As we concluded our final site visit on Tuesday. There have been numerous thoughts and questions that have been in my mind regarding the organizations we have selected as finalists. One of the thoughts that have been in my mind is that the finalists are nothing of what I’ve expected and I am grateful. I remember writing my first reflection paper about my core values being about minority and students of color and education because I am a student of color and being from the inner city, and receiving a public school education made me always want to support programs that support children/teens who are in similar situations or environments that will provide them with the assets for education and ensuring they have equal opportunity in the world. I’m also pretty stubborn(definitely not closed minded if you guys read on) but this was something I always held close to my heart because of how I related to this experience. When Hannah presented with Truth Pharm, my empathy levels rose. I was intrigued and wanted to know more about the organization. This was weird for me due to the fact that I personally have no family members who suffer from the ongoing drug epidemic. I didn't even care about Truth Pharm until I was given the statistics, stories, and research. Following the last visit, when I encountered personal stories by the rainmakers honestly influenced me so much that I stayed after class and decided to become trained in the prevention overdose. Again, no relation to this matter but it was something that really sat with me. Now closing in on my thoughts, How do we as a class effectively choose who needs the money most though. Do we go with our initial thoughts, Did Truth Pharm resonate with the rest of you all because it was the last one? How do we determine the possible two organizations that need the money the best, because it is clear that they all need the money and putting all logistics to the side? Isn't it true that in the end, we will all pick the organization that we sympathize the most with?
To some, the statement may sound radical, but to me, it is simply logical. I support the abolition of human welfare-based non-profits. At this current moment in time, I believe they must exist, as they provide of vital service. But, I think that as a society, it is our responsibility to limit the vitality, and eventually the existence, of these non-profit organizations. Continuing to rely on non-profits is like putting an ice pack on a broken bone; it may help relieve some of the immediate pain, but without further attention and help, it will never truly heal. The system must change. The current institutional system of inequality will never allow this society to progress to its full potential as long as it continually oppresses and restricts a large sector of the population, obstructing their ability to reach greater heights. The government needs to restructure its budget and begin investing in social policies and programs that will remedy these imbalances. It is the most impactful, ef
Hey Jenna!
ReplyDeleteI definitely see what you are saying about the choice we are about to face. I do not think anyone can answer your final question just yet, but I am hoping that the answer is no. I hope that I will not voice my case solely out of where most of my sympathy lies. While I am touched that you decided to go through with training (as I plan on doing as well), if this is something that really resonated with you, then should it matter? As the class reflects on all of the visits, I think that it is important we ask many of the questions you conclude with.
Truth Pharm exceeded my expectations and resonates with me based on more than that it was the last visit. I think that the work the organization does is pertinent to Broome County. Honestly, I hope they get some sort of funding. But at the end of the day, I wish they all could. Truth Pharm might not be the best choice for the grants as one of their main needs was website improvement. A functional and aesthetically pleasing website is important. But, looking at this need critically, I realized that Truth Pharm could easily propose this need as an internship (unpaid) assignment for marketing and or graphic design majors here at Binghamton University! In doing so, they get the help they need at no cost, with the ability to dictate exactly how they want their page to be.
Now I know it may sound harsh to not want the money directed towards something I see as solved by free labor, I think it is imperative that we look at all of the other organizations as critically as I “judged” TruthPharm. If we do use both critical and logical lenses rather than depend on a sympathetic one, I think our decision will be much easier; it will be based on need, not necessarily feelings.
Hi Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI think that your post brings up an good and interesting point. Truth Pharm greatly resonated with me too, after the site visit. It was not until the actual site visit, that I feel I got a good understanding of what Truth Pharm does, and how important it is for the community. What resonated most with me, were the personal stories from the Rainmakers, and the leader of Truth Pharm herself. Those stories really stuck with me, and even though I also do not have anyone of my friends of family struggling with addiction, the volunteers still made it feel personal. Their passion, along with all of the other organizations we visited, was clearly evident, which is important to me when evaluating organizations.
