Service Learning Activism Log, Entry One.

1) I've communicated with Arielle, Abigail, and Leandra extensively this week via email and phone calls regarding plans for the Pride parade on the tenth. We're planning to table with VOX because we don't have our own table and walk around distributing literature on Animal Safehouse. I'll be there from 1:00 PM until 6. We will particularly emphasize the need for fosters, monetary donations, and any pet-related supplies (transport kennels, food, et cetera). Additionally, I asked Arielle about what work I could do that would have a particular emphasis in finances, and her response was that I should organize a fundraiser, giving the suggestion that I ask Publix if I can table with them. This is the perfect option for me, as I happened to work at a Publix in Winter Garden that is much closer to my house than Brevard County and I know my managers would be very receptive to helping me with any projects relating to my schoolwork, as they did, after all, give me almost the entire semester off to focus on it. I'm calling them about that first thing tomorrow and hope to have a table on a weekend day or Thursday afternoon/evening sometime in the very near future.

2) As you know, my research is particularly emphasizing the problems women face as entrepreneurs, in conjunction with the meanings assigned to their gender and how it is accomplished, but more than that, I am looking at these problems through a lens that rejects the way capitalism manifests itself in our society, placing some people over others and creating a value-based hierarchy, while still acknowledging that self-interest, and by extension money, are imperative to survival, given the dominant culture. Keeping that in mind, while we would like to hope that domestic violence problems could be solved simply by altruism and society acknowledging that these problems exist, there are so many potential barriers to creating an organization that successfully combats these problems. Most pressing are the monetary implications inherent to taking animals into one's case, especially veterinary bills, and this can only be remedied through the work I am taking into my charge: fundraising. If we are to believe that eradicating domestic violence is an essential part of achieving reproductive justice and promoting sexual health (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 244), then we must value all parts of creating a nuanced picture of a healthy woman, including caring for her displaced animals, in that equation, and take whatever measures necessary to accomplish this goal.

3) I would be able to give a much better answer to this if I was expected to turn it in Monday, but as of right now, I haven't had any face to face meetings or served any hours. However, the way all of my projects have been informing each other has been very interesting and illuminating, especially in terms of networking, and I have been forced to record my work and plan things out in advance with service learning more than most other school projects. This is a wonderful organization and I'm really genuinely excited to have more to write about what I'm receiving than I'm able this time.

Works Cited

Kirk, Gwyn, and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Word Count: 538