in project 2 that would describe everything that Felipe and I have experienced. It was like a roller coaster! All I have to say is I am proud of my team and the work we put into it.
The Contenders: That's our team name. Our team consisted of just Felipe and I. Erik decided to leave the program because of personal matters so it was Felipe and I verses Team Triple Threat or Rachel, Jeanine and Chantay. As a result, we kept with our vision throughout the project and held one another accountable each step of the way.
The Countdown: After researching what our options were, we realized that although our mission at hand was to utlize online social media to drive people to the rally and educate them, we still needed to use "old school media" tactics to bring awareness to our cause. So we kicked off our project plan with a "15 day Countdown to Recycling 40 Tons of E-Waste" sending press releases every which way to get people to understand our cause and drive traffic to our online blog.
Our Plan: Countdown each day highlighting facts, making announcements and talking about the location. We also formulated a campus rally to educate students at Auraria about recycling electronics and inform them about our I-25 and Dry Creek rally using text messaging. If students texted "ewaste" to 313131 the automatically recieved a reply message stating to recycle their electronics and help the environment while giving our recycling address and location. They would then have to forward the message to five friends in order to receive a slice of free pizza.
Our list: At the campus rally we collected phone numbers and commitment cards that listed people's email addresses and cell phone numbers if they wanted to volunteer for our Recycling rally at 1-25 and Dry Creek. We recieved over 70 phone numbers and 20 potential volunteers.
Educate: To further educate students about recycling we text messaged them the next day educating them about why they should recycle.
6ft Green Balloon: Leading the way, was our 6ft Green Balloon. Staying up till 2am making Saturday rally signs I awoke at 6am to load the car with signage and a heavy tent that took both doors open in my Honda to stick in my car (It was very fun...not)
Cars Zipping By... As cars zipped by us before the rally was even setup, I thought our idea had flopped. How were we going to get people to fill out these thank you cards and text message so that we can educate them after the rally? As fear set in... We regrouped and strategized our plan. As the DJ played music in the background we began collecting the information that would further sustain our efforts of educating participants involved after the event.
Was it Cold? Yes, it was!
How long were we out there? 4 Hours!
The Numbers: 4,908 Cars attended, 14 Trailers of E-Waste was collected
(equating to approximately 238,000 pounds) Overall, we exceeded the goals we set out and walked away feeling a sense of accomplishment.
No, no, no... not done with this story... just wait till I start giving you the details of our presentation!
The Contenders: That's our team name. Our team consisted of just Felipe and I. Erik decided to leave the program because of personal matters so it was Felipe and I verses Team Triple Threat or Rachel, Jeanine and Chantay. As a result, we kept with our vision throughout the project and held one another accountable each step of the way.
The Countdown: After researching what our options were, we realized that although our mission at hand was to utlize online social media to drive people to the rally and educate them, we still needed to use "old school media" tactics to bring awareness to our cause. So we kicked off our project plan with a "15 day Countdown to Recycling 40 Tons of E-Waste" sending press releases every which way to get people to understand our cause and drive traffic to our online blog.
Our Plan: Countdown each day highlighting facts, making announcements and talking about the location. We also formulated a campus rally to educate students at Auraria about recycling electronics and inform them about our I-25 and Dry Creek rally using text messaging. If students texted "ewaste" to 313131 the automatically recieved a reply message stating to recycle their electronics and help the environment while giving our recycling address and location. They would then have to forward the message to five friends in order to receive a slice of free pizza.
Our list: At the campus rally we collected phone numbers and commitment cards that listed people's email addresses and cell phone numbers if they wanted to volunteer for our Recycling rally at 1-25 and Dry Creek. We recieved over 70 phone numbers and 20 potential volunteers.
Educate: To further educate students about recycling we text messaged them the next day educating them about why they should recycle.
6ft Green Balloon: Leading the way, was our 6ft Green Balloon. Staying up till 2am making Saturday rally signs I awoke at 6am to load the car with signage and a heavy tent that took both doors open in my Honda to stick in my car (It was very fun...not)
Cars Zipping By... As cars zipped by us before the rally was even setup, I thought our idea had flopped. How were we going to get people to fill out these thank you cards and text message so that we can educate them after the rally? As fear set in... We regrouped and strategized our plan. As the DJ played music in the background we began collecting the information that would further sustain our efforts of educating participants involved after the event.
Was it Cold? Yes, it was!
How long were we out there? 4 Hours!
The Numbers: 4,908 Cars attended, 14 Trailers of E-Waste was collected
(equating to approximately 238,000 pounds) Overall, we exceeded the goals we set out and walked away feeling a sense of accomplishment.
No, no, no... not done with this story... just wait till I start giving you the details of our presentation!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
2 Events, One Mission... & Your It!
The Mission: Working with Comcast, we will be assisting the cable company to educate and engage local residents about the opportunity to properly recycle old or unwanted electronics (TVs, Computers, Cell phones) for FREE on March 7th from 7am-Noon at the "Recycling E-Waste Rally."
Educate: In the last 20 years, advanced technology has made a breakthrough in the lives of everyday Americans spawning a whole new way of life. But, as consumers when new advanced technology is born, what do we do with the old? It is estimated that billions of old computers and TVs remain closeted and stockpiled in homes across the U.S. So what do we do with these old and less advanced electronics?Approxmiately 10% of electronics are recycled, while the remaining find their way into our City landfills.