In regards to your first two questions, I think that it will be a hard decision coming up for our class. However, I think it is important to not make a decision solely based off our initial thoughts, because I think, like me, many people’s initial thoughts have changed throughout the process. I think that if you go off your initial thoughts, then you are closing yourself off to a lot of new information learned from the site visits. I also think that you bring up an important point, that we as a class have to do a good job remembering each organization. I think that people may forget what the first few organizations were like, and may just have a picture of Truth Pharm in their heads. I think our class has to do a good job of evaluating each site visit and organization in order to give a fair chance to the organizations we visited early on.
Finally, addressing your last two questions, I think that it is very complicated to decide who to donate the money too, because all of these organizations are great, and also really need the money. However, at the end of the day, I think that it is important to have a two pronged approach to the decision. One being to look at how our money will really impact both the organization, and the community. I think it is important that we fully evaluate which organizations will have the greatest impacts with our money. Second, and equally important, I think our heart and sympathies as you put it, should play a role. I think that we as a class should be passionate about the organizations we choose to donate too. I do not think that we will pick the organization with sympathize with most, because we have been taught how to make informed decisions regarding philanthropy. However, I do think our sympathies should play a role and not be ignored completely.
Matt Rozansky
Dear Jenna,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you there! Learning about these organizations and hearing the opinions of other students opened my eyes. I came into this class with preconceived notions about what nonprofits are and a bias towards organizations that appealed to my interests. Now, I feel as though I am more open minded to organizations that I might not have supported before. Seeing all the good they do in person has definitely played a part in this.
You asked how we might decide who needs the money most when all of the organizations clearly need it. I believe that we should rely on our initial criteria to maintain an non-bias decision-making process. One such criterion is how much an organizations needs the funding. Another is how influential the organization is in the community. Using the criteria that we created before our site visits allows us to maintain objectivity and make the best decision.
- Christian Sayage
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ReplyDeleteHey Jenna,
ReplyDeleteTruth Pharm was not one of the five finalists that I chose, but it also grew to be an organization I felt strongly about. I had not thought about whether it was because Truth Pharm was the last site visit, but I would like to believe that it was their strong impression that left me wanting to support them. In fact, the other organization I felt very strongly about was ACA, the very first site visit we went to.
I wanted to take the time to talk about a question you asked: “Isn't it true that in the end, we will all pick the organization that we sympathize the most with?” I believe that we will, and I believe that it is okay. No matter how hard we try to use our head and heart equally when making decisions, I find that we almost always lean closer to our hearts. Emotion is so vital to our lives, which is why many of us chose charities for our charity pitches based on an organization that we are either involved in or have helped us before.
As I wrote in my second reflection paper, I do not believe that saving the most people is the way to go about donating to charity. Although I believe that it is important to realize where the largest problems lay in the community, I also think that we should stick to the organizations we feel are important to us. Especially since, “Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.”
Hey Jenna,
ReplyDeleteReplying to your question of whether or not we all just pick the organization that we feel the most connected to, my answer is yes. And no.
I say this because I was a really big advocate for TruthPharm and felt very passionate about their work, like you did. But I have zero personal connection to the opioid crisis or overdoses in general, which I'm very fortunate for. So in that case, I would not be supporting the organization I had the most personal connection to, such as immigration and the ACA.
On the other hand, I do feel very intrinsically motivated to learn more about TruthPharm and spread their message, despite my lack of personal connection. In this case, I would be voting for the organization I felt most passionately connected to, maybe not personally.
I believe this goes back to my personal belief that I should make empathetic choices during our decision making process. I felt the most for the rainmakers out of all the workers and volunteers we met with during our site visits. Maybe it is my feelings for their personal struggles that moved me the most that then makes it personal for me as well. These are important considerations you brought to light for me personally and the class as well, thank you :)