Will Davis VUSM 300-03 Final Integrative Paper 5/6/2013 Field Experience Throughout this semester I and the

rest of my VUSM 300, Serving the Common Good course, worked on a project to create resource rooms at the YWCAs Ruth and Ophelia Houses. The YWCA is a program set up here in La Crosse, to help women that have drug or alcohol problems, and woman who are getting out of prison and have nowhere else to go. Their mission and vision (2012) states, The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The YWCA of the Coulee Region empowers women to reach for their full potential and creates an inclusive community based on equality, respect, and dignity (YWCA, 2012). Our first visit to the houses came early in the semester, as we went as groups to view each house. The first house I visited was Ophelia. When I first saw the room that we would eventually be fixing up, I figured it would be very easy to accomplish creating a new resource room at this house. Next I viewed the Ruth house, where I had the same feeling as far as thinking it would be quite easy to fix up. My only worry before starting work on the houses was that I didnt think there was enough work to be done for all members of our class to get the twenty-five hours of service required to pass the class. This was my first mistake, not realizing how much time actually goes into a project of this magnitude. In our next class after the tours, we all sat and discussed ideas that we had for the houses. What things we felt were an absolute necessity, and how we would get the money to pay for the supplies we would need to fill the resource rooms. Our class also came up with the idea to make a list of things we would want to see put in the houses. Things such as shampoo and body wash,

tooth paste and tooth brushes, perfume, writing supplies, nail polish, and cleaning supplies. We figured these items would be perfect for women leaving one of the houses, who were going out on their own with nothing. Next, we decided on breaking the class up into three different groups; a group to work at Ophelia house, a group to work at Ruth house, and a group for fundraising. Our first task at hand would be getting donations and money to fund the project. Along with this, the groups working at the houses began cleaning and organizing the rooms. In both houses, there was a bunch of clothing that was old and already picked through. It was the stuff that none of the women at the houses wanted, so we decided we would pack all of it up and donate it to a different program in need of clothing. After clearing out all of the unwanted clothing, we then started cleaning the rooms. Our only problem during this process of our project was that it was difficult for all members of each group to meet at the same time as we all have very busy schedules. We worked out a time and date where the most people could meet, and went from there. I never realized how difficult planning something as simple as meeting a few times a week could be. The next step in our process of creating resource rooms was holding a couple different fundraisers, to raise money to pay for supplies that we needed for both resource rooms. The first fundraiser we held was a chili and bake goods sale. We held it at one of the Viterbo University Mens basketball game, hoping that we could make a decent profit from fans at the game. Along with this, it gave our class its first chance to raise awareness about the YWCA and oppression of women. Not only could we raise money during our sale, we could also raise awareness about the project we were doing to help oppressed women in the La Crosse community. We held a couple of these, raising a decent amount of money towards our cause. Next our class decided that we needed clothing to fill the shelves of our resource rooms. We came up with the idea to hold a

clothing drive at Viterbo University, hoping that students and faculty would donate clothing that they did not wear anymore. We strategically ran this prior to spring break, thinking that students would more than likely be taking their winter clothing back home at this time, and instead, they could just donate some of it to us. We set out boxes with a flyer describing what the clothes were needed for and who their clothing would be going to. The boxes sat near doorways in all the major buildings on the Viterbo campus. The drive was very profitable, as almost all of the boxes were stuffed full of clothing. Along with this, most students asked their family and friends to donate any unwanted clothing and this helped out tremendously as well. After we had plenty of clothing donated, next we decided we should try to get supplies donated as well. We asked for items such as small appliances, plates, silverware, cups, and towels, in hopes of getting these items donated, so that we wouldnt need to buy them. The next, and what I believe to be, most influential fundraiser we held, was a brat sale, at Festival Foods. Festival Foods allows groups and organizations the opportunity to come and sell brats, hot dogs, and hamburgers, in order to raise money for your program. They provide the food, grill, and condiments for your group. While working this fundraiser, I truly got a feeling that we were doing something amazing. Not only were we representing Viterbo University, and the YWCA, we were also helping raise awareness about the struggles that women in La Crosse face. We actually got to converse with people about what we were doing and show them that our college is giving back to our community. It was amazing to see how excited some people were that actual college students were helping out such a great cause. I also found it surprising how willing people can be to donate. We had a small donations jar on the counter of our stand that was filled by the time we were done. I gave myself and more than likely most of the class a great sense of satisfaction, knowing that we are actually making a difference in our community.

Our final step in the creation of the resource rooms was bringing it all together. Both rooms were painted with primer and color and then shelving was hung back up. After the paint was all dry and the shelving hung back up, we started bringing all the supplies that were donated, and some that were bought, into the houses. Prior to seeing all the donations and supplies, I thought that we might not have enough to fill the shelves. I couldnt have been any more incorrect. After dividing the supplies and donations into piles for each house, I realized that we might struggle to make it all fit in the rooms. People had been so generous and we had worked so hard, our work was finally paying off. This was by far the best feeling of accomplishment I have ever had. Though this project may appear smaller compared to other services projects, I learned that it takes a ton of work and cooperation to make a project like this work. Articulation of Learning Throughout this semester, our class has read several different books that have taught us about service learning and the oppression of women. Specifically, we read about people, mainly women, from all over the world that have struggled with topics such as prostitution, sex trafficking, economics, education, and gender based violence. We learned about women who through all the negativity and hardships that have surrounded them are making a change in their community. The first book we read was Paul Loebs, Soul of a Citizen. In his book, Loeb is relaying the message that we dont need to do major acts of kindness or good deeds to lead a fulfilling life. I can really apply this to what I have done this semester in our class. Though we did do a significantly large project, I got the most out of the little things we did to help others. During our fundraisers, people got such enthusiasm and excitement from a couple of college kids just trying to raise money to help a group in their community. We were there to make a profit, but in the end I saw the real profit in the looks of peoples faces that were excited to see us

