Friday, March 9, 2012

Volunteer Project 2012

Volunteer Project 2012 (for a better format please visit the weekly agenda and click on the google doc)


Name: _________________________________ Core: _____________

Volunteer Project Due Date: May 15th, 2012

Assigned: Wednesday February 07th, 2012

****This project is worth 300pts!

Directions: Choose one of the following two project options below to complete.

Option One: Photo Essay Complete ten hours of community service, but instead of keeping a journal you will take pictures of your experience, put that into a PowerPoint and share the results with the class. Each photo taken should include an explanation (caption) of what is going on in the picture. This should include at least twelve photos, and a two sentence description of what is going on in each photo. You will also have to share something about the organization you are working with or volunteering as a part of. Your commentary should include a minimum of eighteen sentences! Lastly you should give a synopsis of your experience. For extra points I would encourage you to use prezi.com or Google docs to publish your work and link it to my blog. If you need help publishing work from Google docs or your prezi please talk to Mr. Howard. I will also demonstrate this in class.

Option Two: Blogging about Community Service Go to Mr. Howard’s blog and post one entry for every hour of community service that you serve. Your ten posts (which means you will serve ten hours of community service) should be one paragraph in length and grammatically correct. You will be graded on the signed off community service hours, and the completion of four entries. The address for Mr. Howard’s blog is http://howardela.blogspot.com/, here you can register and post a comment. Your comment/s will not appear until I have approved the comment/s. So following your post I will receive an approval email, following that email your post will appear. This option will include four posts that should be at least one paragraph long each. Finally you should include a brief video explaining your community service from the location where you are volunteering (please make this digital). Following your blog entries you will write a page synopsis of your experience volunteering with a brief note from your supervisor from the organization you worked with.

Option Three: This option ties back into your photo essay option but involves windows movie maker or photo story. Both are applications which you can utilize to organize your information in a timed presentation with music or video clips. This differs from PowerPoint because once you create your .mov file it is difficult to edit the presentation if you did not save your work properly. The same rules for option one apply to option three.


Keys to success…..


 Set up a time table for completing the project in small segments

 Begin sooner rather than later

 Take the project seriously and create your best work


Community Service Sign Off

Student Name: ______________________________________________________

Place Community Service Performed: ______________________________________ Hours Completed: _____________________________________________________ Type of Community Service: _____________________________________________ Supervisor Signature: (I certify that the following student ____________has completed eight hours of community service) (Sign here) ______________________________________________ Print Supervisor Name: __________________________________________________ Parent / Guardian Signature: __________________________________________ Student Signature: ____________________________________________________

11 comments:

  1. http://prezi.com/3lcwx6sls5uw/community-volunteer-project/

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  2. Hours 1 and 2
    Today, I started my community service volunteer project at Platinum Mobile Detailing. They are located on highway 70 near Navy Federal Credit Union. Mitchell Whitney is the owner and he has 4 people who work on his crew. It is an auto detailing company and they also pressure wash, do mobile oil changes, and restore cloudy headlights. They offer window tinting too. They have a big shop and they also use a mobile trailer to go to people who cannot come to them to have their cars clean. My first job was to travel to a customer’s house in Havelock for a mobile detail. Upon arrival, we made contact with the owner. At the request of the owner, we began to detail his 2010 Chevy Camaro. It was yellow in color with orange flames. It was a very nice car. After getting all the supplies ready, we started. Since it was my first day as a volunteer and I was not sure what to do, I was in charge of organizing supplies and making sure the crew had what they needed while they explained to me how to detail a car. I handed them the rags, brushes, and other equipment they asked for. I watched as they washed and dried the outside, vacuumed the carpet and seats, and cleaned all the windows on the inside and out for their customer. They hand waxed the car and it really went from dull and scratchy to really shiny when they wiped it all off. They cleaned the tires and rims and made the tires shine.
    I could not believe we had been working there for over two hours. They said it takes that long to do the job right. When they finished, they asked the customer to check the car out. He loved it. He said thank you for cleaning the car. I felt good, like we had really made a difference. He told us he had an important trip to take and that is why he needed the car clean. I helped clean up the equipment and rinse off all the supplies and then, Mr. Whitney, the owner, showed me where everything went in the truck and on the mobile trailer. They use a lot of equipment and it is important not to spill any of the chemicals or leave any trash on the ground at the customer’s house. It is also important to make sure everything on the trailer is tied down with rope or bungee cords do it does not fall off while they drive. You will get fined if something falls off, it is called littering. My first two hours were a success but I was tired. This was not easy work to do especially when it is very hot outside. This is harder than playing soccer for sure.

