Hi everyone! I thought that this week I’d give you guys a view from my table in the construction office, so here you go. This is where I’m working every week!
Wednesday I started out researching the Youth United program, which is basically Habitat for Humanity’s main youth program that connects all of the local high school clubs. Youth United is run by the local affiliates (such as Habitat Central Arizona), although there is not a system completely set up yet. I was supposed to find out what information Habitat for Humanity International had on this program, as well as look at how other affiliates had organized their Youth United programs, finding activities for each age group.
When I started my internship, I had seen information on this program on the main Habitat for Humanity International page, but when I looked for the Youth United page again all I got was
I ended up having to send an email to Habitat for Humanity international asking if the program still existed and for more information. I haven’t gotten a response yet so umm that's’ your incentive for reading the next blog THE SUSPENSE.
Anyway, there were still Youth United pages up on other affiliates websites such as Habitat for Humanity LA and Charlottesville, so I was able to see how they ran their programs. Usually, there is a Steering Committee which runs the program, made up of the presidents of the local Habitat for Humanity school clubs. This way, high schools can coordinate efforts if they want to plan joint events or advocacy campaigns. I also looked on each of these websites for ways they engaged younger age groups and compiled a list of activities for every age from 5 to 18.
After that, I had to fix the housing simulation from last week. The housing simulation displayed fine on my computer, where I had made it, since I have the latest version of Microsoft Word, but it was formatted all wrong on the Habitat computers since they have an older version of Word. I converted it to a PDF and then it displayed fine on all of the computers, but I also just fixed the formatting within word on a Habitat computer in case they needed to edit it later. It was functional on the older version of Word, but not as pretty (I couldn’t make all of the forms’ spacing the same in the older version).
Thursday was a lot of the same as I continued researching the Youth United program on the Habitat websites and added more forms to the Young Professionals spreadsheet. We also went on a hunt around the office and Restore next door to try to find a VCR to try to watch the VHS tapes in the Just Neighbors kit. I was tasked with trying to convert them to digital and update the statistics in the videos and booklets, which will probably take a while.
I started going through that Friday, beginning to update all of the quizzes and statistical information that was in the Just Neighbors kit.
And that’s all for now!
What a jam-packed week, Sarah! I really like your work table. It looks like a nice place. I'm also very excited to hear how it goes with Habitat for Humanity international. What were some of the activities listed by the affiliates? Were they mostly the same on each website? Again, another great job, and I'm at the edge of my seat until your next post! ;D
ReplyDeleteThanks Kiri! Some examples of activities were painting doors and baseboards for children 12 - 15, seling habitat t-shirts for children 10 - 12, writing messages or blessings on 2x4 pieces of lumber at the site for children 7 - 10, and making a welcome basket for partner families for children 5 - 7. A lot of the activities were pretty similar on each website but a few had come up with something new (usually a way of representing facts bout homelessness, like making a sculpture out of soda tabs and coloring a percentage of them red to indicate the percent of families that are homeless).
DeleteThis week sounded like quite a busy and exciting week. It is even more exciting now that you are also contacting and working with Habitat for Humanity International. Were the activities significantly different for all the age groups on the different websites you researched? I am looking forward for next weeks post and to see what new things pop up.
ReplyDeleteThe activities were fairly different for each age group. Older age groups, for example, 12 - 15 could do more complex tasks like making picnic tables with assistance from teachers, or something like that. The younger age groups were more likely to have activities involving painting or drawing, something smaller kids can do. Thank you!
DeleteHi Sarah! This whole experience sounds very hand-on. I love that you are working for Habitat for Humanity! Is there any reason why? Sounds like you have a lot going on working there. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was in the Habitat for Humanity throughout high school and I really loved volunteering, so when we were reaching out to Senior Project sites I thought it would be cool to work even more in depth with them. This project lets me not only learn more about how nonprofits are run and youth outreach but also help the people around me, which is why I picked it.
DeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteGood luck on converting those VHS tapes, it seems like a lengthy task. I am very excited to see how the youth program will go. Thank You.
-Vara Vungutur
Hi Sarah! It seems like you had a very busy and productive week. I am so glad to see that you were trying to contact Habitat for Humanity International. Do you want them to be involved with your project or did you just contact them for more information about the youth program? Also, what is your goal when researching the youth united programs? I hope you have a good week and can't wait to see future posts!
ReplyDeleteHello! The email was mainly to find more information about the youth programs and to see if Habitat for Humanity International was still supporting them. I was researching Youth United to find out what the best practices were in other affiliates so we would know how to set up the program here. We also wanted to be able to give schools who were considering working with Habitat more information about what that would involve and bring to the community.
DeleteHi Sarah! It sounds like you had a great week researching the youth program and it sounds like you are able to be a big help around the office in regards to making sure everything runs smoothly. I bet that through converting the VHS tapes to digital will be a great experience to learn more about the program. I am looking forward to reading your upcoming blogs and your continued adventures at Habitat for Humanity.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteSorry you had trouble with formatting! Hopefully you find the website you were looking for? I was wondering, are you going to make more simulations?
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm not sure if I will be making more simulations; for now I'm working on Just Neighbors, which is kind of a simulation because some of the activities involve budgeting as if you are homeless or low income, but more just an education program about affordable housing.
DeleteHi Sarah! How are you! Wow your office looks really stunning, it looks as if your working in a real job. I have just one question, How many Youth programs are their that are affiliated with habitat for humanity across the U.S.--Ismail Hamed 10
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm not really sure how many Youth United programs there are. I know there are more than a thousand different affiliates, and each of these affiliates most likely has some sort of youth program, so probably a lot. There were a ton of websites as well and every program also doesn't necessarily have a website.
DeleteWith all of the information you are learning about youth outreach and involving students, what suggestions would you give to high school Habitat for Humanity clubs?
ReplyDelete