making a change in our community. According to Loeb (2010), Again and again, Ive heard active citizens say that what motivates them the most is the desire to respect what they see in the mirror (p. 21). I found this to be very true for myself, in the fact that I got enjoyment in just knowing that I was actually helping out my community. Though small, I was actually helping make the city that I live in a better place (Loeb, 2010). The next reading we did was from author John Rawls. Rawls did a piece on the theory of justice. Though difficult to read, I took out of this reading the idea that we as a public all deserve equal opportunities. No matter if you are white, brown, green, red, man or woman, dog or cat, we all deserve to have the same opportunities as the person next to us. Rawls points out that social opportunity needs to be arranged so that they are in everyones advantage. This is where I see a connection between the Rawls reading and what the YWCA is doing. They have created a program that allows women with a troubling past a chance to start over. They are given an opportunity to prove that they can change their lives around. The YWCA is giving them the advantage that Rawls is talking about. According to Rawls (1971), Justice is our most important social duty (p. 328). Given the right opportunity, everyone can, not only survive, but flourish. The last and what I believe is the most significant reading was the book Half The Sky. Written by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the book focuses on the topics of prostitution, rape, maternal mortality, education, economics, and womens equality. While reading the book you get both the terrible stories of the struggles some of these women have gone through while dealing with such topics, but also we hear of amazing stories of women who have persevered and changed the lives of many people in their communities (Kristof & WuDunn, 2009). One woman I found to be extremely inspiring was Urmi Basu. Urmi is a woman that lives in the red light districts of India. She started a program called New Light, which provides

health care, child care, funding, and shelter to women that cant make it on their own. Most of the women that the program works with are prostitutes, whom are forced to have sex with people for money. As the Half The Sky Video documentary tells us, in the red light district of India, there are roughly three million women that are trapped in prostitution. Of this three million, over one million are children. Urmi Basu, having lived that same life as the women in prostitution, escaped it to create a program to help women deal with some of their struggles. As Basu says, Changing even one life matters. I truly apply this to what our entire class has done. Though we are trying to change the lives of many women in the homes we were working on, if we affect just one of them, and truly make a difference in their live, I believe we will have accomplished something tremendous. I believe if we change the live of just one woman in the house, it will spark a change in many more (Kristof & WuDunn, 2009).

Analysis and Reflection I view this entire service project as somewhat of a roller coaster process. There were many ups and downs throughout our process. Starting out, I believe I had somewhat of a prejudice towards the women. In all honesty, I believe no matter what everyone has a misguided conception about someone different then themselves. I came into the project with the feeling that these were women that had made bad mistakes in their life and were probably going to continue to make these bad decisions until something drastic happens. I also believed that what we were doing was only going to benefit them, and figured that they would be grateful for what we were doing. My personal philosophy would change immensely as the semester would go on. About midway through our semester, I started to get the feeling that we were not wanted at the Ruth House. It became difficult to get in contact with the leader of the house, and when

she was not there, we were told one of the women at the houses would let us in to keep working on the resource rooms. This never really happened, as when we did come and the leader was there, no woman would ever come let us in. At first, I found this extremely discouraging and angered me that we were doing something to help them and they wanted nothing to do with us. I then started to lose focus on what was the real priority. There were also a couple of times when the women would straight up ask us when we were going to be done and out of there, so that we wouldnt bother them anymore. I got to the point where I just wanted to get done with my twenty-five service hours and be done with the project all together. Finally, one day I actually sat and thought about what those women must be going through. I came to the realization that what these women were struggling with was far more superior then the simple annoyance I was getting from them. They were dealing with drug and alcohol problems, along with probably losing contact with their families and even their children. They had just gotten out of prison, had no home, no money, and no food, and yet I felt as though I was the one with the problem. I realized that I needed to focus more on the idea that we were doing this project more so to help them out, rather than to just complete my required twenty-five service hours. I was putting my needs before theirs, and they needed help way more than I did. From this point on, I didnt focus on my hours, or the troubles at the house, but rather the hope that we would be helping these women after we were done and gone. I truly had a change of heart and realized that we only dipped our toes into something that these women live with. After all, I myself would be annoyed with a group, whom I do not know, coming into my home, and changing things around. If I could change anything, it would be setting up a better knowledge base prior to working on the resource rooms. We did a pizza party towards the end of the semester, to meet

and learn a little bit about the women in the houses, but I would schedule this for the beginning. Meet the women in the house, and get some requests or feedback from them, prior to doing work on a project they had little knowledge about. This way, they know what we will be doing and they will feel more involved with the process. I would also try and figure out a way to sit in during each houses group meeting at the end of each month. I feel the more contact you get with the people living in the houses, the more likely it will be that they will feel comfortable and excited about you being there. The best way to establish contact is to actually listen, rather than just hear what someone has to say. Finally, I would set up this project, so that it can be passed on to the next class that comes through. This way Viterbo University, and the future VUSM 300 courses can continue to be involved with the YWCA and hopefully maintain the resource rooms at the Ruth and Ophelia houses. Our class came up with some ideas that include: setting up a garden at Ruth house, continuing to get donations of clothing and supplies to keep the shelves of the resource stocked, and just maintaining a contact with the houses, so that when the time comes, if they need something we can be there to help out.

Works Cited Kristof, N.D. and WuDunn, S. (2009). Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. New York: Random House. ISBN: 9780307387097 Loeb, P.R. (2010). Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times. New York: St. Martins Press. ISBN: 9780312595371 Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard UP. YWCA. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.ywca.org/