Senior Project

I'm happy that I have all of my hours done but I know I'm going to miss it. I've learned so much from volunteering and appreciate things a lot more. I might even volunteer some more hours at PAWS, when I volunteered there it was like I'm just hanging out with friends. Time went by fast and you become close to everyone there. Also, just to know that your helping people and to have them come up to you and thank you was very fulfilling.

Senior Project

Working at the food bank was one of my favorite times during my community service hours. I'm usually not able to work with the clients and just do more of the background stuff to make sure things move smoothly. So, I was really excited to be able to work with the clients for once. It was the best feeling to walk the food over to them and see how thankful they were. All the clients really appreciated the volunteers and it made all my hours worthwhile.

Date of Service: 4/30 Time Spent: 3 hours Total Time: 30 hours

Actions I performed: I worked at the food bank handing out food to members.

Next Action: I am now done with my senior project hours.

How am I doing? I had fun working at the food bank, time went by really fast. We were given orders of what to get and then we had to find the items in the warehouse and give them to the owners. All the staff and volunteers are really nice and helpful there. They made sure I knew how to do everything before they opened up the warehouse. Also, most of the volunteers were around my age so everyone was nice and really easy to talk to. Some were working for school and others just for fun.

Senior Project

I just got an email from the volunteer coordinator at PAWS, he told me that my last three hours will be working at the food bank. I will be getting a months supply of food ready to be given to people that can't afford it. I'm excited because this is the first time, since volunteering at PAWS, that I will be able to see the people I am helping and maybe even the animals, I've only met the people that put in money and time for the organization to help these people.

Date of Service: 4/24 Time Spent: 1.5 hours Total Time: 27 hours

Actions I performed: I cleaned up from the night before at the palace hotel.

Next action: Next I will be working at PAWS for my last three hours.

How am I doing? It was really nice to see that all these people took off from their Easter to help the organization clean up. Everything was packed in boxes from the night before so all we had to do was move the boxes onto moving carts and roll them to the moving truck. After, we had to unload everything and put it all away at PAWS. We also had to get the items auctioned off ready to be given to whoever bought them.

Senior Project

I've been thinking about my senior project presentation and I think I'm doing a powerpoint with pictures of everything I've done. I took pictures every day I did hours and I think that will be the most entertaining to watch and this way everyone can get an idea of what I have done. I had a uniform for both my mentor and community service hours so I'm not sure if I should dress nice or if I should wear the uniform. I'm actually more excited to tell people what I learned than nervous to give a presentation.

Senior Project

Working at PAWS made me realize that you are not only helping others when you do community service, but you are also helping yourselves. I have made good friendsips from this organization and we have been keeping in touch on a daily basis. It also opened my eyes to all the people in need and all the time and commitment that goes into organization like these. There are people that volunteer their just to help, not for any recognition or because they have to, they simply just want to reach out to others.

Senior Project

Anoter topic I have thought about is how people can't afford proper care for their animals. This is a topic I have worked on, at the vet I saw animals going home without finishing their care because it's all their owners could afford. I've also seen owners come in with a sick animal and take it home after their realize the seriousness of thier pet's illness and all the bills that would be involved with it. Also, the main goal of PAWS is to help people that have to chose between taking care of their animals or themselves. So, I probably have the most experience with this topic.

Senior Project

I've been thinking about topics for my senior project and one of them is animal abuse. There's a lot I can research on it and it is always going on. The only downfall is I didn't really work with animal abuse a lot. The only reason I'd want to do it is because it is a subject I am very interested in and I know I have a lot to say about it. But, it also seems like a topic a lot of people would do so I don't really want to do a speech on something people have already heard plenty of times.

Senior Project

Volunteering at the Palace Hotel helped me realize how generous people really can be. That night, there were money donations of over $2o,000. That doesn't include the money donated by all the auctioned products. There were about 700 guests. It was fun seeing all the dogs dressed up, some with their nails painted and others with dresses or tuxedos. There were also famous people there like Giants player Matt Cain and an actor from HGTV. It was a really fun event and I'm happy I heared about this place.

Date of Service: 4/23, Time spent: 7 hours Total Time: 25.5 hours

Actions I performed: Greeted people to the event.

Next Action: Tomorrow, I am going back to the event to clean up.

How am I doing: I had a lot of fun at Petchitecture at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. At first, I helped set everything up and told the volunteers where to check in and where they had to go. After, I greeted all the guests coming in and helped them to coat check or the restrooms. After the event was over, I passed out flyers and collected the devices that all the guests used to place their bids or donate money. I had a lot of fun watching the auction and I met a lot of people.

Date of Service: 4/15 Time Spent: 3.5 hours Total Time: 18.5 hours

Actions I performed: Today was my first day working for PAWS, I helped them set up from an event to bring awareness to other vets that the organization needs more help. I also worked at the door, gretting people, giving them their name tags, and filling out their information. Next Action: My next action will be on saturday, the 23rd. I will be working all day at another event. This time it will be an auction of spa packages and things like that and also dog houses and pet habitats that local architects donate. The money will go to this organization. How am I doing: I had a lot of fun at the event, everyone was very nice and inviting. They really helped me with what to do since it was my first time volunteering. I'm excited to see the auction next week, I think it will be a lot of fun since I was told people dress their dogs in crazy outfits. PAWS is also a gay veterinarian organization, so even though I can't really relate to it, it brings awareness that they sill aren't treated as equals when they should be.

