John’s entry – A Win-Win Situation

I want to start off by saying that I definitely do not consider myself as introverted, but this class has actually forced me to step out of my comfort zone and develop my interpersonal skills even further. For me, it was somewhat uncomfortable approaching local companies and asking for donations of various sorts, especially during such hard economic times. Given that this project is fully funded by donations, the fundraising aspect is something that cannot be avoided. In this case I just had to bite the bullet and do what was needed. But as our fundraising efforts progressed, I was amazed at the generosity of some of the local companies. After the first week of fundraising, we literally had thousands of dollars worth of much needed donations of raw materials and labor. We received commitments from companies after talking to them for no more than twenty minutes in person. The amount of trust these individuals put into us was quite comforting.

In addition, the overall camaraderie I’ve witnessed between the students working on this project has been very motivating. As students at Cal Poly, our time is already spread so thin, but everyone still manages to put in 110%. This class is unlike any other within the department because it presents a win-win situation for both the students and the needy families within the community. This is the seventh year this project has taken place and hopefully there will be many more years of success down the road.

-John