As I had mentioned we had been doing this MainStreet Philanthropy class taught by Ryan Ponsford on how to be a philanthropist and how donating to charity works.  Our team, like many teams, ran into some problems especially on how the work was going to be distributed.  We had to sit down and talk about this since it got to the point of procrastination and lack of finished work,  we decided to divide the project into thirds and there was progress began to be made.

In our group tensions rose since no one really knew their task due to a lack of communication, but this really taught me that when working in a team we really need to act like it and talk to one another instead of everyone trying to do their own thing and then later having work that is poor quality.   I also learned that we all need to respect each other in order to have that better communication especially because we were not only doing all this for a grade but to find the right organization that changes people's lives for the better, and really keeping that in mind really allowed to settle differences and work together.

I feel bad though that next week when we deliver the checks to the team's charity our team won't be delivering ours since the Autism Speaks' closest office is in Los Angeles but I know that when our does get there our donation will make the difference in some lives and that makes me feel really good about what we've been doing and it makes me realize that all this was worth it, I also am very grateful that I got a chance to do something like this.

Just a little something I found that really made me think.  I feel if more people were like this there would be less judgement and hate.

This week I interviewed my mom because I feel like you can't ever know enough of someone even if you see them every day and they happen to be your mother.  I asked her questions related to handling money, her experiences as a young woman, and what she has done in charity and community service.

I learned new things about her like how involved she is in the community, like on her days off I didn't know she helped out at food banks!  She also said that it is important that I, as a young person, help out as well so that others take the hint and also make some a difference for others and see how that makes a difference in us.

A piece of advice about money she gave me that I think is very true is that if you don't know how to handle money financially and mentally, no matter how much of it you have it will never be enough.  This is also makes true to the saying, "Money doesn't buy happiness."  If money is your world then your world will never be complete.

Having something as your passion whether that be helping autistic children or being the head chef at a restaurant is the best way to complete your life and find the core to happiness. Because happiness is the answer to life.

We have begun contacting way more organizations and the response we have been getting is amazing! Even though I had been disappointed about a recent set back, finally contacting some people has been really motivating.   I began to realize that there are so many people working to achieve my goal and that  is really uplifting and I know that something great will come from this.

As I have learned there are two ways of evaluating an organization; qualitative and quantitative.  Personally I value the qualitative more because even though someone can have all the right numbers they probably don't care too much about the cause they say they are all for helping.

But what I do know is that when someone is really passionate about a cause they will let you know not only with the words they speak but with feeling or vine they give.  This might sound weird but its like choosing the right cake for a wedding, when you know you know, it will never be a forced feeling.

So after many attempts at contacting our first organization, we finally heard back from The Help Group just to be told that their board members and volunteers were too busy to talk to us.  I can understand this because April is Autism Awareness month, but at the same time I am disappointed because we had thought that their board members should be willing to help anyone that wanted to help this wonderful cause. 

This was a major set back so we now have to once again start from the beginning and look through more organizations working with our common goal.  We have been researching more organizations and have had much luck in finding more and even better ones. 

This is a great lesson to learn not only about donating but also other things in life since once in a while we will have set backs but that itself won't really matter.  What will matter is our attitude and response to a sitaution like this, it makes truth to the saying, "When one door closes another one opens."  All I want to do is make sure there are enough doors to be avaible for entry for people who are treated different because they have something like autism and I want to find people who feel the same.

Hey Guys I just wanted to mention that April is Autism Awareness Month. 

Our first assignment in Mainstreet Philanthropy was to fill a brown paper bag with objects that were important to us.  When I went home I had no idea what I was going to bring, what did I hold dear to me that would fit in this tiny bag?  But when the time came I knew exactly what I wanted to bring.  i brought a green penguin keychain.  This keychain was  given to me in the fourth grade by my best friend, she loved that keychain!  So I kept it safe with me.  I also bought a rock that looked like an eye, I would always see this eye and I found it weird so I kept it.

The day we shared our paper bag items we also had to come up with statements that represented what our team was all about.  To say what we were going to do, why we were going to do it, and who we were doing it for.  But what is my team hoping to accomplish?  Our goal is provide certified and qualified assistance for autistic children in the classrooms.

To achieve this we are beginning to research organizations that have this common goal, but I don't know quite what we should expect.  Its going to be intimidating at first but if these organizations are in it for the cause then there will be no intimidation afterwards and that is what I hope:)

In class we had a guest speaker, he was talking to us about philanthropy.  "What is philanthropy?" I, along with others, asked myself.   He explained to us that philanthropy was the love of humanity, he said that we would embark on a project that would make us understand this definition to the fullest.  He gave us MAD (Make a Difference) Cards, these cards displayed various causes and ideas on charities that went along with this cause.

I learned that there were so many causes that really interested me and narrowing i down to 3 was very difficult.  At the end the decision was made and I was satisfied with the decisions I made, I am excited to be researching and writing about these.  

I hope that I learn the real job of a philanthropist and come to be one by the time the Main Street Philanthropy Program is over.  I hope that the way I begin to view others motivates others to join me on my journey.