UNM Eng 120 - Volunteer Blog

How does one choose a nonprofit to volunteer time or resources to? In some situations, it's likely easy. If a loved one is diagnosed with a serious illness or perishes from cancer, it's easy to choose to get involved spreading awareness about the disease, or raising money for research and treatment. I've been fortunate in that I've only had one major illness play a role in my life, my daughter's diagnosis with scoliosis made a huge impact on my life, but there's not really a lot to be done raising awareness or funding research for that treatment, and there are definitely no disease-specific groups in the immediate area to be involved with. I considered briefly, getting involved with the Methodist church. I've previously been very involved with the church, although that was when I lived in Colorado. While I would have likely enjoyed that work, since I haven't been attending a church here, I know that there would be some limitations to what I could actu

One of the student learning outcomes for English 120 is writing as a social act. Students should be able to describe the social nature of composing, particularly the role of discourse communities at the local, national, and international level, but what does this really mean? How do you get students to understand writing as a social act? This class has challenged students to find a relatable charity, an organization that gives back to the community in some way that speaks to the individual. From an initial list, class members have chosen their charities, scheduled volunteer activities, and even created funding pages for their charities. Although I spent a great deal of time working within the Methodist Church, and as a result have a deep understanding of the fundraising process, including the psychology behind giving, this has proven to be a difficult task. Perhaps its the temporary nature of my involvement with my chosen charity, or perhaps it's simply defiant characteristics