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. 

January Blog Post

A blog post for the month of January...

This has been a pretty eventful beginning of the year, especially this past week with 30 minute presentations. What follows are a couple of things I've noticed about them which are essential to the success of these presentations, and which I'll have to make sure I accomplish.

• Appropriate body language
• MAKE TIME 
•  Have a creative and engaging activity. ENGAGING. 
• Provide a clear explanation of the EQ

So my essential question is "What is the best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to help underprivileged students attend college?" The answer I've composed for my presentation that is to happen a week from this upcoming Monday is "by exploring and employing business practices used by profit-oriented businesses." 

Third Interview Questions

1. What is the best way for an educational non-profit organization to raise funds for resources to help underprivileged students attend college? 
   
2. What inspired you to create Uncommon Good?
   
3. How did Uncommon Good come to be?
   
4. What is the most important thing you've learned about managing a non-profit organization in general?
   
5. How do you generate enough revenue to keep Uncommon Good active?
   
6. What is the biggest obstacle you've faced in your years managing Uncommon Good?
   
7. How has the fact that you are an attorney helped you in this non-profit venture?
   
8. What do you seek in an employee?
   
9. What has been most rewarding for you during your career?
   
10. How do you continue to improve your practice? 

Blog 11: Mentorship Ten Hours

So here it is...

1. I am doing my mentorship with Uncommon Good, doing most of my work with the Teen Green branch of Uncommon Good.
   
2. My contact is Carlos Carrillo, program coordinator.
   
3. To be honest, I'm not really sure of how many hours I've done with Uncommon Good. I should be keeping track of them, but I haven't. I do have proof that I've done at least 10 hours, and I certainly have done more than that. I'll get the rest of them together before the deadline. And yes I will provide legitimate documentation.
   
4. I've spent these ten hours attending and helping at things like volunteer days at a local farm, helping maintain a community garden, and participating in other similar activities organized by Uncommon Good. I find it interesting to witness how the community has benefited from the efforts of this non-profit organization. 

Senior Project, The Holiday

1. Over the break, amid the chaos of the holidays, I wasn't able to go into the office to volunteer because the staff was out on break for most of the break, since their schedule closely follows that of the students who are part of the program. I was, however, able to conduct some research online, and found a couple interesting facts about non-profit organizations.
2. The most important thing I learned from my research was that the concept of non-profit work has been around for far longer than most people think. 90% of the non-profit organizations still around today were founded before 1950. I find this to be important because it demonstrates just how successful a non-profit organization can be if properly managed. My goal is to find out what it takes to sustain a non-profit for as long as those found in that 90%. My source was a paper written by American author Peter Dobkin Hall. I found it on a Harvard sponsored website.
3. If I were going to do a 10 question interview, which I'm sure we'll have to do at some point, I would interview Nancy Mintie, the director and founder of Uncommon Good, the non-profit organization at which I'm volunteering. She'd best be able to answer my questions because she's the founder. She has years of experience and the organization has thrived, meaning that the goal she intended the organization to have has been well supported. She obviously knows what she's doing, which is why I choose her as my most viable interview candidate

December Blog Post

Blog post for the month of December

First off, let me start off by saying Happy New Year!! I am excited to begin a new year full of academic achievement as well as personal advancement. I hope whoever reads this blog post is also ready for a new year and has no regrets about the last. 

So now, about my mentorship...

I've been thinking about the activity I had the class do for my ten minute presentation a long time ago. What I had the class do was: 1) design a non-profit organization and establish a goal for their non-profit 2) give their non-profit a meaningful and creative name. I never considered partaking in the activity myself, but now, after volunteering at Uncommon Good, I've given the activity some thought and this is what I've come up with...

If I were to create a non-profit organization, it's purpose would be to raise awareness about bored teenagers as well as provide outreach for them. Honestly, I've witnessed this firsthand. When teenagers get bored, they seek excitement in all the wrong things. What my non-profit organization would do would be create a program that enables teenagers to get involved in fun and productive activities outside of school. It would let teenagers plan their own activities and manage their own trips. Providing teenagers with healthy outlets would stimulate them and encourage them to be more productive and involved in school. The name of my organization would be "Adults for the Betterment of Bored Teenagers" or ABBT for short.

This is only one of my ideas. When I finish school, I hope to establish a non-profit with the goal of helping teenagers one way or another.

November Blog Post

Blog Post for the Month of November 

Another month, another blog post...

So my mentor-ship is going alright. Nothing to report, really. Pretty uneventful. My essential question has progressed, thanks to that last mandatory blog post. My EQ is much clearer and I feel like I now have a better idea of where I want to take this senior project. That said, I feel like my EQ could be refined further still, because it is a tad vague and open to interpretation. But enough about that.

My mentor-ship has helped me realize that although I do like the fulfilling taste that non-profit work leaves in my mouth, I can't work behind a desk for the rest of my life. It's just not my calling. 

Another thing I've realized is the importance of time management. That's something I have to become better at. The way I'm doing things now is too stressful. At my mentor-ship, I've witnessed the organized way these employees go about their day. If I'm to become a professional of sorts, I'll have to start picking up on some of these good habits and begin utilizing them while I'm still in high school. 

Lastly, we've tentatively brought forth the idea of having a cleanup day at the LA River sometime in January or February. Just thought whomever reads these should know just so you get the idea of what type of work we do.