I thought when starting this project, the reality of getting people to donate so much extra food to the homeless in this time of economic crisis was not possible. Each class we would talk about organizing the project and everyone brought up new and exciting ideas. The problem I found was that we were doing a lot more talking than action. I am the type of person that like to dive in head first and get their hands dirty with a project. But, with this project, I learned that my way wasn't the only way that will work.
We went from class to class updating each other on how many baskets we had. It was frustrating as a member of the Student Organizations group because we had put so much work into Fraternities and Sororities. I had the impression that every Greek organization would donate a few baskets. However, only a few confirmed donations with us so we had to think of another alternative. We tried to email as many student organizations as possible, but it could be quite possible that students don't read their email as much as we wished they would. So, without phone numbers, and without a designated number of baskets, we were suck.
Then came the day of organizing everything at Waysmeet. It was hectic and crowded in the room that we had to put together baskets, but it had to be done. For the most part, everyone from our class showed up for at least two hours, some stayed longer. Our basket making strategy was to organize the food in an assembly line of sorts. By the time we were done with the baskets, we still has a lot of canned goods, breads, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The baskets came out full of food and other supplies for those who requested them. All of the extra food was left for the pantry.
I went into this project thinking we wouldn't get enough baskets period. We ended up with a surplus of food and volunteers to bring a happy Thanksgiving to all that we could
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