Teaching Outside The Classroom

 Allie Morehead -The Food Drive has taught me that there is a community outside Chico State.  I came to Chico to live the typical college life, going to class, living in dorms, being involved, and making new friends. The food drive has exposed me to the fact that there is a community outside of Chico State. Helping with the food drive at the Jesus Center made me realize how lucky I was to receive an education. The fact I am fortunate to have wonderful such as a place to sleep, food to eat and the fact that I have the opportunity to go to college. I also took way that in order to make the most of my college experience I need to step out of my comfort zone and do something different. Working on the food drive exposed to me that homelessness and poverty are still huge issues that need to be addressed and I can use my knowledge to help make the world a better place.

 Becca Fredrickson- Helping out with this food drive has really opened my eyes to how little people do for the homeless in their communities. Yes some offer help but others tend to turn a cold shoulder. The ones that do help make a small but very much appreciated impact. After this experience I want to help as much as I can. I can’t wait to get started and teach younger generation about poverty and how they can to be of assistance.

Kristen McAtee- The food drive has had such a good influence on the way I look at life. It has shown me the importance of being an important part of the community. Also, the food drive helped to sharpen my skills in organization, working with a group, and working with the information I am given. I saw how easy it was to go out into the neighborhoods and collect a few cans. Then I saw how a little goes a long way, I saw the people who would get good use out of, and be very thankful for, those few cans I collected. Also, I saw what it took to put together a project, like a food drive, and will be able to use those skills throughout my future.

Megan Haddad- Helping in this food drive has given me a new outlook on helping in the community. Before this food drive I wasn’t fully aware of the seriousness of poverty and homelessness especially in the community that I live in. Working in this food drive has shown me how easy it is to get involved in your community, and how rewarding it is to help others. Not only did working in the food drive improve my community awareness I also learned new skills for working in groups. Overall this was a wonderful experience and I will be able to use what I learned later in life.

Leslie Howes- Coming from a small town in the east side of the San Francisco Bay I never saw much in the way of poverty and homelessness. When I would go into the city I would see it, but I did not think it was that big of a deal because I only saw it in the city. I never knew it was an issue everywhere. working with the food drive has opened my eyes. From moving to Chico i have seen much more of it, and I have seen home much the community care about the issue, and how much a simple college student can achieve to help this. I never worked in the community much, but since working with the Jesus Center i want to help out more than ever. I loved seeing the smiles on the faces of those who volunteered. They were so happy and full of joy to be doing something to help out the community in which they live. This experience will carry with me forever, and will shape who I am as a teacher. I know how important it is to be an active part of the community in which I live, and I will carry this knowledge on to my students.