Electronics are Toxic: No, not like Britney Spears "Toxic", but detrimental to our health and environment. Did you know a single TV contains 8 lbs of lead, mercury, cadmium and other harmful elements? It is said that exposure to even the smallest amounts of these elements, if mishandled can cause real health problems.
Reasoning: It is for this reason we are holding on to our mission to educate and expose the enigma behind disposing our old electronics. As stated in fun-filled conversation about disposing, "People think our allys are magical, if you put it out there it magically disappears!" I though it was funny!
2 Events, One Mission: Well we want to inform you in any way possible and give you the opportunity to properly recycle your electronics in a non-magical but responsible way!
1st Event: On Wed, March 4th, Team Contenders is having a Rally on Auraria Campus from 12-2pm where we'll be having live music and free pizza! Don't know where on campus...follow the music! The goal is to educate and inform students about the importance of recycling electronics.
2nd Event: On Sat, March 7th, We'll be kicking off the "Recycle E-Waste Rally" from 7am to Noon, bring your old electronics to be recycled for FREE (normally costing you $30-50 to recycle). Please join us at: 183 Inverness Drive West on March 7th for our Rally! It will be fun and environmentally wise!
Stay tuned... to see what else we have up our sleeve!
Educate: In the last 20 years, advanced technology has made a breakthrough in the lives of everyday Americans spawning a whole new way of life. But, as consumers when new advanced technology is born, what do we do with the old? It is estimated that billions of old computers and TVs remain closeted and stockpiled in homes across the U.S. So what do we do with these old and less advanced electronics?Approxmiately 10% of electronics are recycled, while the remaining find their way into our City landfills.
Electronics are Toxic: No, not like Britney Spears "Toxic", but detrimental to our health and environment. Did you know a single TV contains 8 lbs of lead, mercury, cadmium and other harmful elements? It is said that exposure to even the smallest amounts of these elements, if mishandled can cause real health problems.
Reasoning: It is for this reason we are holding on to our mission to educate and expose the enigma behind disposing our old electronics. As stated in fun-filled conversation about disposing, "People think our allys are magical, if you put it out there it magically disappears!" I though it was funny!
2 Events, One Mission: Well we want to inform you in any way possible and give you the opportunity to properly recycle your electronics in a non-magical but responsible way!
1st Event: On Wed, March 4th, Team Contenders is having a Rally on Auraria Campus from 12-2pm where we'll be having live music and free pizza! Don't know where on campus...follow the music! The goal is to educate and inform students about the importance of recycling electronics.
2nd Event: On Sat, March 7th, We'll be kicking off the "Recycle E-Waste Rally" from 7am to Noon, bring your old electronics to be recycled for FREE (normally costing you $30-50 to recycle). Please join us at: 183 Inverness Drive West on March 7th for our Rally! It will be fun and environmentally wise!
Stay tuned... to see what else we have up our sleeve!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Hello Roadrunners!!
If You Are... new to reading these Blogs...WELCOME!
Did you know? METRO STATE has the 2nd Largest Undergraduate student population in the State of Colorado? --Providing high-quality and Colorado’s best value in higher education.
Even though we are a Commuter Campus and we come from all walks of life. We attend METRO because we all know we have the potential and the ability to become GREAT!
I am excited to be a part of the Apprentice Challenge because I have always been a hands-on learner and what better opportunity to apply what I have learned than this challenge. As I mentioned in my application, the reason I want to be a part of this challenge was to see if I was ready for the Real World?
Opportunities like this is what METRO is all about... we are urban college campus central to Downtown Denver, a breeding ground for real life experiences (even though many of us, work 30-40 hour jobs and go to school full-time)!
If there is anything you get out of this BLOG... I want you to put yourself in my shoes while take on these challenges... the late night planning, the numerous phone calls, Plan A, B, C, & D, meetings galore and the satisfaction or disappointment (whatever the emotion maybe) of your bright idea being put into action...Oh and I forgot one last thing, the anticipation of the outcome.
This is me in the Apprentice Challenge, but what would I be without this opportunity?? I dunno. I guess I would still be day-dreaming about whether I was ready or good enough to take on a challenge--I would still be questioning whether I should take a chance on myself. Well I did.
This is why I like METRO: Its more than attending class and paying expensive parking fees. Its's the ability to take a chance on yourself--As if behind closed eyelids, we barely began to see.
I thank you for taking time to check out the Apprentice Challenge. Follow me as I tell crazy stories, you'll laugh (my friend Felicia does) and you get to hear what bright ideas we have!
Stay Tuned on this awesome adventure... I'll be sure to keep it lively!
Signing off... JESSE MARTINEZ... Until Next Time Roadrunners...
Did you know? METRO STATE has the 2nd Largest Undergraduate student population in the State of Colorado? --Providing high-quality and Colorado’s best value in higher education.
Even though we are a Commuter Campus and we come from all walks of life. We attend METRO because we all know we have the potential and the ability to become GREAT!
I am excited to be a part of the Apprentice Challenge because I have always been a hands-on learner and what better opportunity to apply what I have learned than this challenge. As I mentioned in my application, the reason I want to be a part of this challenge was to see if I was ready for the Real World?
Opportunities like this is what METRO is all about... we are urban college campus central to Downtown Denver, a breeding ground for real life experiences (even though many of us, work 30-40 hour jobs and go to school full-time)!
