Recently, various news of Kerala floods was flashing in the news. We, my classmates and I thought of doing something to help the people in need. So, we decided to ask people for donations as in their clothes, utensils, books and any other object that might be of help. We went to each and every house in our societies and collected the items which were segregated and packed into boxes. Then, we decided to organize a fundraising event, in order to raise funds to courier the boxes to an organization in Mumbai- Goonj. Goonj is a reputable organization in Mumbai which will ensure that our donations will be taken care of in the right way. Hence, we organized MORP. PROM spelled backward is MORP. It’s a casual high school dance where one can be ‘themselves’, come in their comfortable clothes and have fun! We thought of exploring and bringing different cultures to India. People will be welcomed to dance, eat, play and enjoy the night. My task was to organize and plan the event which included deciding the venue, the food, and the games. While my other team members helped convince people to attend our event and persuade sponsors to invest in us.
Learning outcomes achieved:
LO1- Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Planning for the event made me realize that I am capable of managing an event. From scratch to the completion of the event, I was able to handle every single detail with the help of my friends. Although, I lacked patience which sometimes, resulted in taking the wrong decision in a hurry to complete things faster. I could have been more patient and handled things in a calm manner.
LO2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills.
I had to talk to a lot of new people while making the arrangements. It helped me develop my communication skills, creativity skills as well as time management skills. I was more organized than before and was ready to undertake challenges. One of the challenges that I faced at the end moment was that the games we planned did not work out well. So, we as a team, came up with new interesting games to keep the crowd engaged. Although it did not plan out as we expected it to be, we were able to make quick decisions.
LO3- Initiate and plan a CAS experience.
We planned this event from scratch. From thinking of raising donations to plan an event, we discussed ideas and organized them. We made a spreadsheet which was used to track everyone’s work progress. This made it easier to see how much each one of us has completed. It was sometimes difficult to finish things on deadline, but we helped each other to initiate and plan our event
LO4- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
From day one, we were all motivated and committed to make our event a success and especially, help the ones in need. With the mindset of giving back to society, we kept ourselves committed to our task and tried finishing it as soon as possible.
LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively:
An event on a larger scale wouldn’t have been possible without a cooperative and supportive team. Even though we had various ups and downs, we openly shared things and came to decisions together. A lot of times, we had a mix of opinions which were addressed in a way that kept all of us satisfied with our decision. We all listened to each other and never made a leader to run things smoothly.
LO6. Engagement with issues of global significance.
Kerala floods had impacted India as well as various other countries. People there were starving to death due to scarify of resources. We tried to help and improve the condition there by donating as much as we could. Along with that, we spread awareness, so that people could participate too, to better the lives of people living there.
LO7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions:
While segregating the items that we collected, we were able to see stained and torn clothes as well as new clothes with price tags on them. We made sure all of them were in a proper condition which can be used by others. We folded and packed the items properly so that the organization can easily pass it on further.
After all, organizing an entire event on our own has both pros and cons. It helped me develop my skills and made me grow into a mature person that I am today. We were able to generate funds to send the courier, although we did not receive a good response from the audience. We worked together as a team to make this a successful event. Overall, it was an amazing experience of all of us as we experienced a different culture.
Images for items received for donation:
Pictures of the event-
Time Lapse of segregating clothes:
