Wednesday, November 21, 2007

 

Wednesday, November 21 Both classes

Post your research essay drafts here. Students need to respond to 1-2 posted essays using the Hacker guidelines on page 26-27 in the text (green handout). Briefly, look at the author's purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content, and point of view. Remember these are drafts. Talk about what you like and what you'd like to know. Remember, each essay is to answer the four questions: What is the problem? Who is the person and why did they want to get involved? How did they involve community? What are the measurable results?

In Elesha's essay she uses her personal experience with Craig's List to talk about its benefits. She does a great job citing measurable results. She doesn't address the benefits to Craig. She does not cite any sources or tell the reader how she knows what she knows. But this is a draft. Check back and see how she revises this essay with answers to my questions next week.

Continue reading Chapter 6 in Guy. Have a good holiday. Homework is to complete the essay. Monday we will continue with Guy and talk more about argumentation. We'll meet in the lab--both classes.

Comments:
Craigslist.org was founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark, a then java programmer

and San Francisco native. Craig was inspired to create the site because at the time he felt

it was necessary to create an online community as a means for locals to connect and share

information. In its early stages, it was a site in which notices of social events were posted

for SF/Bay Area residents. From that, the site cultivated as the community took charge

in finding ways to broaden its audience, and expand the services available. Initially the

site had an uncertain future, but would soon prove to be the largest online community in

the world.


Craigslist.org is ran by the community rather than a moderator, meaning all of its

content is community owned and operated, however, there are 25 company employees to

date who assists in the management of the site. With the exception of a small fee charged

to employers seeking to hire, Craigslist.org is a completely free community board. With

categories ranging from housing, personal, childcare, and for sale ads to name a few, the

possibilities are endless. Craigslist.org caters to over 450 cities worldwide, in all 50

states, and over 50 countries worldwide. The site receives over 8 billion hits monthly,

with over 30 million users.

From a personal point of view, I myself have been an avid user of the site since

the year 2000. At the time I had been working for the City of Oakland Police department

and a co-worker who has been seeking a roommate turned me on to the site. From that

point on, I was addicted and have since carried the title of “Craigslist Queen”. I have

purchased and sold virtually hundreds, (if not thousands) of items, found rentals, offered

and sought childcare, met friends and activity partners, landed paid gigs, and used the site

as a means to advertise both my cleaning and hair braiding businesses which have both

had tremendous success. Craigslist.org has been a useful tool and a life saver in my times

of need. During a trying time in my life some years ago and without any friends or

family, the Craigslist community was my only support. Ranging from posting free ads to

gain potential cleaning clients, selling literally all of my belongings, having a community

member adopt my family for Christmas, receiving a donation from a random user, and

being referred to useful resources which aided me in my dilemmas. Craigslist.org has

become such a great asset to much of the community that upon learning of EBay’s

purchase of 25% of the site, the community was at a stand-still. Under the assumption

that the site would now be ran differently with commercial ads, and fees for all ads, we

were left with the uncertainty of what the future may hold for Craigslist. Fortunately,

Craig personally made it clear to the community that he had no intent of selling the site or

commercializing it, and other than several upgrades, there have been no significant

changes to the site.

Craig’s hard work and dedication has received great recognition. Some of his

accomplishments include the Social Entrepreneur of the year award for 2007 given by the

Computers for Youth Organization, Webby: 2001, Best Community Site, by the

Academy, NYPRESS: 2003, Best Local Website, by Manhattan Reader's Poll, 26 Most

Fascinating Entrepreneurs by Inc.com, and 24 Hours on Craigslist was an award winning

documentary created by a few individuals of the community. Craig has also been featured

in many magazines, journals, and newspaper articles, and is now working toward helping

people with his “Craigslist Foundation”.

Craigslist.org has not only received great praise, but on the flip side it has

also struggled a bit of condemnation in recent years. Ranging from a law suit for a

discriminatory ad being placed, to an individual who was lured and murder by someone

who posted a want ad, critics are questioning how trustworthy the site really is.

Craigslist.org has provided many individuals with the tools and services that

would otherwise not had been available to them. Cragslist.org offers a community where

economics and class does not play a factor in the communication of information for a

change. The site caters to everyone from a wide array of social and economic classes, and

the community as a whole is on the same plateau . From rental listings to free item

giveaways, Craigslist.org provides endless opportunities for the community to benefit

from. With its massive expansion over the past 12 years, Craigslist.org has proven to be a

site that holds true to its initial purpose, and although it is not commercial driven, it has

still maintained the position of being one of the top 10 websites in the World.

Craigslist.org further provides proof of how an organization does not require economics

nor commercialism to establish credibility or prove its success.
 
