Philanthropic Endeavors

Hi Everyone!

Whew!  This week was so busy! 

I’ll start with today.  Today was Delta Delta Delta’s Game Day!  It was such a success! A lot of people from around campus came!  I was in charge of set up and clean up.  It was a lot of work, but I loved it.  As part of my job, I had to vacuum the carpets before and after, rearrange the furniture, put up decorations, and make sure everything was in order for our guests.  At half time a St. Jude family came and talked.  I spoke with the former patient for about 45 minutes.  I really clicked with her and enjoyed talking to her very much.  She had such a positive outlook on life.  The first words she said to me, as I extended my hand to shake hers, were “I spent two months in physical therapy to learn how to hug again. I only hug now.”  It was truly one of the best hugs I have ever gotten.  I am amazed at her courage and strength and cannot wait to do what those doctors did for her.  We raised a ton of money for St. Jude and I am super excited that we were able to start a Game Day tradition this year.  The service hours I put in didn’t even feel like service hours. (Pictures to come!)

Secondly, this week there was a Letters from Home meeting.  It went very well.  There were a lot of cards made for Halloween packages and I am truly excited to put the packages together in the upcoming days (probably this upcoming weekend).  I have spoken with my PR team again.  I really feel like they are not as into the organization as I am, and therefore hesitate to complete their job.  Its okay, but I just wish they cared about it as much as I do.  Hopefully, this situation will be corrected before the next meeting in November.  Another thing, I am trying to find a better way to open up meetings.  Right now, I feel like the meetings are not cohesive.  At the end, most people are talking and having a good time, but at the beginning, I feel it is awkward .  I am trying to devise a plan  to correct this for the next meeting next month as well.  Any Ideas?

I hope everyone’s week is not too busy! I know mine will be, but it’s For the Kids!

Shannon

Boiler Up for St. Jude's!

Hey Boilermakers!

This past week was really busy and I was not able to do much for Letters from Home, but I was busy with registering and organizing things for St. Jude’s!  This upcoming week, will definitely be for Letters from Home as there is a meeting this upcoming Thursday and at some point, shopping for Halloween package supplies will be necessary. (Especially now that I have my car back!!)

One of the best parts of college life is football games!  Of course the best ones are home games; however, this weekend, while it’s an away game, there is a ton of room for fun!  This weekend, Tridelta will be hosting Game Day!  This is an event held at the Tridelt house!  There will be games, prizes, food, and entertainment, including Purdue’s away game on a projection screen!  All of the proceeds will go to benefit cancer research for children!  The tickets are 7.00 at the door, but if you buy them early from me, it’s only 5.00!  This is a great way to support our football team at Purdue and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital!  I am logistics chair for the Game Day committee so I am obviously very excited about this philanthropy event.  I am responsible for making sure everything is in place and planning where everything will go.  This has been really fun, but really stressful.  I sat down with our philanthropy chair for an hour and had to plan out where everything would go, where we would put all the furniture, etc.  While that portion of my job is over until the day of the event when I have to set-up; I have been doing sponsorship as well.  I dropped off all those letters to businesses around campus.  Happily, we got a good response back and many of the businesses have agreed to donate.  Some have donated food and supplies (Thanks Hungry Boiler!!!), spirit gear, and some have gone as far as donating prizes for the games and raffles.  This is a huge help.  The less money we have to spend out of our budget, the more we have to work towards raising money for St. Jude!  Right now, the committees are currently on the hunt for people with tailgating games and footballs, etc.  We want to provide these things to participants during the day!  I am hopeful for a good turnout!

                I have also officially registered to volunteer at the St. Jude’s Walk in Carmel, Indiana on November 19^th! I am very excited for this walk!  I have not figured out what I am going to be doing, but I am happy helping anywhere I am needed!! J

FTK,

Shannon

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