1. The kids seemed engaged in the workshop, they were excited during the activity and showed interest and knowledge during the powerpoint. They raised their hands for questions and answers frequently.

2. I thought it was very challenging to be a teacher for two hours. I had to make sure that the kids were paying attention and that they weren’t being disruptive to the activity. As a team, whenever there was loud chatting we would remind them to calm down and listen.

3. I would have prepared the activity more and had a set order that the teams would answer the questions in, because it got hectic and loud at times as the teams fought to be chosen to answer first.

4. We leave the kids with the suggestion of attending the AIDS Walk in order to raise awareness and support for the AIDS crisis after they have learned more about it and how it affects the population.

5. In the decoration set up group we all added our ideas to the posters that we taped up around the middle school and created them as an entire group. I believe that the assembly went well because everyone worked together and did their best job to represent the social justice project within each set up group.

6. I liked visiting our organization because when I was there I felt that I was helping a greater cause and that my support and  the information I would spread to others added to the awareness about HIV and AIDS. I think that this project is good as it is, and that the class next year will enjoy participating in it.

On friday, me, Alma, Jasper, Katharine, Lenny and Adam went to Aid for AIDS. We were given the task of packaging condoms, pamphlets and lubricant into small plastic ziploc bags. These were to be given out to people as protection against the spread of AIDS. I believe that we all worked very well. Since there were others working in the building and meetings were going on, we had to be quiet and focussed. We were all fast at the packaging and by the end of our visit we had a large pile of small ziploc bags containing the necessary tools for AIDS prevention. I like visiting Aid for AIDS because its a calm workplace where I believe we are truly benefitting the community. Also, it was nice to present our efforts to the workers at Aid for AIDS.

For my fourth visit, my group and I went to help out the AIDS Walk organization. We helped them by packaging and folding fliers and sign up sheets for the AIDS Walk. The sign up sheets will be mailed out to various places–such as schools, companies, and past volunteers or walkers. The people who choose to participate in the AIDS Walk can fill up the sheet with donations from family and friends, which they will hand in to the AIDS Walk workers on the day of the walk. This money goes towards AIDS research and medication. From taking part in the AIDS Walk in the past, I can remember completing the sheet myself. We placed all of these sheets into large envelopes and dropped these into a post box. I think that the group worked well and that we got a lot done during the time we were there.

On Thursday night, my social justice group and I traveled to West 24th street to help the AIDS Walk organization package posters and fliers for schools and businesses to display prior to the AIDS Walk. The goal was to inspire people in NYC to participate in the AIDS Walk on May 16 and raise money to find a cure for the disease. We were led up to a warehouse on the third floor by Sean Sheppard, the volunteer coordinator, where a group of other volunteers were sitting at tables boxing posters. Sean Sheppard and the other organization leaders were very kind and grateful towards us. My group and I split the work into separate jobs, the way we had on our previous visit, and this was an easy way of completing the job by using teamwork. Though the visit wasn’t long, by the end we were proud that we had helped out to spread the word about an important event.

For my second visit to Aid for Aids down on Wall Street, my partners (Matan and Alma) and I went as a split part of our larger group. I feel that we worked very well in this smaller group, because we aimed to get as much as possible done and we were reminding each other to work as hard as we possibly could instead of chatting. We were also very mindful of the workers in the building, so we made sure not to interrupt any conversations or disrupt the workers.

Matan, Alma and I were given the task of folding small brochures to be mailed out to people seeking information about the organization and about prevention of STDs. There were several large stacks of unfolded papers to be folded in specific ways, and then to be packed in boxes. We were unsure whether or not we would finish all the papers, since the work was a bit tedious, but we discovered that when we put our minds to it we were very productive and focused on our individual tasks. We split the work into parts so that everyone had a specific job to do and so the work went faster and gave everyone an opportunity to be as productive as possible for the benefit of the rest of the group. The workers at Aid for AIDS seemed grateful for our help and were very kind to us.

I discovered that when my small group was intent to finish a job well and was motivated by the idea of helping others, we could get more done than we expected and have an end result that we were very proud of.

For my first visit, my group and I went down to 120 Wall Street to volunteer with Aid for AIDS. Aid for AIDS NYC is an organization that collects donations from the public such as medicine and wheelchairs and uses them to support people living with HIV/AIDS and provides services for Latin American and Caribbean immigrants. It also serves as a liaison between these individuals and the social workers adept ant providing medical care and assistance. Since there were seven of us (plus Sarah), we were split into groups of three and four and shown around the building before we were given individual jobs. The woman showing us around was named Hannah McDurmont. She first showed my group and I the medicine storage, where they kept the medication donated by people from all around the world. We were shown the packages that the medication arrived from and looked at the addresses of each of them. Hannah then showed us to a room which was crowded with wheelchairs and crutches, all being organized and made ready for shipment to Haiti.

After the tour was finished, my group and I were given the task of folding posters and sorting flyers that would be mailed to supporters in envelopes. The aim was to spread the word of what Aid for AIDS was doing and get people to donate. The other group was given a stack of miniature pamphlets that they would fold to also be mailed in the hopes of getting others aware. In all, the visit was very informative and interesting and the people were both inviting and kind.