If there is anything you get out of this BLOG... I want you to put yourself in my shoes while take on these challenges... the late night planning, the numerous phone calls, Plan A, B, C, & D, meetings galore and the satisfaction or disappointment (whatever the emotion maybe) of your bright idea being put into action...Oh and I forgot one last thing, the anticipation of the outcome.
This is me in the Apprentice Challenge, but what would I be without this opportunity?? I dunno. I guess I would still be day-dreaming about whether I was ready or good enough to take on a challenge--I would still be questioning whether I should take a chance on myself. Well I did.
This is why I like METRO: Its more than attending class and paying expensive parking fees. Its's the ability to take a chance on yourself--As if behind closed eyelids, we barely began to see.
I thank you for taking time to check out the Apprentice Challenge. Follow me as I tell crazy stories, you'll laugh (my friend Felicia does) and you get to hear what bright ideas we have!
Stay Tuned on this awesome adventure... I'll be sure to keep it lively!
Signing off... JESSE MARTINEZ... Until Next Time Roadrunners...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
15 DAY C O U N T D O W N to E-CYCLE!
3, 2, 1.... { LAUNCH }: Hello Everyone, today we are beginning our "Countdown"
For Immediate Release: 15 Day Countdown to E-Cycling 40 Tons of E-Waste: Residents encouraged to Recycle TVs and other E-Waste to keep electronics out of local landfills.
From Now until March 7th: Follow us ("The Contenders") as we countdown each day, unvieling facts, updates, and amazing prizes through the following online social media sites:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EcycleCountdown
Blogspot: http://ecyclecountdown.blogspot.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ecyclecountdown
By joining, you'll be the first to Preview of our Video & Possibly Win a Prize!
Our Goal:
500 Car Visits
Recycle 40 tons of E-Waste equivalent to 80,000 lbs
Recycle 1000 Screens (Television & Monitors)
Educate and Engage over 800 citizens about E-Cycling and E-Waste
The Buzz?: See what all the BUZZ is about... Join our sites and see what we got up our sleeves... it's interesting.
NEXT... More News at Ecyclecountdown.blogspot.com & twitter.com/Ecyclecountdown
For Immediate Release: 15 Day Countdown to E-Cycling 40 Tons of E-Waste: Residents encouraged to Recycle TVs and other E-Waste to keep electronics out of local landfills.
From Now until March 7th: Follow us ("The Contenders") as we countdown each day, unvieling facts, updates, and amazing prizes through the following online social media sites:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EcycleCountdown
Blogspot: http://ecyclecountdown.blogspot.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ecyclecountdown
By joining, you'll be the first to Preview of our Video & Possibly Win a Prize!
Our Goal:
500 Car Visits
Recycle 40 tons of E-Waste equivalent to 80,000 lbs
Recycle 1000 Screens (Television & Monitors)
Educate and Engage over 800 citizens about E-Cycling and E-Waste
The Buzz?: See what all the BUZZ is about... Join our sites and see what we got up our sleeves... it's interesting.
NEXT... More News at Ecyclecountdown.blogspot.com & twitter.com/Ecyclecountdown
Update!
All in a Days Work: Today Erik, Felipe and I met up at our Rally site to check out our location and take a few video shots. Even though we had our game faces on, we couldn't help but poke fun at ourselves in front of the camera. From suttering to being blinded in the eyes by the sun, we maintained our cool but some how we looked goofy carrying around our hand-held video camera, as if we knew what we were doing :) Hey maybe we'll even include a bloopers video for all of you to see, but don't bet on it (We're professionals, K)
Lunch: After spending 3 hours at our mini-video shoot, we were exhausted by our beginning stardom... No, not really we were just hungry! We ended up heading back to campus and eating at a nearby Mexican restaurant (the one across from the Light Rail station and next to the Starbucks) I'm only explaining because I forgot the name, but it was good.
Have you ever had a Sopapilla?: Well as we begin working together, we learn a little bit about each other. What I learned was how funny Erik really is... if we do ever do the blooper video, you'll see! He's a rock star in front of the camera and has never had a Sopapilla. If YOU too have never had a Sopapilla , you can experience the amazing moment just like Erik when he bit into a freshly made, honey drenched Sopapilla... DELICIOUS! See already we're getting to know each other, just like Erik!!
Blurbs during Lunch: Team name will be "The Contenders," Felipe thinks he might have left his binder at our Rally site at I-25 and Dry Creek (and we are on campus... oh no!), Got to head to the Alumni office to meet Janell and fax, Maybe we should take back a sopapilla for Janell, and finally... "Can we have some more chips and salsa!"
NEXT... 1 Hour left as we begin our 15 Day Countdown to E-Cycling 40 Tons of E-Waste!... STAY TUNED!!
Lunch: After spending 3 hours at our mini-video shoot, we were exhausted by our beginning stardom... No, not really we were just hungry! We ended up heading back to campus and eating at a nearby Mexican restaurant (the one across from the Light Rail station and next to the Starbucks) I'm only explaining because I forgot the name, but it was good.
Have you ever had a Sopapilla?: Well as we begin working together, we learn a little bit about each other. What I learned was how funny Erik really is... if we do ever do the blooper video, you'll see! He's a rock star in front of the camera and has never had a Sopapilla. If YOU too have never had a Sopapilla , you can experience the amazing moment just like Erik when he bit into a freshly made, honey drenched Sopapilla... DELICIOUS! See already we're getting to know each other, just like Erik!!
