Service Learning Log Week 1

Shanay Cogdell


Professor Nina Perez


WST 3015


February 13, 2010

   Activism Log 1

• Activisim

This week our group met with our community partner, Mariana Ordaz, to get information on what we will be doing for our project as well as set up dates for each task to be completed.

Sarah, Jessica and I met with Mariana face to face which worked out very well; all were present except for Kelly who had to work. Mariana gave the outline for the project and explained that we will be working with a group of young girls with ages ranging from six to eight years old. Our project is called the “Penny Project” that is a financial literacy curriculum for Girl Scout Brownies, which uses an interactive educational approach to help girls gain an understanding of money and the responsibility that goes with it. For the first official meeting, we were very successful in all efforts in setting up our dates and ensuring that it worked for everyone in our group. In efforts of completing our project, next week we will be meeting to go over the guidelines and instructions for the Penny Project in preparation for our first meeting with the young girls at the Bithlo Community Center. We also completed the volunteer application as well as a background check.

• Reflection

The young girl scouts that we will be working with are in more than one way, less fortunate. Most come from broken homes and are otherwise unable to have programs such as Girl Scouts in their community due to low funds. The Penny Project will allow the girls to become empowered and learn ways to save their money and become successful in life. As stated in the book, Women’s Lives Multicultural Perspectives,"…poor people are usually assumed to be on welfare, masking the reality of life for many working people(Kirk, Okazawa-Rey p 311) ." This holds true to the young girl scouts because most of their parents are making just enough money to pay the bills and this project will hold as a new light that is shined in their lives and will teach them ways to manage their money.

• Reciprocity

Empowering women and young girls is something that I am a strong advocate for and programs like these are positive because it teaches girls how to do things on their own and become financially stable. I am very excited to see how this project benefits them in the long run!

Work Cited

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