Senior Project

I found a non-profit organization I can now volunteer for. The organization is called Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS). This organization is for people with disabilities that can't even afford to take care of themselves. They don't want a person to have to chose between their own health or their animal's health. So, if anyone has to make that decision, they can go to this organization where they will recieve a month's supply of food, discounted vet care, and money towards vet care. Also, they will take your animal to a vet and walk it if you are not able to do so. I am already scheduled for two events. The first is held at the organization, it is open house for vets in the area to get them on board to help give discounts to PAWS members and to donate money. The next event is at the Plaza Hotle in San Francisco. Architects build crazy dog and cat houses and they will be auctioned off and money made goes to this organization.

Date of Service: 3/30 Time Spent: 2 hours Total Time: 15 hours

Actions I performed: Learned how to do things in the lab, cleaned after animals and took a lot of pictures for my project presentation Next Action: Next, I have to find a non-profit organization to volunteer my next 15 hours. How am I doing: I'm now done with my mentoring hours, I'm happy I finished but it will also be sad because I grew to be close with all the vets and technicians there and I won't see them anymore. I learned so much from them and it really helped me to decide what I want to be when I grow up. I also gained so much knowledge from the vet, I know I will be a lot more of a help for whatever organization I apply for than I originally would have been.

Date of Service: 3/28 Time Spent: 2 hours Total Time: 13 hours

Actions I performed: cut a dog's nails, tok dogs for walks, comforted a scared dog, cleaned cages and brought pets to their owners when ready to go home. Next Action: My last day with my mentor is on wednesday, then I will start my community service. I will basically be doing what I do every time. How am I doing: I'm really liking volunteering with them and wish I could do all 30 hours with them but I know I can't and will probably like my non-profit organization just as much. I like how I'm able to be very hands on with the animals, which is the whole reason why I wanted to volunteer there. I thought they would just have me do their dirty work; like cleaning all their stuff, but it's the complete opposite. I also feel like they can give me really good guidance about college.

Date of Service: 3/23 Time Spent: 2 hours Total Time: 11 hours

Actions I performed: Anal gland cleaning, return pets to their owners, clean kennels, and help restrain.

Next Action: The next time is Monday, and I'm not sure what I'll do, just depends on what animals come in.

How am I doing? I feel like they're starting to trust me more and more, before I could never be around the client's owners and now they're allowing me to talk to the owners for them. Also, I'm now able to write notes on the client's files for anything I observe instead of just telling them and having them write it. I'm having trouble finding a community service pleace. I've called about ten places and they're all full or need committments. I'm still waiting for responses from other places, though.

Date of Service: 3/21 Time Spent: 2 hours Total Time: 9 hours

Action: That day was a slow day, restraining animals, couple puppies came in for their shots, I learned how to use to microscope and what to look for in ear samples and how to test for heartworms.

Next Action: Next time I work will be wednesday, and its pretty much the same thing as always at the vet, never know what will come in.

How am I doing? I'm doing good, I'm enjoying learning everything at the vet. Microscopes and learning what everything is really interested me, at first it just looked like a bunch of dots and then later I noticed the difference between all the dots. Also, I'm learning a lot more about the equipment and how to use it all, before I would just clean but every time I come I learn something new and am allowed to use it. It isn't just simple cleaning anymore.

Date of Service: 3/16 Time Spent: 2.15 hours Total Time: 7 hours

Action: Played with workers' dogs, watched how to euthanize a cat, helped give a puppy his shots, cleaned cages and equipment and gave animals their medicine.

Next Action: I will be doing pretty much the same thing next Monday except I learn and am able to do a little more every time.

How am I doing? I'm having a lot of fun. I love animals, especially dogs so I'm enjoying being able to play with them since I'm not allowed to have one at home. Doing this is almost making me want to switch career paths into becoming a vet, it also allows me to see the pros and cons of becoming a type of doctor. I'm starting to become closer to all the staff there, and the more we talk, the more they teach me. Different animals come in all the time so it's never the same thing and you never know what to expect will come in next.

Date of Service: 3/14 Time Spent: 2.25 hours Total Time: 4.75 hours

Actions I performed: Today I nursed a hamster that had surgery, washed a dog, restrained amimals for shots, eye exams and pedicures, stocked up shelves, and cleaned tools.

Next action: Next time I work is wednesday, it'll probably be the same as I've been doing so far.

How am I doing? I'm liking volunteering more and more, they're allowing me to do more things and I never just sit and watch, it's hands on. For everything they do, they explain what they are doing and why they do it. They don't just tell me what to do. They explain every little detail even if it means they have to stay at work longer to talk to me. They constant ask if I have questions and I'm free to go anywhere in the hospital and look around.

Date of Service: 3/9 Time Spent: 2.5 hours Total Time: 2.5 hours

Action: This was my first time volunteering with my mentor at White Ivie Pet Hospital. Today they showed me a tour of the hospital, I learned where a lot of things went, how to restrain animals, give medicine and shots, and I got to watch an ultrasound.

Next Action: I go in on mondays and wednesdays. I pretty much do the same thing every time except as time goes on, they will probably let me do more and more.

How am I doing? I met one of the technicians, Aaron, he was really nice and really helped me get comfortable with everyone. Everyone is nice and helpful. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun here and I'm learning a lot. They have enough trust in me to hold an animal that could run away any moment and to give animals medicine or watch for potential seizures on an animal, I like how they let me be very hands on and answer all questions.