Blurbs during Lunch: Team name will be "The Contenders," Felipe thinks he might have left his binder at our Rally site at I-25 and Dry Creek (and we are on campus... oh no!), Got to head to the Alumni office to meet Janell and fax, Maybe we should take back a sopapilla for Janell, and finally... "Can we have some more chips and salsa!"
NEXT... 1 Hour left as we begin our 15 Day Countdown to E-Cycling 40 Tons of E-Waste!... STAY TUNED!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Rolling Out Project 2
E-Cycling: Is the name of the game. On Friday, we began Project 2. Working with Comcast, we will be assisting the cable company with reaching out to our assigned communities to inform citizens about the "E-Waste, ECO Rally" on March 7th from 7am-12pm. The purpose of the rally is to allow residents the opportunity to properly dispose of any E-Waste or Electronic waste at no charge!
Without events like the "E-Waste Rally" electronics like Televisions, Computers, VCRs, and other electronics would be normally be deposited into our city landfills, potentially causing harm to our health and environment due to the toxicity of E-waste.
Did you know??: A single TV may contain up to 8 pounds of Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Beryllium, and a host of other elements.
Did you also know??: E-waste accounts for 2% of the municipal waste stream, but its contribution as toxic waste is 70%.
A Few Good Gentlemen: For this challenge we were broken into our teams... the outcome... Boys verses Girls. Because Erik and Felipe were team leads for Project 1, I was automatically chosen to lead this challenge so... good luck ladies... Game On.
Our Location: The Guys team will be assigned to assist the rally at the Comcast Office at I-25 and Dry Creek. Our role is to invite area residents to dispose of their E-Waste at this location. Our goal is yet to be determined, but for now all you got to know is where the location of our Rally is going to be held...
Do you got a Pen?... What about a piece of Paper?: Please join us at: 183 Inverness Drive West on March 7th for our E-Waste, ECO-Rally! It will be fun and environmentally wise!
Please stay tuned...
Without events like the "E-Waste Rally" electronics like Televisions, Computers, VCRs, and other electronics would be normally be deposited into our city landfills, potentially causing harm to our health and environment due to the toxicity of E-waste.Did you know??: A single TV may contain up to 8 pounds of Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Beryllium, and a host of other elements.
Did you also know??: E-waste accounts for 2% of the municipal waste stream, but its contribution as toxic waste is 70%.
A Few Good Gentlemen: For this challenge we were broken into our teams... the outcome... Boys verses Girls. Because Erik and Felipe were team leads for Project 1, I was automatically chosen to lead this challenge so... good luck ladies... Game On.
Our Location: The Guys team will be assigned to assist the rally at the Comcast Office at I-25 and Dry Creek. Our role is to invite area residents to dispose of their E-Waste at this location. Our goal is yet to be determined, but for now all you got to know is where the location of our Rally is going to be held...
Do you got a Pen?... What about a piece of Paper?: Please join us at: 183 Inverness Drive West on March 7th for our E-Waste, ECO-Rally! It will be fun and environmentally wise!
Please stay tuned...
~As we roll out Project 2 and begin interacting via online. Follow us as we court our challenge and keep you informed every step of the way! ~
Until next time, Roadrunners!
Until next time, Roadrunners!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Skiing... So I'm not a Pro!
Our Reward Continued: After hearing that our reward was a ride on the SKI TRAIN to Winter Park to go skiing... I thought well done it before once so maybe its like riding a bike? NOT.
Rallying the Troops: In our reward package, we recieved a ticket on the SKI TRAIN, Free Rental Equpitment, and our lift ticket. Not really reading my packet, the idea popped into my head Saturday mid-day, that I should!
In reading my packet I found out that I needed to pick up my ski rental by 8:00pm. Thinking my compadres didn't read there stuff either I texted my fellow challengers stating "hav u pickd up ur ski rentals?"
In reply, my phone buzzes with texts!
"No, what do ya' mean?" Rallying the troops to get their ski rentals I alerted my amigos before the store closed. But, for me I ran out of time because I had to go to work! So I had to rent my skiis in Winter Park!
Early Morning: Freaking out because at the last minute I decided to find my ski pants, I rampaged through my drawers and possible places (thinking if I were my ski pants where would be?) Remembering I packed them in a box of clothes I rarely need, I found them!
All Aboard: Arriving at Union Station I walk in to find Felipe just ahead of me. Bundled from head to toe, we boarded Car #7 to find our seats! The ride took approximately 2 hours or so and the train even had a food car where you can purchase hot chocolate, coffee and breakfast burritos. Chantay, Felipe and Mr. Anderson all went to get food. I got a breakfast burrito and a hot chocolate. We all sat down in at a table and talked. Being bundled and sipping on my hot chocolate wasn't the best combo--I was burning up! One thing I most enjoyed about the train was the scenic views and before I knew it we were 5 Minutes away from Winter Park.
Winter Park: We arrived and it was cold! Walking to the resort we all scurried to get lockers. For me I had to find where the ski rental shop was so I could rent my skis. Taking about 25 minutes I got sized up and walked out in my boots to stick my bag in my locker.
Ready to Ski: Walking with our skis to the bunny slope, we got tips from Mr. Anderson aka Joshua on how to ski. Hearing phrases of "french fries" to "break like a pizza" I decided to take to "the slope" aka "the bunny hill." Having skied once before, I thought I could manage.
The Skiing Experience: We were all beginners and the day was all about staying on our two skis and for some their board. Having control was another objective for the day. After attempting a few runs, we helped one another learn how to ski. Chantay and Felipe have never skied before, but they definately worked at it!
