Progress+Reports

As of my research, I feel that I have made an appropriate amount of progress considering the amount of class periods we have had so far. I have found ten credible, scholarly sources discussing either the generalization of poverty or poverty specifically in the inner-cities of America. I would like to find more book sources and possibly set up an interview with someone who works for Philabundance. Philabundance is a non-profit organization in Philadelphia that delivers food and supplies to those who receive food stamps and/or welfare. I have volunteered there before and they are well informed of the poverty in Philadelphia, just one of many inner-cities that copes with poverty. As of my project, I have not gotten as far as I would like to of have by now. I know that I want to do a school-wide fundraiser for poverty in Philadelphia but I have not consulted the administrators yet. I plan on setting up a meeting with the administrators next week to discuss this project I have in mind. Before the next progress report is due I need to extend my research further, talk to administrators about my project, and maybe set up an interview with a worker at Philabundance. In the past week my mentor has helped me find sources discussing inner-city poverty and why it occurs. I have also asked Dr. Valenza to assist me in finding more specific sources with inner-city poverty.
 * Progress Report #1:**

In the past few weeks I feel much more comfortable with my research findings and progress with my project. I decided not to do the fundraiser considering it would be too difficult to organize and maintain with my schedule. I did much brainstorming and thought about creating posters with statistics and facts about inner city poverty in America. In addition to the posters I would like to volunteer at a local soup kitchen to observe poverty first-hand. My goal is to meet someone that personally copes with poverty and to have an interview with them. I also found a scholarly source discussing the eight different hypotheses to why there is poverty in the inner cities of America. Before the next progress report I hope to accomplish my goals of going to the soup kitchen at least once, creating a rough draft poster of poverty, and to find other in-depth sources about inner city poverty. Mr. Martin has helped me with my project because I was feeling hesitant about it. He helped me brainstorm other options rather than a fundraiser. I have also talked with my peers about my ideas and accepted their input on my project.
 * Progress Report #2:**

As for my research paper, I am finished. I am satisfied with the grade I received and felt I rightfully deserved it for my hard work. Ever since I finished the paper, and prior to finishing it, I have been working on putting my project together. On Sunday, November 22, 2009 I volunteered at Our Brother’s Place off of Spring Garden in Philadelphia. The shelter consists of poor, homeless men of all ages living in the impovershed areas of Philadelphia. My mom and I, along with four other women, traveled to the shelter to prepare and serve dinner to the men. It was a fascinating experience that I will never forget. My goal at this point is to volunteer with another poverty organization to experience poverty first hand, once more. Conclusively, I want to reveal my experiences, along with facts and statistics on inner city poverty, in a creative manner. With this collaborative project I hope to raise awareness throughout the school and community about inner city poverty.
 * Progress Report #4:**

As for my project, I have been going down to Philadelphia and taking pictures of homelessness and poverty. I find it incredible how many abandoned buildings and homeless people there are in the city. My goal is to capture first-hand experience of poverty in the inner cities with photography. Along with the pictures I am taking, I want to write my experiences in the city and at the soup kitchen I volunteered at. I also am planning on creating posters with statistics and facts on inner city poverty in America. My goal with that part of my project is to raise awareness on inner city poverty throughout the community and school. I feel that the more people become aware of poverty in America, the more that can be done about it. With my powerpoint presentation I want to express the eight major theories on why there is a greater amount of poverty and homelessness in the inner cities. I have found many pictures on the Internet that portray inner city poverty and homeless that would easily portray my points. I still feel like I have a lot to accomplish, but in the end I think I will have achieved my goals with this project.
 * Progress Report #5:**