Independent Component 1

• LITERAL
• I, Eustacio Rodriguez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
• The sources that have best helped me better understand my topic thus far have been: Peter D. Hall's "Historical Perspectives on Non Profit Organizations in the United States (Hall, Peter D. "Historical Perspectives on Non Profit Organizations in the United States." Diss. Harvard, n.d. Hks.harvard.edu. Http://www.hks.harvard.edu/. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.) and Heather M. Grant et al's "Creating High-Impact Non Profits" (Grant, Heather M., and Leslie R. Crutchfield. "Creating High-Impact Nonprofits." Stanford Social Innovation Review. Ssireview.org, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.). Hall's piece gave presented a very well written history of non-profit organizations in general, as well as their establishment and development here in the US. Heather M. Grant et al's piece led me to, so far, my most viable answer. After reading that article, I came to realize that the only way (or at least the best way) a non profit organization can be successful and fruitful is through aggressive and traditional profit oriented business practices.
• Independent Component Log
• For the 30 hours required of me to fulfill independent component, I volunteered with Teen Green. Teen Green is a branch of Uncommon Good, a non profit organization. Though Teen Green I, along with other the other members of the effort, were able to participate in various activities promoting environmental awareness and the importance of community.
• INTERPRETATIVE
• What follows are some of the most important components included in my individual component...
• Beach Cleanup
• Tending to Community Garden
• Farm Cleanup
• Environmental Awareness Presentations
  (Each of these activities reinforced my belief that educational non profit organizations are extremely beneficial for the community.)

What follows is evidence of my participation with Teen Green and my completion of the 30 hours required for individual component one.

• APPLIED
• My individual component helped me better understand my topic by allowing me to witness how important a non profit organization's efforts really are. During the hours I completed, I was able to observe how we were able to make a difference by working together and helping each other. For example, one of our tasks consisted of cleaning out and re-planting a local farm. With thoughtful planning, a volunteer day was organized weeks before the date, and people were aggressively encouraged to come in and help out. This resulted in a substantial turnout, and we were able to complete the work in less than four hours. These types of activities helped me realize that non-profits do matter and that we need more of them. Personally, I would like to create (later on in life) a non profit organization with the goal of helping kids my age find their calling. This independent component has helped me come to this realization, and what this senior project is helping me do is discover the skills needed to establish a high-impact non-profit oraganization.