After Lunch: Eating lunch at DOC's shack or "??" we had the bright idea of hitting the mountain. With support from Mr. Anderson he coached us on taking the lift and identifying our "Easy" slope. Chantay and I rode with Joshua telling us the in's and out's of exiting our lift chair.... "Poles in one hand, prepare to stand, stand, lift pushes you a little and your off!"
On the Mountain: When we arrived the slopes looked pretty level for us. Chantay and I thought this was the next best thing to the bunny hill. Waiting for Felipe, Cindy and her sister we examined which way we wanted to head down or more like which way were we suppose to go?
The Slope: So we met up with our counterparts and they weren't ready to ski yet. So Chantay and I decided to ski the slope. You got to remember this is Chantay's first time and she is still mastering the pizza break. For me I was trying to master the control my my speed. Skiing past me, Chantay heads down the slope. I follow her and she breaks. Thinking we should wait to see when Felipe and the others are coming down we head toward their ski area. Skiing to their direction we notice it was getting a little steep. Going first I realized it was STEEP! Going down the hill I crashed and burned, I didn't know I was that flexible...Comotion of arms, legs, skis and poles :) Laughing from up above me is Chantay not even wanting to head down the steep hill we came to a full realization that this was STEEP!
Our Volunteer Guide: Seeing both of us, a volunteer ski guide watched us from across the slope. Skiing to me after my crash and burn, we await Chantay's decent. I ask her about the level of slope and she said it was fairly easy. She ends up telling Chantay and I if we want to take an easy route to go up a ski lift just below us and take Mounting Flats or Billy Bob something trail.
Practice doesn't neccessarily mean Perfect?:
We take her advise and ski to the ski lift so that we can return to where we started. Thinking we took the wrong slope for our level, we took a seat on the lift to hit the easy slope.
Getting ready to exit the chair, Chantay loses her poles and I look to see where they go. Thinking on instinct, I remember Joshua's steps on exiting the lift... Poles in one hand, ready to stand, stand, lift pushes you a little and your off!--Wait we totally missed the first step. So thinking I better stand up and take off, the lift chair was already making a turn and it body slams me to the snow--Ouch!!
Picking my head up, all I see is the bottom of Chantay's skis. Laughing uncontrollably, Chantay, the Ski Lift guy and I couldn't catch our breaths from laughing. Chantay was ok and so was I. Getting ourselves together, the ski lift guys says "You guys had a rough start" and that wasn't the end of this story either.
Skiing... So I'm not a Pro!: Heading on our way we took to the easy slope. Skiing first, I state "We should head in this direction" while Chantay says "We should go the other way, it says easy." Thinking we could do it, I put us on another steep slope--one that reminded me of a waterslide. So Chantay is like "No...not doing it." So I take my skis off and we walk up the hill where the easy slope begins. As we click on our skis, Chantay says "she's going to lead" so I follow. Asking for our next easy slope, the ski lift girl tells us that's it... following her pointing gesture, our eyes are set on a steep slope for our journey down the mountain. Knowing there was no way we were going to get off the mountain with out a steep hill I embraced the "pizza break." Falling a few times. We ended up down the mountain making our final slope, the bunny hill. Thinking about it we probably spent a good hour or more on the mountain trying to get down.
Boots Off, Shoes On: Glad to be back on the leveled ground, we headed to our lockers to change into shoes. Using every muscle to "pizza break," I was exhausted and already feeling sore.
Heading Home: Meeting up on Car #7, we fell right into our seats for a welcoming 2 hour ride back home. Felipe and I decided to head to food car and get something to eat. Upon getting our food, we sat down to talk. Talking all the way home we reflected on our Food Bank challenge and the funny moments of day. As I thought about it, I realized the signficance of this experience. Many times in my political science courses we talk about democracy and this idea of individualism. I realize we must find ourselves out of nothing, but why is it so hard to relate. If we are to keep an open mind about different lifestyles and opinons than all we need to do is share. Everytime I have the opportunity to sit down and get to know my fellow challenges and staff. I began to learn how simple we really are, even though we may hold titles or be seen as "bossy" there is a whole history to our individualism. We have great stories to tell and there is an illumination behind our words when we speak. I am glad to be a part of this experience because for the first time I feel like I can be open and share the real me.
Next.... Project 2 Kickoff: My Team!!
Rallying the Troops: In our reward package, we recieved a ticket on the SKI TRAIN, Free Rental Equpitment, and our lift ticket. Not really reading my packet, the idea popped into my head Saturday mid-day, that I should!
In reading my packet I found out that I needed to pick up my ski rental by 8:00pm. Thinking my compadres didn't read there stuff either I texted my fellow challengers stating "hav u pickd up ur ski rentals?"
In reply, my phone buzzes with texts!
"No, what do ya' mean?" Rallying the troops to get their ski rentals I alerted my amigos before the store closed. But, for me I ran out of time because I had to go to work! So I had to rent my skiis in Winter Park!
Early Morning: Freaking out because at the last minute I decided to find my ski pants, I rampaged through my drawers and possible places (thinking if I were my ski pants where would be?) Remembering I packed them in a box of clothes I rarely need, I found them!