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  3. Hour 3
    Today after school, my Mom took me to Platinum Mobile Detailing. When I got there, I learned that they received a call from Bay Racer Marina located in Havelock. They had a new boat, a 19 foot Carolina Skiff, that needed shined up before the buyer came to pick it up. They said even brand new boats are cleaned before each customer takes them home. Cleaning a boat is different than a car. Today I got the opportunity to use the power washer. When power washing the boat, I fell and almost hit one of the workers. Mr. Whitney showed me how to turn it down and then, I was able to clean every part of the boat. Everything in a boat can get wet without hurting it so we even washed the inside. I practices using the hand wax on the small part at the front of the boat, called the bow, while they did the rest. I learned that the most important part of this kind of job is customer satisfaction. If the customer is not happy, they will not call you back to clean it again. At this place, we had to worry about the customer and the owner of the boat shop being happy. We traveled back to the shop and since it was getting late, they said they would call it a day and start again tomorrow.

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  4. Hour 4
    Platinum Mobile Detailing also cleans the big trucks at Furniture Distributors in Havelock. This can only be done on a Sunday because they are so busy during the week. After church and lunch at Five Guys Burgers, we traveled to Furniture Distributors. Today, it was just me and the owner, Mr. Whitney. He said he does not have his employees work on Sundays because he wants them to spend time with their families. I think that is nice. We had lots of trucks to clean. Since I was so good at the power washer last time, he let me operate it again and this time, I did not fall or hit anyone with the water. I also learned how to clean the tires. Some of those tires are pretty big and they are all very dirty. I wore gloves for this because it was a mess. We did not have to wax or detail the trucks because he said they are not picky about the inside. Some were old ones and some were new. We even power washed the inside of the trucks. This is important so people do not receive dirty furniture when they deliver it. The trucks looked great. I learned that Mr. Whitney does their trucks because the owner of the furniture store helped him purchase furniture for his office when he opened in January. Mr. Whitney explained that when he opened his shop, he did not have money to furnish it so they made a deal to barter services to cover the furniture he needed. I have read about this in school but did not know anyone who did it. I found out that a lot of businesses do this instead of using money to pay each other. Today the clean up was easy and we took everything back to the shop and went home.

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  5. Hour 5 and 6
    Well, today it is raining really hard. We were planning to clean several cars in the Platinum Mobile Detailing shop but they canceled because of the weather. Mr. Whitney sent his two workers home. I thought I would get to go home and play my Xbox. He said it rains all the time but that we still had plenty to do to keep us busy. During the week, his company is so busy that they are not always able to organize and clean up the shop after each vehicle so it gets messy. Today, we are going to work at the shop cleaning. I do not like to clean but it is better than scrubbing cars. He showed me how to refill the chemical bottles and stock the shelves with newspaper. I learned that he uses recycled newspapers and not paper towels to clean the windows. They do a better job and it hurts the environment less. We also loaded up the truck with cleaning rags, they are washed and dried instead of thrown away. He also showed me how to properly fill the generator with gasoline. We wore safety glasses and gloves because this can be a dangerous thing. Next, we swept the bay where they work on the cars and even vacuumed the office space and customer waiting area inside.
    The phone rang several times but I did not answer it because I am not sure what to say. I did listen to Mr. Whitney so I could learn how to talk to customers. He took their information and wrote their appointment in his schedule book. I am so glad we did not have to clean the bathroom because his office assistant does that. I think I would like to own my own business one day but I am not sure what kind. I was surprised how much work has to be done even when you are the owner. I thought you just told everyone else what to do and they did it for you. After over 2 hours, we went home.