Wow, Elesha, this is a great essay, makes me want to log onto Craig's List. I am interested in the film. What is the website where one can view it? Have you watched it? Where does Craig live? What are the nuts and bolts of fostering such an innovative on-line resource? Is he technologically savvy? Expand the information about the founder. Have you tried to get in touch with him? I presume you'd have to do this through an email.

The essay is great for a rough draft. I look forward to the completed draft next Wednesday.
 
“From The Wholesaler to the Hungry” 201A 8-9

Since 1991, preventive medicine professors Peter Clarke and Susan Evans have worked to bring fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to homeless and low income people throughout the United States through their national Wholesaler to the Hungry project. “From The Wholesaler to the Hungry” a non-profit organization helping the poor with fresh fruits and vegetables. Susan Evans and Peter Clarke is in charge of this organization was concerned that food that are not sellable being dumped into trash bins are going to waste, so that’s why they created this program to help the people in needs. It has helped nearly 150 surplus food rescue organizations in 45 states launch wholesale programs that capture fresh produce and provide these nutritious foods free to low-income people, thousands of non-profit community agencies.
Weiss, a retired produce wholesaler was concerned about the large amounts of edible but not sellable food wasted in the distribution process instead it could be given to the poor and hungry people. The real significance of this idea, Evans and Clarke say much more important, fresh fruits and vegetables are critical elements in a healthy diet. Last year alone, Evans and Clarke helped bring 170 million pounds of free fruits and vegetables to low-income people around the country. That's 5,000 trailer loads of oranges, bananas, squash, green beans and more. Clarke and Evans realized that Weiss's idea could work elsewhere, if local adaptations were made site-by-site. And the idea could work, if someone traveled the country, promoting the health benefits of perishable foods, raising grants to food banks for needed cooling and other upgrades, and providing technical assistance to get the job done.
Along with their work in nutrition, Clarke and Evans have continued a full schedule of teaching and writing. Their latest book, "Surviving Modern Medicine: How to Get the Best from Doctors, Family, and Friends," has received media attention and sold alot. Clarke, Evans and colleagues in computer science have even created a way for recipients of fresh produce to learn how to prepare the food in healthy, efficient, and tasty servings. Clarke said that it is a high priority for him to help people make the most nutritious and appealing use of the food possible. They launched their project in 1991 because they had discovered what a need there was for low-income people to get nutritious food, vital for preventing or managing chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, many cancers, infectious illnesses, and more.
In addition to meeting with the potential host organization, they also try to build bridges to the wholesale produce community, other regional non-profits, funders and government. Shortly after returning to home base, they send the organization a field report summarizing its strengths and challenges in terms of setting up a produce program, and outlining steps that might be taken next. A process of negotiation including helping the organization draw up an operational plan and seek funding, and in most cases, the local organization can launch a produce program within anywhere from four to 18 months. All these services are provided free of charge to the local organization.
They estimate that a food bank or perishable food program can develop a program at an annual cost of recovered produce. Even a small city food bank can quickly reach the point of recovering 1 million pounds of produce in a year, they said large organizations are able to recover significantly more. They have now replicated the basic program in 38 cities most recently at Louisville's Dare To Care Food Bank and are working on projects. By estimate, they calculate that these programs have already salvaged more than 125 million pounds of fresh produce. Several organizations have recognized the achievements by Clarke and Evans. They received the 1996 National Award for Hunger Relief from the United Parcel Service Foundation and an award from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Clarke said that he appreciates the recognition, but that plaques are not the reason he is passionate about his mission.
Clarke and Evans are really inspiring in helping the people that are less fortunate especially people with no homes. I put myself as one of the millions of people in need, I would wish that someone like Clarke and Evans would exist in helping me out, giving me fresh fruits and vegetables so I can be healthy. Even though the organization is non-profit, people out there are really in need of a lot of things, not just food, but clothes etc. I might have my own non-profit organization when I grow but instead it might turn out to be a salvation army #2. I will have people donating their old clothes to the poor. I’ve really learned a lot just by doing research on Clarke and Evans and writing this essay, it really has inspired to look at things different in helping the poor.
 
I noticed a lot of grammatical errors, and would suggest for the essay to contain more structure; an outline would be helpful. I love that fact that the program is geared toward implementing more nutrition into the diets of low-income persons. It was also nice that Jack used himself as an example of who the program targets, and that he was inspired to create a similar program to help other low-income individuals in the future.
 