All Aboard: Arriving at Union Station I walk in to find Felipe just ahead of me. Bundled from head to toe, we boarded Car #7 to find our seats! The ride took approximately 2 hours or so and the train even had a food car where you can purchase hot chocolate, coffee and breakfast burritos. Chantay, Felipe and Mr. Anderson all went to get food. I got a breakfast burrito and a hot chocolate. We all sat down in at a table and talked. Being bundled and sipping on my hot chocolate wasn't the best combo--I was burning up! One thing I most enjoyed about the train was the scenic views and before I knew it we were 5 Minutes away from Winter Park.
Winter Park: We arrived and it was cold! Walking to the resort we all scurried to get lockers. For me I had to find where the ski rental shop was so I could rent my skis. Taking about 25 minutes I got sized up and walked out in my boots to stick my bag in my locker.
Ready to Ski: Walking with our skis to the bunny slope, we got tips from Mr. Anderson aka Joshua on how to ski. Hearing phrases of "french fries" to "break like a pizza" I decided to take to "the slope" aka "the bunny hill." Having skied once before, I thought I could manage.
The Skiing Experience: We were all beginners and the day was all about staying on our two skis and for some their board. Having control was another objective for the day. After attempting a few runs, we helped one another learn how to ski. Chantay and Felipe have never skied before, but they definately worked at it!
After Lunch: Eating lunch at DOC's shack or "??" we had the bright idea of hitting the mountain. With support from Mr. Anderson he coached us on taking the lift and identifying our "Easy" slope. Chantay and I rode with Joshua telling us the in's and out's of exiting our lift chair.... "Poles in one hand, prepare to stand, stand, lift pushes you a little and your off!"
On the Mountain: When we arrived the slopes looked pretty level for us. Chantay and I thought this was the next best thing to the bunny hill. Waiting for Felipe, Cindy and her sister we examined which way we wanted to head down or more like which way were we suppose to go?
The Slope: So we met up with our counterparts and they weren't ready to ski yet. So Chantay and I decided to ski the slope. You got to remember this is Chantay's first time and she is still mastering the pizza break. For me I was trying to master the control my my speed. Skiing past me, Chantay heads down the slope. I follow her and she breaks. Thinking we should wait to see when Felipe and the others are coming down we head toward their ski area. Skiing to their direction we notice it was getting a little steep. Going first I realized it was STEEP! Going down the hill I crashed and burned, I didn't know I was that flexible...Comotion of arms, legs, skis and poles :) Laughing from up above me is Chantay not even wanting to head down the steep hill we came to a full realization that this was STEEP!
Our Volunteer Guide: Seeing both of us, a volunteer ski guide watched us from across the slope. Skiing to me after my crash and burn, we await Chantay's decent. I ask her about the level of slope and she said it was fairly easy. She ends up telling Chantay and I if we want to take an easy route to go up a ski lift just below us and take Mounting Flats or Billy Bob something trail.
Practice doesn't neccessarily mean Perfect?:
We take her advise and ski to the ski lift so that we can return to where we started. Thinking we took the wrong slope for our level, we took a seat on the lift to hit the easy slope.
Getting ready to exit the chair, Chantay loses her poles and I look to see where they go. Thinking on instinct, I remember Joshua's steps on exiting the lift... Poles in one hand, ready to stand, stand, lift pushes you a little and your off!--Wait we totally missed the first step. So thinking I better stand up and take off, the lift chair was already making a turn and it body slams me to the snow--Ouch!!
Picking my head up, all I see is the bottom of Chantay's skis. Laughing uncontrollably, Chantay, the Ski Lift guy and I couldn't catch our breaths from laughing. Chantay was ok and so was I. Getting ourselves together, the ski lift guys says "You guys had a rough start" and that wasn't the end of this story either.
Skiing... So I'm not a Pro!: Heading on our way we took to the easy slope. Skiing first, I state "We should head in this direction" while Chantay says "We should go the other way, it says easy." Thinking we could do it, I put us on another steep slope--one that reminded me of a waterslide. So Chantay is like "No...not doing it." So I take my skis off and we walk up the hill where the easy slope begins. As we click on our skis, Chantay says "she's going to lead" so I follow. Asking for our next easy slope, the ski lift girl tells us that's it... following her pointing gesture, our eyes are set on a steep slope for our journey down the mountain. Knowing there was no way we were going to get off the mountain with out a steep hill I embraced the "pizza break." Falling a few times. We ended up down the mountain making our final slope, the bunny hill. Thinking about it we probably spent a good hour or more on the mountain trying to get down.
Boots Off, Shoes On: Glad to be back on the leveled ground, we headed to our lockers to change into shoes. Using every muscle to "pizza break," I was exhausted and already feeling sore.
Heading Home: Meeting up on Car #7, we fell right into our seats for a welcoming 2 hour ride back home. Felipe and I decided to head to food car and get something to eat. Upon getting our food, we sat down to talk. Talking all the way home we reflected on our Food Bank challenge and the funny moments of day. As I thought about it, I realized the signficance of this experience. Many times in my political science courses we talk about democracy and this idea of individualism. I realize we must find ourselves out of nothing, but why is it so hard to relate. If we are to keep an open mind about different lifestyles and opinons than all we need to do is share. Everytime I have the opportunity to sit down and get to know my fellow challenges and staff. I began to learn how simple we really are, even though we may hold titles or be seen as "bossy" there is a whole history to our individualism. We have great stories to tell and there is an illumination behind our words when we speak. I am glad to be a part of this experience because for the first time I feel like I can be open and share the real me.
Next.... Project 2 Kickoff: My Team!!
