Leo Kim Day 5.

Today, everyone worked on the same thing and packed and bagged donuts, pastries and muffins. Then, after we were done with pastries, we went on and packed fruits like apples and squash. SOS did not give us much to do so we just waited for more bags to come. Because the day was slow, I had a lot of opportunities to think about and reflect about this year. We were the group whose ideas did not pass. At first, it seemed like we wouldn’t be able to bond but as time passed I was able to see the friendship strengthen and new friendship form, and also bond with the people working there. I loved being able to see where my efforts and passion was going to and I hope that we will be able to carry on our hard work in the future as well.

Leo Kim day 4.

On our service learning day, I didn’t do my usual job of packing. Instead, I was able to work in the office with robbe and ford. We first learned how to cut paper into right sizes, how to use automatic staplers and what to do once we had all the parts prepared. We spent the whole time cutting, stapling, and grouping all the multi colored papers. As time passed, we all learned how to do work faster and specialize so that each person does one job. While doing this, we were able to have conversations and learn a lot about each other and become closer friends. I'm very excited to have our next service learning day and participate in more bonding with my classmates and connecting with those in need.

Conner Ascher: Day 5

Today was our last day working at SOS. And it was one of the hardest. There was no office work to be done today so everyone was working in the kitchen. We started by packaging cake and doughnuts and then we spent the rest of the time packaging tomatoes, potatoes, and apples. It has been a good year working at SOS and now its coming to an end. Now the only thing left for us to do is to prepare for the presentation on March 30th.

FORD HANOUR'S AWESOME BLOG DAY 5

Today, I started off by bagging donuts and pastries into bags containing 3 pastries. Next, We moved on to bagging apples and other produce. It was somewhat of a slow day due to the fact that SOS did not have too much food for us to work with. While waiting for more produce to arrive, I realized how much our Service Learning group has bonded. At the beginning of the year, our group was somewhat disconnected because our original Service Learning plans had fallen apar; however, by the end of this year, I felt like I had grown much closer with the 7 other people at SOS. Overall, I loved being able to see where my hard work was going, rather than doing work and not seeing where it goes.

Final Service Learning Post Allison Blanning

Today was my group's final day of service learning. When we first arrived at the shelter, the other volunteers told us that they didn't have a lot of work for us to do. This quickly changed, as shipments of donated foods kept pouring in. For the first time, we had the entire group working on the same project at the same time. We created an assembly line that helped get the food packaged more quickly. Some people ripped bags that the food would eventually go into, some kept the food boxes restocked, and others delivered the food to the distribution room. We got a huge amount of work done in a relatively short span of time. The work quickly grew to be exhausting because we would think that we had done everything that there was to do when more food was delivered and needed to be sorted and packaged. The other volunteer groups that volunteer at the same time as us had left and we were still working, up until our usual time of 12:30. Although the work packaging food was rewarding, I personally wish that I could have spent my last service learning filling specific orders for families and giving them out to the needy. When I worked at the front lines,  I could see the tangible effect my work was having on other people's lives. Overall, I think our service learning group has learned a lot through our hard work at SOS. We have seen that our brief volunteering jobs that happen only once a month can really make a difference in the lives of struggling Orange County residents.

Robbe Simon Reflections Day 5

Today, I helped SOS out with office work rather than sorting or packing groceries. The day began as usual when we left Sage at 8:30 and proceeded to the SOS facility. Once there, I was asked to work in the office alongside Ford Hanour and Leo Kim. Our work consisted of cutting out small, rectangular pieces of paper, folding them in half, and stapling the ends together. The pieces of paper were to be used for clients to write their names and sign up for aid. Although the work seemed monotonous and I wanted to actually interact with the clients more, I was still helping SOS, and was therefore content with the job. However, it was the slow day, and the staff members of SOS kept running out of jobs to give us. I was slightly surpirsed at the lack of planning on the part of SOS, who usually supplied us with work that was much more time consuming. I was later informed that the economically diffcult times detered many clients who did not have the means of traveling to SOS. Therefore, although it was not the most difficult day of work, I was still able to reflect on the conditions critically on the conditions of the SOS clients.

Nickie Shojaee day 4

This time at Share Our Selves I, again, opted to work in the back bagging various fruits, vegetables, and breads. This last time we went there it was not as busy as it usually is and so there was not as much work to be done. None the less, we still got through sorting out onions, potatoes, breads, oranges, etc. and put them into small bags that were ready for the others to put them into the other larger backs and hand them out. Afterwards, since we finished the bagging early we went into a different part of SOS and helped make copies for the flyers that people took and also the flyers on each of the desks. Even though this seems like a simple task, I realized that by helping supply the copies of each of the flyers we were almost making sure the people that needed the information on each of the different flyers were in fact getting the information that could very well alter their lives. This showed me yet another example of how SOS helps people and how we are in fact doing a lot to help as well.