What are your goals for your service-learning experience this summer?
BridgetI hope to learn how to fun a food drive to benefit the community.I know the community I am serving is on the border of campus and it is an area in boston that has faced gentrification in part because of the colleges surrounding it. I think this means college students should want to give back to the community their actions may have indirectly harmed.
|
OrianaMy goals for this s-l experience are: 1) understand what it takes to start/ run a community fridge 2) start a relationship with this fridge that continues past this Summer 2.
|
JackMy goals are to see exactly how to run a good product drive as well as creating a long-term plan for the fridge.
|
MadeleineI’m really excited to participate in service learning this summer, especially since I had such a positive experience doing service learning in the past, particularly in the Social Change Human Services course. Before this class I had never heard of a community fridge, so I’m really excited to learn more about what goes into creating these community spaces, and the positive impact that it has. I would love to continue working with this organization through the fall as well!
|
What Skills Have You Learned from Working with Your Community Partner?
BridgetI have learned to be more spatially aware. My first time at the fridge I didn't notice that there was someone waiting for me to leave to use the fridge. I had been taking my time while I was cleaning the fridge and I should have been looking to see what the people around me were doing, Since that experience I now take more care with my surroundings and walk away from the fridge whenever anyone appears to be interested in it.
I have liked being able to try and find creative ways to help the fridge. We are not only checking on the fridge but also organizing a drive and reaching out the restaurants and cafes to see if we can create partnerships where regular donations occur. I am concerned about the future of the fridge given the threat to its location and its apparent legality issues. I believe our work is beneficial and should not be put on pause despite the uncertain future. |
OrianaI am currently really enjoying this s-l experience because I feel like our contributions have been substantive and valued. We are working on creating more food rescue partnerships for the fridge, so this week I learned about community supported agriculture (CSA). I had heard of it in passing before, but learned more, such as the process of buying shares, and how they help local farmers. The current partnership that the community fridge has is with Siena Farms. Any shares not picked up in a certain week are donated to the fridge. Part of this learning experience was also realizing that our initial ideas about food rescue partnerships (without talking to Laura or Audrey first) were not the most effective due to practical limitations of volunteer time and resources.
|
JackI wouldn't say I have learned any new skills, but I would say it has still been a great experience overall. This is because it is my first real volunteer work, and it feels good being able to help out the homeless and impoverished families of Boston. I have very much enjoyed raising money and fundraising for the community fridge, because I know it is for a good cause and it is really helping people who need food.
|
Madeleine Our partnership working with the South End Community Fridge has definitely been different than what I anticipated, particularly the way in which there is an emphasis on our group helping facilitate partnerships between the fridge and local restaurants/cafes in the area. This definitely makes us feel like we are actually making a tangible difference within the community, and hopefully what we do as a group can positively impact the fridge throughout the next few months. One of the challenges that recently came up was the legality of the fridge, and how it was violating certain rules and may not be able to stay open. Our group has been very concerned and reached out to Laura, and are waiting to hear back from her regarding any updates.
|