The Culmination, Part Dos!
Getting to Know my Team: Wow, what a concept! As we held our brainstorming meetings it became apparent that we were headed in the right direction. Even though our ideas were scattered I know we were going to work hard to develop a strategic plan for the Food Bank.
My partner In Crime: First impressions matter to some but for others who look beyond this facade I uncovered my partner in crime (for now) just kidding...Rachel.Working on our tasks at hand, we feed off of eachothers ideas and even laughter. There came a point during our 8 hour brainstorming Sunday that we became a little looney. Messing around on Pandora, Rachel became our DJ. Feeling a little Lionle Richie she played "Hello," I have never laughed this hard in a l...o...n....g time. Tears that's all I got to say! Our laughter was contagious to the point we couldn't look at eachother while the song still play in the background. I don't think I will ever think of Lionel the same!It was fun and we got a lot of work done. But, most of all I was glad that I got to meet and work with the person I know as Rachel. It is more than a first impression that we must walk away with when shaking a hand or smiling across the room because you'll never know if it will be your friend for life or partner in crime :) And when I mean partner in crime I mean "buddy."
Wrapping up one not-so-late night: With only 16 hours before our presentation, the group met to review our strategic plan. Seeing that we still needed to work on the Executive summary, Mission, Vision and other statements we divided into pairs to work on these unfinished items.
Tic Toc, Tic Toc! Next... The powerpoint. Inputting the data into the powerpoint was the next step. Although Rachel led the way in formatting the late night was creeping slowly upon us.
The Debate... Who's going to get the powerpoint printed... I volunteered all along, but others wanted to as well. In the end, I researched the location and costs and headed to the nearest Kinkos for a 12:00am print job! My partner in crime was with me so it really wasn't too bad but we were getting a little sleepy. My only concern was having bags under my eyes at the presentation... not really...but I thought about it :)
The Presentation: Everyone looked good and we had all our stuff ready. Awaiting minutes until we presented we were ready to rock 'n' roll! As we individually presented our piece there was a reflection of accomplishment. We were actually helping the food bank become a self-sustaining organization.
The End: We received great feedback from our panel! They encourage cohesion of ideas and more tools they can use to further support their organization. Overall, we did great for our first project. But, this would be the last time we will work as a group because on project 2 we will be split into 2 groups! Let the competition begin...
Our Reward: A ride on the Ski Train to go skiing at Winter Park!! Whoo hooo!
UP NEXT.... Skiing--What it means to be a beginner!
My partner In Crime: First impressions matter to some but for others who look beyond this facade I uncovered my partner in crime (for now) just kidding...Rachel.Working on our tasks at hand, we feed off of eachothers ideas and even laughter. There came a point during our 8 hour brainstorming Sunday that we became a little looney. Messing around on Pandora, Rachel became our DJ. Feeling a little Lionle Richie she played "Hello," I have never laughed this hard in a l...o...n....g time. Tears that's all I got to say! Our laughter was contagious to the point we couldn't look at eachother while the song still play in the background. I don't think I will ever think of Lionel the same!It was fun and we got a lot of work done. But, most of all I was glad that I got to meet and work with the person I know as Rachel. It is more than a first impression that we must walk away with when shaking a hand or smiling across the room because you'll never know if it will be your friend for life or partner in crime :) And when I mean partner in crime I mean "buddy."
Wrapping up one not-so-late night: With only 16 hours before our presentation, the group met to review our strategic plan. Seeing that we still needed to work on the Executive summary, Mission, Vision and other statements we divided into pairs to work on these unfinished items.
Tic Toc, Tic Toc! Next... The powerpoint. Inputting the data into the powerpoint was the next step. Although Rachel led the way in formatting the late night was creeping slowly upon us.
The Debate... Who's going to get the powerpoint printed... I volunteered all along, but others wanted to as well. In the end, I researched the location and costs and headed to the nearest Kinkos for a 12:00am print job! My partner in crime was with me so it really wasn't too bad but we were getting a little sleepy. My only concern was having bags under my eyes at the presentation... not really...but I thought about it :)
The Presentation: Everyone looked good and we had all our stuff ready. Awaiting minutes until we presented we were ready to rock 'n' roll! As we individually presented our piece there was a reflection of accomplishment. We were actually helping the food bank become a self-sustaining organization.
The End: We received great feedback from our panel! They encourage cohesion of ideas and more tools they can use to further support their organization. Overall, we did great for our first project. But, this would be the last time we will work as a group because on project 2 we will be split into 2 groups! Let the competition begin...
Our Reward: A ride on the Ski Train to go skiing at Winter Park!! Whoo hooo!
UP NEXT.... Skiing--What it means to be a beginner!
The Culmination, Part Uno!
Hey Everyone,
My journey has long begun! So far its been a fun exciting time meeting my apprentice contenders. I have learned to work with various people with various skill sets and leadership styles.
Speaking of style, I had to find me a suit for the January 16th, Apprentice Challenge Kickoff. This was definately a wake-up call, but not really and I will tell you why! I recently moved my mother and my little sister from Grand Junction, CO this past fall. Before then, I was living in a studio apartment on my own for five years. My life was simple then. Meaning I was living on pasta and my favorite choice of meat...chicken. I occasionally visited my ma' and lil' sis in Grand Junction and every time I did I ate homemade cooking! Delicious!!So this leads me to my wake-up call. So when I was finding a suit for the Apprentice Challenge Kickoff, I came to the realization I have gained a few pounds. Living with my ma' again I have been eating pretty well! Overall, my date for the night had the same issue! So my advice for gaining some pounds before an event...always wear black :)
THE KICKOFF: I meet a lot of interesting people at the kickoff. Some attached to the program and others that have sponsored our work. When introducing myself I practiced ahead of time with my date and blew it at the the mic... a little stutter. But, overall I thought the ladies did better than us guys.
