The Culmination, Part Uno!

Hey everyone,

My journey has long begun! So far its been a fun exciting time meeting my apprentice contenders. I have learned to work with various people with various skill sets and leadership styles.

Speaking of style, I had to find me a suit for the January 16th, Apprentice Challenge Kickoff. This was definately a wake-up call, but not really and I will tell you why! I recently moved my mother and my little sister from Grand Junction, CO this past fall. Before then, I was living in a studio apartment on my own for five years. My life was simple then. Meaning I was living on pasta and my favorite choice of meat...chicken. I occasionally visited my ma' and lil' sis in Grand Junction and every time I did I ate homemade cooking! Delicious!!

So this leads me to my wake-up call. So when I was finding a suit for the Apprentice Challenge Kickoff, I came to the realization I have gained a few pounds. Living with my ma' again I have been eating pretty well! Overall, my date for the night had the same issue! So my advice for gaining some pounds before an event...always wear black :)

THE KICKOFF: I meet a lot of interesting people at the kickoff. Some attached to the program and others that have sponsored our work. When introducing myself I practiced ahead of time with my date and blew it at the the mic... a little stutter. But, overall I thought the ladies did better than us guys.

THE CHALLENGE: For our very first challenge we have the opportunity to create a strategic plan for the Metro State Food Bank! As a person interested in sociology I see things in a functional perspective. When designing a program you have to keep in mind how your program is going to operate and whether its going to be effective. Focusing on 4 areas of the strategic plan, I chose communications. Tasks associated with Communications included: Designing a website and marketing materials for the Food Bank.

RESEARCH: Having volunteered at the Food Bank of the Rockies, I woke up to a dead phone because my charger was never plugged into the outlet. I knew I was scheduled to meet Felipe at the Food Bank of Rockies @ 9:00am. I ran a little late but I stopped to get us a Starbucks. When I got there I met Olive, a nice lady who coordinated the volunteers. I filled out my application while sipping on my hot coffee and begin to learn about teammate Felipe. As we folded letters to be mailed, we talked about our interests and pursuits.

After we were done I scheduled a meeting with Agency Relations to learn about the benefits of partnering with the Food Bank of the Rockies and how they support their partner agencies. Olive told me the Agency Relations staff were away from their offices, but that I could speak with Lee.

Lee works for Kids Cafe, a program that provides backpack of food for over 400 students a week in the Denver Metro Area. They also run a program that provides food for students in before and after school programs. When talking with Lee he told me about how he runs his program. Simular in size to the Metro State Food bank, I correlated the numbers of Kids Cafe to the Metro State Food Bank, giving us base for costs associated with food purchase per week. Lee also connected me with LaDonna, a woman with a wealth of information. LaDonna provided Felipe and I information about The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP is a governmental assistance program that provides emergency food to indivduals and their families based on need. Since approximately 37.4 % of students at Metro are Pell Grant eligible, over 8, 000 are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level and could potentially qualifiy for TEFAP reducing Metro State Food Bank costs based on this program. Good News!!

But... More research to be continued!