Proposal

//1. What will you do? Where will you work/"volunteer"? With whom will you work/"volunteer" with?// For my graduation project, I will be volunteering in either a homeless shelter or an organization that solely helps those in need. My project idea is based off of my desire to help others that are stripped of basic human necessities, like food, shelter, clean drinking water. Initially, the thought of working with my dad's organization crossed my mind, but in order interact with the region and have a narrow focal point, I want to volunteer in Philadelphia. As of right now, there are several organizations that I have contacted. None of them have contacted me back, but two are promising. The Broad Street Ministry conducts a worship service and dinner every sunday at six o’clock. Also, I contacted, SHARE, a mission that packs boxes for people who are in need of food. Hopefully, they will contact me back. Either way, if they do not contact me, then I will be running a food drive. This food drive will benefit one of the organizations I contacted, probably SHARE because they can use canned goods.
 * Project**

2. //What products will result from your work/"volunteerism"?// When I volunteer, I am going to take several pictures, interview workers, and take videos of my experience. Since I want to gather a broader understanding of how an ordinary person can make a difference by volunteering, I want be able to make a presentation and discuss the things I observed at the homeless shelter. Although I know I can research how homelessness impacts Philadelphia, the firsthand experience will make the homelessness more of a reality.

3. //How will you go about implementing your project? Describe your plan for implementing...// In order to document those things, I am going to make a video, but not on animoto. I feel as though an animoto will restrict me from editing the video with emotion. It will be a digital storytelling product that includes the photos, interview workers, and take videos of my experience. I actually want to speak in the presentation because I know that my emotion about my topic will shine through. A brief introduction, a video, and a brief conclusion will allow me to clearly "implement" my project

4. //What will you need to complete your project?// To complete my project I will need to use my camera for photos and videos, and my macbook to create the video. There aren't any people in particular that I need to complete my volunteering portion of the project, but I may interview my father to gather how he views the poverty in Philadelphia. For the food drive, I will need to help of interact members, and the support of the whole school. In order to advertise my project, I will probably need to contact Mr. Meder and the Morning Announcements team. Also, I will need Mr. Vizza’s permission and support to run the food drive through Interact.

**Research** My topic of research will be the homeless conditions in Philadelphia and the efforts that have been made to reduce them. I was inspired to research this topic because I have always had a desire to help others, probably because of my father’s influence. I know about the poverty in the world, but I honestly do not know much about poverty in Philadelphia. I feel like this research topic will be an eye-opening experience for both me and those watching my presentation.
 * 1)  //Briefly describe the topic of your research and why you chose the topic.//

Are the efforts that are being made to reduce the rate of homelessness in Philadelphia adequate? Last year, I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Philadelphia for several weeks during the winter. I did not document my experience or conduct any formal research, but I did get to interact with the homeless. Besides volunteering in Philadelphia, I haven’t had any prior experience with homelessness. Hopefully several people will benefit from my research investigation. First, I hope that I am able to feed to homeless. They will benefit from the extra hands at a homeless shelter. If volunteering does not work out, I hope that the food drive will benefit a homeless shelter. Lastly, my presentation will also benefit the homeless because hopefully my audience will moved to volunteer. I will inform the audience of how they can help to reduce the rates of homelessness in our society
 * 1)  //Essential Question//
 * 1)  //Have you had any prior experience with this topic//
 * 1)  //Who or what will benefit from your research investigation?//

-"Why Are People Homeless." //National Coalition for the Homeless//. N.p., July 2009.//Web. 27 Sept. 2010. . -Lee, Barrett A., Susan W. Hinze, and David W. Lewis. "Public Beliefs about the   Causes of Homelessness." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2010.  < [|__http://www.jstor.com__] >. -"Who is Homeless?" National Coalition for the Homeless. N.p., July 2009. Web. 29  Sept. 2010. < [|__http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/Whois.pdf__] >.
 * 1)  //List and describe three reliable sources//

**please see annotated bibliography for details and descriptions of sources**