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  6. Hour 7
    Today is Friday and it has been a busy day. When I got there after school, Mr. Whitney was about to leave so my Mom said I could go with him. He was going to the bank to deposit a lot of money they had made that week. He said that his assistant was sick so he had to do it himself. Today was pay day. Well, not for me but for his workers. I watched as he deposited the checks and cash into his account. He said he has to have a separate business account than his personal account because the IRS wants to know how much money he makes. Next, we stopped at the auto parts store and made some purchases for the shop. He bought a new hose and some light bulbs. H told me he needed those because the night before, someone had vandalized his shop by cutting the water hose and breaking the lights out front. I do not understand why people would do this. He said part of owning a business is keeping money in your business account to fix and replace things. I helped him install the new hose in the holder and hooked it up to the water supply. We also changed the light bulbs and swept up the mess that was made. Since we were outside, we cleaned up the area in front of the shop to make it look nice. There were cigarettes and trash people had thrown on the ground. I know it is important to clean up and protect our environment. That was the end of my 7 hours of volunteering.

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  7. Hour 8
    I have been learning a lot about owning a small business. One part of owning a business is making sure people know who you are and what your company does. Mr. Whitney drives a big white Dodge truck with his business name, Platinum Mobile Detailing, and information written all over it. He also has a big sign on the back of his mobile trailer and at the top of his shop. I always wondered why his phone was constantly ringing. He also has shirts and hats that have his company information on them and he gave me one to wear while I work. Mr. Whitney and my Mom thought it would be a great idea to help him advertise his business. She made copies of flyers and we put on our business shirts and headed out. We placed flyers on mailboxes in a bunch of nice neighborhoods in Morehead City, Newport and Havelock. We also asked several businesses if we could put his business cards there. I hope he gets some phone calls from the flyers.

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  8. Hours 9 and 10
    My last two hours were the worst. Today, Mr. Whitney made me help him clean my Mom’s Nissan Pathfinder. I am in this car every day and I know it is a mess. My Mom said it would be a good lesson in why we should take care of the things we own. I think she just wanted her car to be shiny. She laughed. The first step of cleaning the car was popping up all the back seats, there are 5 of them, and taking all the big stuff out. I did get excited when I found my Pokémon Nintendo DS game that I have been looking for. I was not happy that there was ketchup on the seat and Mr. Whitney said he would show me how to operate the carpet shampooer to clean up my ketchup mess. Oh and there was a dirty soccer sock that was my brothers that I sucked up in the vacuum cleaner accidentally. After vacuuming the car, we used the carpet shampooer and the seats and carpets came very clean. We also wiped the fingerprints off the windows and the foot prints from Zack. We wiped out all the cup holders and the dashboard and stuff with armor all to make it shine. The inside was looking pretty good.
    We started on the outside and I noticed the dent my neighbor had put in the car. Mr. Whitney said that if it had been a customer’s car, and not my Mom’s, we would have taken a photo of the dent before we started cleaning. Unfortunately, sometimes people like to blame him or his workers for car damages because they want someone else to pay to fix their vehicle. He said they document all serious dents and scratches before they begin working. This car took forever it seemed. He told me to place all the loose items in a bag he brought so that way, nothing would get lost. We also put paper mats on the floor to keep it from getting dirty. I think we might need them all the time. He let me help wax the car and that was hard work. It is black and you really have to wipe the stuff off really good. Once the tires were shined, we called my Mom out to look at it. She loved it of course and she said I did such a great job, I could do this every week. I hope not.

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  9. Synopsis
    During my community service project, I learned a lot about cleaning cars and boats and a whole lot about how to run a business. I think I would like to own a business when I get older but it is really hard work. I learned how to detail a car, clean a boat, and how to organize a car shop. I learned how to be responsible with money and manage business accounts. I also learned how to treat customers and that the customer is always right.

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  10. From the Owner:
    My name is Mitchell Whitney and I supervised Christian Gardner while he was volunteering at my business, Platinum Mobile Detailing. He learned the importance of the service we provide to not only individuals but also businesses and non-profit organizations located here in Eastern NC. He helped to clean vehicles, organize our shop and to clean up the grounds around the shop. I appreciate his help. He asked me to do this project because he loves cars and I hope he learned something after the 10+ hours he volunteered.

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  11. http://prezi.com/ofqq9xktwdbu/edit/?auth_key=8ht5awz&follow=tl9xmm-2yybh

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