What a Busy, Service-Oriented, Wonderful Week!

Hi Everyone!

                This week, I have been doing several service-related tasks! My first task was calling the hospital.  This is my third follow-up with the hospital.  The person in charge of human resources said I should FOR SURE know something by next week!  She said that most of the spots in the pediatric ward are full now; however, she said there are still opportunities for the maternity ward! I am very excited to hopefully start my volunteer work at the hospital!! This will be wonderful experience for my pre-medicine major and will hopefully give me an educational advantage when applying for medical school over the next couple years! 

                Secondly, I have been working for philanthropy for Tridelta!  We have an upcoming philanthropy event that is new and hopefully will raise a ton of money for child cancer research!  I am in charge of the logistics of the event!  As part of my duties, I have to write sponsor letters and drop off these letters to potential donators.  This week I had to drop off six forms.  Writing the letter was fun because I got to talk about how much I love St. Jude and why the organization should want to sponsor the event.  Another of my duties comes tomorrow.  This will surely be more trying.  Tomorrow I have to map out the whole of the event.  The event will take place at the Tridelt house.  My co-chair and I have to determine where everyone will watch the game, where the snacks and food will be, where the games will be played, and where the halftime entertainment (a St. Jude family and possibly the Purdue Glee Club) will be hosted.  This will be trying because this is the first time the event will ever be set up.  The entire set up of the house will need to be changed to accommodate all of the plans and ideas hosted within this event.  I am working under a wonderful philanthropy chair and have a wonderful co-chair and I have no doubt that we will get through it.

                Finally, I have been working on planning October/Halloween packages for the troops, as well as meetings, and excess activities.  I have been very busy this past week and next week is looking to be the same way.  This has made everything very, very difficult to plan.  I am in love with my lily planner; I would honestly be lost without it!  I am very excited to announce that there should be 8-10 packages going out hopefully on the 18^th of October and am even more excited to announce that the next meeting date will be on Oct.13 in BRNG 1230!  I am hoping attendance will be up as there is plenty of notice and I have a new public relations chair that will be planning the flyers and posting them throughout campus! 

I hope everyone is having a good week! I can’t wait for Friday!

Shannon

For The Kids

Hi Everyone!

                As part of English 108, I must complete 30 service hours this semester.  For my service project this semester, I am going to be participating with multiple community service partners.  My first is Letters from Home.  This is a Purdue student organization in which I am the president.  This is an extraordinary opportunity.  The purpose of the organization is to make cards, write letters, and send packages to troops who are deployed overseas, predominantly in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Last year, the organization sent out over 75 packages and was successful at increasing the morale and spirits of those spending holidays away from home.  My parents are both Air Force veterans and I am extremely passionate about Letters from Home. 

This past week, we had our first meeting.  It was on Tuesday in Armstrong Hall.  There were lots of familiar faces and a few new faces.  One thing I am trying to initiate this year to improve the success of the organization is to employ a Public Relations team.  I feel that the clubs meetings are only advertised minimally through Facebook and a mailing list.  I really feel there are many people who are just as passionate about the service the organization does; however, there has not been proper publicity in the past.  Another, idea I am hoping to initiate will be the club members’ interaction with veterans in the community.  The purpose of the organization to show those who have served that we care about them and appreciate their sacrifice.  I was considering doing a service day at the veteran’s home in West Lafayette.  The club and I are currently making Halloween themed packages filled with candies, hygiene products, and small gifts for the troops.  The 8-9 packages will most likely go out at the end of September.

As my blog title implies, I am a Pre-Med student.  I am also hoping to get involved volunteering at a Pediatric ward at a local hospital.  I adore children and would love to get experience that will be applicable to my prospective career.  On this note, I am also in a sorority.  As a national organization, we have chosen St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as our philanthropy.  I am currently serving on two different philanthropy committees Game Day for St. Jude and Flap Jack Attack and am participating in setup of the Carmel St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Walk on November 19, 2011.  This has been extremely fun and I am so excited to see all the hard work I have put into the philanthropies on the day of the events! 

If anyone has any ideas for Letters from Home or questions about dates of events, please let me know!! I would love to see familiar faces!

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Shannon