Helping the Homeless in Isla Vista

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For a Writing 50E class, we were assigned to do 10 hours of community service of our choice. Our group (consisting of Ronny Votel, Josh Kleiner, and Brett Hanifin) knew that we wanted to start a new project rather than volunteer our time for a pre-existing organization. After meeting with the Community Affairs Board advisor Pam Van Dyk, we were convinced that a warm clothes drive for the homeless would be the best way to volunteer our time. We could work at our own pace under our own guidelines, and truly feel as if we were making a strong impact in the community.

To find out more about the needs of the homeless, we thought we would have to get information from an inside source, who could lead us in the right direction. Josh interveiwed Father Jon-Stephen Hedges, a man very involved with the homeless and aware of their needs. He stressed the need for warm garments and socks. We figured students could donate warm clothes, and we could purchase new socks from a store.

Since a lot of socks would be needed, we would require some sort of funding. We applied for $125 through OSL, an organization that distributes student funds to help the Isla Vista community. We were approved and now set to begin the clothes drive.

Ronny and Brett placed collection boxes and posters in dorm hallways. As time went on, the boxes began to overflow with clothes. After we collected a large number of items we washed and sorted the donated clothes. A purchase at Costco supplied us with 100 pairs of new socks that would soon be received.

Next we had to decide how we could get the clothes to the people. On his way back from Writing class one day, Josh met with some of the homeless people in Isla Vista, telling them when and where they could go to receive the donated clothes.

We arrived later that day with a car full of clothes, socks, and blankets. We told them to take whatever they want, and as much as they want. They were very thankful and polite. Many were concerned that they were being too greedy, but we assured them that there was plenty to go around.

We sat there and talked with the homeless people for two hours. They had a lot of wonderful stories about their experiences. All of us left there with special friends and an unforgettable memory.

"This has really been a great experience for me because I learned that I can actually make a difference in someone's life. I actually wish we had put out more posters and boxes because we could have helped even more people get what they need."
-Josh

"I really enjoyed the doing the clothes drive. Ronny, Josh, and I were able to have a lot of flexibility with our project since we ran it. More importantly, we were able to see immediate results from our work."
-Brett

"At first I wasn't too excited about doing the community service project . Once I put myself in [the homeless people's] shoes, I fully understood what we were actually doing."
-Ronny




	For a Writing 50E class, we were assigned to do 10 hours of community service of our choice. Our group (consisting of Ronny Votel, Josh Kleiner, and Brett Hanifin) knew that we wanted to start a new project rather than volunteer our time for a pre-existing organization. After meeting with the Community Affairs Board advisor Pam Van Dyk, we were convinced that a warm clothes drive for the homeless would be the best way to volunteer our time. We could work at our own pace under our own guidelines, and truly feel as if we were making a strong impact in the community. To find out more about the needs of the homeless, we thought we would have to get information from an inside source, who could lead us in the right direction. Josh interveiwed Father Jon-Stephen Hedges, a man very involved with the homeless and aware of their needs. He stressed the need for warm garments and socks. We figured students could donate warm clothes, and we could purchase new socks from a store. Since a lot of socks would be needed, we would require some sort of funding. We applied for $125 through OSL, an organization that distributes student funds to help the Isla Vista community. We were approved and now set to begin the clothes drive. Ronny and Brett placed collection boxes and posters in dorm hallways. As time went on, the boxes began to overflow with clothes. After we collected a large number of items we washed and sorted the donated clothes. A purchase at Costco supplied us with 100 pairs of new socks that would soon be received. Next we had to decide how we could get the clothes to the people. On his way back from Writing class one day, Josh met with some of the homeless people in Isla Vista, telling them when and where they could go to receive the donated clothes. We arrived later that day with a car full of clothes, socks, and blankets. We told them to take whatever they want, and as much as they want. They were very thankful and polite. Many were concerned that they were being too greedy, but we assured them that there was plenty to go around. We sat there and talked with the homeless people for two hours. They had a lot of wonderful stories about their experiences. All of us left there with special friends and an unforgettable memory. "This has really been a great experience for me because I learned that I can actually make a difference in someone's life. I actually wish we had put out more posters and boxes because we could have helped even more people get what they need." -Josh "I really enjoyed the doing the clothes drive. Ronny, Josh, and I were able to have a lot of flexibility with our project since we ran it. More importantly, we were able to see immediate results from our work." -Brett "At first I wasn't too excited about doing the community service project . Once I put myself in [the homeless people's] shoes, I fully understood what we were actually doing." -Ronny