THE CHALLENGE: For our very first challenge we have the opportunity to create a strategic plan for the Metro State Food Bank! As a person interested in sociology I see things in a functional perspective. When designing a program you have to keep in mind how your program is going to operate and whether its going to be effective. Focusing on 4 areas of the strategic plan, I chose communications. Tasks associated with Communications included: Designing a website and marketing materials for the Food Bank.
RESEARCH: Having volunteered at the Food Bank of the Rockies, I woke up to a dead phone because my charger was never plugged into the outlet. I knew I was scheduled to meet Felipe at the Food Bank of Rockies @ 9:00am. I ran a little late but I stopped to get us a Starbucks. When I got there I met Olive, a nice lady who coordinated the volunteers. I filled out my application while sipping on my hot coffee and begin to learn about teammate Felipe. As we folded letters to be mailed, we talked about our interests and pursuits. After we were done I scheduled a meeting with Agency Relations to learn about the benefits of partnering with the Food Bank of the Rockies and how they support their partner agencies. Olive told me the Agency Relations staff were away from their offices, but that I could speak with Lee.
Pointing Me In The Right Direction: Lee Boteler works for Kids Cafe, a program that provides a backpack of food for over 400 students a week in the Denver Metro Area. They also run a program that provides food for students in before and after school programs. When talking with Lee he told me about how he runs his program. Simular in size to the Metro State Food bank, I correlated the numbers of Kids Cafe to the Metro State Food Bank, giving us base for costs associated with food purchase per week. Lee also connected me with LaDonna, a woman with a wealth of information. LaDonna provided Felipe and I information about The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP is a governmental assistance program that provides emergency food to indivduals and their families based on need. Since approximately 37.4 % of students at Metro are Pell Grant eligible, over 8, 000 are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and could potentially qualifiy for TEFAP reducing Metro State Food Bank costs based on this program. Good News!!
But... More research to be continued!
Posted by Jesse at 10:10 PM
My journey has long begun! So far its been a fun exciting time meeting my apprentice contenders. I have learned to work with various people with various skill sets and leadership styles.
Speaking of style, I had to find me a suit for the January 16th, Apprentice Challenge Kickoff. This was definately a wake-up call, but not really and I will tell you why! I recently moved my mother and my little sister from Grand Junction, CO this past fall. Before then, I was living in a studio apartment on my own for five years. My life was simple then. Meaning I was living on pasta and my favorite choice of meat...chicken. I occasionally visited my ma' and lil' sis in Grand Junction and every time I did I ate homemade cooking! Delicious!!So this leads me to my wake-up call. So when I was finding a suit for the Apprentice Challenge Kickoff, I came to the realization I have gained a few pounds. Living with my ma' again I have been eating pretty well! Overall, my date for the night had the same issue! So my advice for gaining some pounds before an event...always wear black :)
THE KICKOFF: I meet a lot of interesting people at the kickoff. Some attached to the program and others that have sponsored our work. When introducing myself I practiced ahead of time with my date and blew it at the the mic... a little stutter. But, overall I thought the ladies did better than us guys.
THE CHALLENGE: For our very first challenge we have the opportunity to create a strategic plan for the Metro State Food Bank! As a person interested in sociology I see things in a functional perspective. When designing a program you have to keep in mind how your program is going to operate and whether its going to be effective. Focusing on 4 areas of the strategic plan, I chose communications. Tasks associated with Communications included: Designing a website and marketing materials for the Food Bank.
RESEARCH: Having volunteered at the Food Bank of the Rockies, I woke up to a dead phone because my charger was never plugged into the outlet. I knew I was scheduled to meet Felipe at the Food Bank of Rockies @ 9:00am. I ran a little late but I stopped to get us a Starbucks. When I got there I met Olive, a nice lady who coordinated the volunteers. I filled out my application while sipping on my hot coffee and begin to learn about teammate Felipe. As we folded letters to be mailed, we talked about our interests and pursuits. After we were done I scheduled a meeting with Agency Relations to learn about the benefits of partnering with the Food Bank of the Rockies and how they support their partner agencies. Olive told me the Agency Relations staff were away from their offices, but that I could speak with Lee.
Pointing Me In The Right Direction: Lee Boteler works for Kids Cafe, a program that provides a backpack of food for over 400 students a week in the Denver Metro Area. They also run a program that provides food for students in before and after school programs. When talking with Lee he told me about how he runs his program. Simular in size to the Metro State Food bank, I correlated the numbers of Kids Cafe to the Metro State Food Bank, giving us base for costs associated with food purchase per week. Lee also connected me with LaDonna, a woman with a wealth of information. LaDonna provided Felipe and I information about The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP is a governmental assistance program that provides emergency food to indivduals and their families based on need. Since approximately 37.4 % of students at Metro are Pell Grant eligible, over 8, 000 are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and could potentially qualifiy for TEFAP reducing Metro State Food Bank costs based on this program. Good News!!
But... More research to be continued!
Posted by Jesse at 10:10 PM
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