Halina Nafey
Professor Sabir
English 201A
19 November 2007
Oral Lee Brown Foundation
Oral Lee Brown, founder of the Oral Lee Brown Foundation is a social entrepreneur, a remarkable role model, and a savior for children of Oakland. Her courageous work has been praised by many parents, community of Oakland, and CNN, because many students who lived in poor neighborhoods of Oakland were not graduating from high school, Oral Lee Brown started the Oral Lee Brown Foundation to help and support these venerable children.
In 1987, a five year old girl asked Ms. Brown for a quarter to buy candy, but Ms. Brown took her to the store and bought her some food, and then Ms. Brown asked the girl that why she was not at school. The girl told her that sometimes she is skipping school. Thought of skipping school haunted Ms. Brown for days. She kept asking herself that why the little girl was not at school, and why was she begging. After a few weeks Ms. Brown decided to go and look for the little girl. She started her search at Brookfield Elementary School (Oral Lee Brown helping kids again). Ms. Brown did not find the little girl, but she end up promising the first graders that if they stay at school and graduate, she will pay for their college tuition. Three weeks later Ms. Brown opened a nonprofit organization called Oral Lee Brown Foundation (Oral). ¶¶¶ In 2005 Ms. Brown had another 20 adopted students in tenth grade, 20 students in sixth grade, and 20 students in second grade, who were promised to have college tuition ready for them if they graduate from school (Johnson).
Ms. Brown was born and raised in Mississippi Delta. She grew up facing segregation and poverty. When she found herself in Brookfield Elementary school, she noticed that those kids needed help. Ms. Brown is a very hard working woman. When she first moved to California, she used to work during the day and attend school during the night because in order to be a good role model, she had to have a degree before she starts telling other that college is important. She graduated from University of San Francisco with a Bachelor degree in Science. Next, she started working for Blue Cross Insurance Company. After a while she decided to change careers and become a realtor. Later on she opened her own real estate office in Oakland. After that she opened her own restaurant, Cobbler’s, and she was the chief in charge (Oral).
In an interview with CNN Ms. Brown stated that she has devoted her life in helping these unfortunate children. She attended every graduation of her adopted students. She said that the students she adopted call her “Mom,” “Mama Brown,” or some call her Ms. Brown. The students think of Ms. Brown as a “Security Blanket,” and she is like a light of their live (CNN). Hunter, one of the first students adopted in 1987, said that he owes everything that he is to Ms. Brown. He added that Ms. Brown’s hard work, affection and kindness encouraged him to do better. Now Hunter is a successful person with a bachelor degree in accounting (John). Nekita Noel also believes that she owes all her success to Ms. Brown. Before she was adopted by Ms. Brown, she did not do so well at school. After being adopted by Ms. Brown, she started doing well at school, and got better grades. Nekita got her degree in Criminal Justice, and Social Work. According to Nekita, Ms. Brown is like a role model to her. Nekita grew up in East Oakland, so she knows that many children are exposed to criminal justice in early age. She is planning to start her own program helping kids, who are exposed to criminal justice system or at risk of falling into criminal justice. Currently, Nekita lives in Hayward because many people that she knew got killed in Oakland, and living in Oakland reminded her of painful memories.
According to NBC’s Today Show, Ms. Brown adopted the entire first grade class at Brookfield Elementary School. Brookfield is one of the most unfortunate neighborhoods in Oakland. Many gang related murders, robberies, drug dealing, and other crimes takes place in Brookfield, Oakland. She did not want her children to drop out of school or do drug dealings. She would meet with them constantly, encourage them and give them hopes of better days. She would also buy them school materials, take them to field trips, offer them tutoring, and even bought them prom dresses and tuxedoes. Tutoring was a huge help for these students because many of their parents did not complete high school. Ms. Brown also bought the children Christmas presents, and once the students were old enough, she would take them to visit colleges.
Opening the foundation required an enormous amount of money and courage. Ms. Brown was quite scared when she first the presented the idea of the foundation to the parents. She brought her reverend for mortal support to the meeting. She also thought that the reverend’s presence will help parents with trust issues. During the meeting, Ms. Brown asked the parents if any of them had already started a saving account for their children, and not a single parent had started saving account for their children’s college tuition. At the time, Ms. Brown was making $45,000 as a realtor, and she managed to set $10,000 aside every year for her children’s education. She was not alone in this journey. The Oakland Association of Realtors raised $20,002 in year 2002, and they have kept up the good work and raised thousands of dollars for Ms. Brown’s foundation. There are also people who do volunteer work for the foundation. According to Ms. Brown though adopting these children was one of the most difficult thing that she has ever done, it was also the best and most important thing that she did in her live. She believes that it was her mission from God to help these children (Oral Lee Brown helping).
Ms. Brown is known all over the United States for her noble work as a social entrepreneur. She is also known as one of America’s most caring person who has put many poor and underprivileged children through college. Ms. Brown was given an award by Caring Institute of Washington D.C. Some other people who were awarded by Caring Institute are Paul Newman, President Jimmy Carter, and Maya Angelou. Ms. Brown was also given the Ten most Influential People Award by San Francisco mayor Willie Brown.
Richard Brennan, the director of the Caring Institute said,
What we try to do with caring award is find models in society that people can look up to. Oral Lee Brown story is extraordinary because she is not a wealthy person. She is able to do it by sitting aside funds from her real estate business to make it happen (Jason Johnson).
In brief, Oral Lee Brown is a great asset to the community of Oakland. Ms. Brown’s achievement is deeply appreciated by many parents and students. She did not only dedicate her money and time to these children, but she has donated her life. I believe her efforts are paid off because many of the students that she adopted have graduated from colleges and universities, and they are successful people now.
 
Sophia Andrews
Professor Sabir
1-3 p.m.

When life happens and the chances on starting over are seeming pretty seldom I’m sure that the motivation on trying to create change for the better dose not even cross the minds of those facing the problem. However the truth is that someone does care, although an ex convict, drug abuser, and prostitutes will unfortunately have to live with the experiences, and title that those choices brought into their life. The opportunity to be, and create change, the choice of empowerment is possible. Participants in Delancy street have lost their hope in succeeding in life, because of the lost of hope that they have been given from society, and family, Luckily Delancy street and its wonderful founder Mimi Silbert help delancy street residents to rebuild their faith, identify with them selves, and rejuvenate life.
“She envisioned a place where substance abusers, felons and others who had hit bottom would, through their own efforts be able to turn their lives around”
In 1971 Mimi Silbert had nothing or no one on her side but a dream, four residents, and a one thousand dollar loan. Through this very little to work with, Delancy street transformed into Today it being a foundation that has grossed over twenty million dollars a year. Touching, reaching, and helping more then 14,000 people, with locations in New Mexico, North Carolina and Los Angeles. Delancy street is a place where criminals, the

homeless, and ex drug abusers come to live, and learn in an environment full of others who want to be educated in leading and leading a productive and crime free lives. They must dedicate two years to the program, and learn three marketable skills. Mimi’s bright idea has been called “The most successful rehabilitation project in the United States.”
The inspiration in naming Delancy street came from Mimi Silbert identifying with her own history. While Mimi was growing up Delancy street was a place where immigrants like her parents came to create and develop a better life. Mimi silbert has a personal drive in dedicating her life proving that people have the power to make astonishing changes in their lives.
“How to make the undesirable, desirable at a personal level”.
- Mimi Silbert

After work of thirty five years, helping the lives of helpless humans become productive and everlasting while existing Silberts attitude of not focusing on ones future, but a future for others has not changed. Through her positive heart to heart attitude and drive to helping others that have been given up on by society and family Delancey street has created the proof that having “structure, education, respect, encouragement,
Accountability and trust can reverse the effects of neglect, abuse, poverty, and deprivation” can reform your life on the pathway to success!
The help that Mimi has received from the community has all been through the applicants of Delancy street in which she is extremely picky in. Mimi accepts no funds from the government what so ever so she has the complete control in picking and choosing who it is that she agrees to let join her program. The residents are all the support and help that she needs to be motivated to keep going. After putting in so much work and effort into changing peoples lives Mimi began to be recognized, and known for her work which populated Delancy street for its good deeds. This is the best support that the community can give to her. Their support strictly from being apart of the growth of Delancy street it businesses, and private funds. The delancy street restaurant and café, and the moving company. Mimi is satisfied with people willingly wanting to change their lives around by using her kind help and egarness to help them. The community supports her by contributing to her ongoing small businesses such as delancy street Christmas trees every year.
Delancy street provides the community with a reliable resource to turn to when the lives of drug abusers, prostitutes, and felons are seeming to come to an end. This resource helps to show us as humans that we have the power of empowerment over our own lives. The confidence in one self is rebuilt and as community we grow stronger, and stronger to make it possible to make change even more powerful so that the world stands as one with one level of integrity and pride to be equal as a human race. Although one may have once Made ignorant decisions in their life time, and they are forever stuck with the scared memory of a negative decision delancy street makes the change for our community possible.
Starting out with nothing at all but a dream, a small loan, and four residents turned into a lifetime of success with the comfort of reaching the lives of people that lives need to be touched. An envision is all it took and Mimi has maintained her commitment to being dedicated to changing the lives of others.
 
Jack, I agree with Elesha, the essay needs editing. There are a lot of SV agreement problems. More importantly, I would like to know where these two people are from and where they operate this program. Is it here in Alameda?\

Sophia, the essay has great moments, but needs editing. In paragraph 1, near the end the word you are thinking of is "stigma."

In the sentence beginning with "Participants" rewrite the end of it as another sentence. I think you mean: Family and friends often give up on those people Delancy Street Foundation serves.

Your quote is good. You do not indicate the source at the end of the citation.

In the paragraph beginning with: "In 1971... Revise the second sentence.

I stopped editing after this. You need to continue editing, so that you catch the places where the writing is not clear or grammatically incorrect.

Good work so far.

Halina,

I like the new version of the essay. Great use of suggestions.
 
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