Overall, I wish I would have done the other form of internship rather than the group tutorial version I did. The type of work we were doing seemed very remedial and wasn't what I was expecting. Also, it didn't seem to be taken very seriously by the group. When we would split into our two separate groups to revise each others writing, we would basically just say yes or no. For example, for the parts that asked whether the paper did or didn't follow the assignment and whether or not it stayed focused, we would simply say yes and move on to the next paper. My personal experience was fairly negative. I feel I would have chosen to stay more engaged if I felt as though the work I was doing was actually helping me improve.
As for the final portfolio, I've got all my work completed, I just need to transfer it to my webpage I have created. I'm very close to finishing it and publishing the finished product. Also, I'm completely fine with Beth using my paper if she'd like. I'm fine if my name is on it as well. Considering it could help someone else, I might as well claim a little credit!
Friday, April 26, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
Blog 11
PO Box 647204
Pullman, Washington 99164-7204
March 20, 2013
Ms. Georgia Martinell
Executive Director, Second Chance Animal
P.O. Box 1822
Orofino, ID 83544
Dear Ms. Martinell:
My name is Joshua Perry, and I am currently working on a group project that is being completed for an English class at Washington State University. We have been working on a detailed revision of your organization’s website, as well as brainstorming many different ideas to improve Second Chance Animal’s donation and volunteer turnouts. My group and I have come up with a few recommendations that we believe would be very beneficial to Second Chance Animal. I’m writing this letter to inform you about what we believe is working well with your non-profit organization, as well as what could possibly be improved to ensure your organization continues to grow and meet its future goals.
The first issue our group noticed about your website is that it is fairly difficult to find how and where we would be able to help donate or volunteer. Once we finally found the section that explains what to do if we wanted to volunteer, there was little to no explanation about what opportunities are available. We believe a good option for this situation would be to place the most valuable information on your homepage. A link that connects to all of the volunteer information would be incredibly beneficial. This could let the audience know what kinds of opportunities are available, as well as when they would take place. It is somewhat inconvenient to make people attend a meeting that only takes place twice a month to find out how they can contribute. These changes may help you receive a much better turnout if all this information was available in a simple and noticeable location on your website rather than at the very bottom of a page of photos.
Another issue our group noticed was the difficulty in finding out where to donate goods to Second Chance Animal. Since the only way to donate is by contacting you and meeting with you to drop off the food, it may be inconvenient for some. It’s difficult to make a quick donation of food when there is nowhere to drop it off. Especially when the times that are convenient for you and the individual who is donating may conflict with one-another’s schedules. We know that money is a definite issue, and that finding an “office” location is overly expensive. A great alternative to this could be talking to a location that you already have business connections with and seeing if you could rent out a spot to place a drop-off bin. People would be much more inclined to donating if it was as simple as throwing a can of dog food or a toy in an oversized mailbox. This way, whether you’re busy or not, people who want to make a donation can do so without taking up your time. Placing the location of your drop-off bin in flyers, on your website, and other forms of media would get the word out and our group is positive you would receive a much larger number of contributions.
We did like how your organization hosts the variety of fund raising events in order to bring in more donations and raise awareness about what Second Chance Animal does. Having photos of these events on your website is a wonderful way of showing how community-oriented Second Chance animal is, as well as showing people what to expect if they choose to attend. Also, the choice of photos seems to be far more effective than other animal based media we have seen. They portray exactly what Second Chance Animal is trying to do. Photos such as the ones of your volunteers building dog houses are incredibly inspiring. By avoiding the use of heartbreaking photos of abused animals, it seems Second Chance Animal will be able to get a much more productive reaction from your audience.
We want to thank you for taking the time to look over our recommendations and giving us a chance to help spread the word about your selfless organization. Our group has enjoyed getting to learn about Second Chance Animal and all of the wonderful things the organization aims to do. If you have any questions about any of our recommendations, or would like to contact us for any other forms of support, we can be reached at joshua.perry@email.wsu.edu. Thanks again for your time.
Sincerely,
Joshua Perry, Cody Cameron, Kyle Schneiders
The formatting got a little messed up when I pasted the letter into this blog, but the actual letter will be properly formatted. For the presentation, I am going to explain the purpose of the letter. I'll let Georgia know it is intended to show a few recommendations our group came up with that may improve their organization, as well as how certain aspects are working well and should probably be left the way they are. It will basically be a brief introduction to her about what to expect when reading this letter.
Pullman, Washington 99164-7204
March 20, 2013
Ms. Georgia Martinell
Executive Director, Second Chance Animal
P.O. Box 1822
Orofino, ID 83544
Dear Ms. Martinell:
My name is Joshua Perry, and I am currently working on a group project that is being completed for an English class at Washington State University. We have been working on a detailed revision of your organization’s website, as well as brainstorming many different ideas to improve Second Chance Animal’s donation and volunteer turnouts. My group and I have come up with a few recommendations that we believe would be very beneficial to Second Chance Animal. I’m writing this letter to inform you about what we believe is working well with your non-profit organization, as well as what could possibly be improved to ensure your organization continues to grow and meet its future goals.
The first issue our group noticed about your website is that it is fairly difficult to find how and where we would be able to help donate or volunteer. Once we finally found the section that explains what to do if we wanted to volunteer, there was little to no explanation about what opportunities are available. We believe a good option for this situation would be to place the most valuable information on your homepage. A link that connects to all of the volunteer information would be incredibly beneficial. This could let the audience know what kinds of opportunities are available, as well as when they would take place. It is somewhat inconvenient to make people attend a meeting that only takes place twice a month to find out how they can contribute. These changes may help you receive a much better turnout if all this information was available in a simple and noticeable location on your website rather than at the very bottom of a page of photos.
Another issue our group noticed was the difficulty in finding out where to donate goods to Second Chance Animal. Since the only way to donate is by contacting you and meeting with you to drop off the food, it may be inconvenient for some. It’s difficult to make a quick donation of food when there is nowhere to drop it off. Especially when the times that are convenient for you and the individual who is donating may conflict with one-another’s schedules. We know that money is a definite issue, and that finding an “office” location is overly expensive. A great alternative to this could be talking to a location that you already have business connections with and seeing if you could rent out a spot to place a drop-off bin. People would be much more inclined to donating if it was as simple as throwing a can of dog food or a toy in an oversized mailbox. This way, whether you’re busy or not, people who want to make a donation can do so without taking up your time. Placing the location of your drop-off bin in flyers, on your website, and other forms of media would get the word out and our group is positive you would receive a much larger number of contributions.
We did like how your organization hosts the variety of fund raising events in order to bring in more donations and raise awareness about what Second Chance Animal does. Having photos of these events on your website is a wonderful way of showing how community-oriented Second Chance animal is, as well as showing people what to expect if they choose to attend. Also, the choice of photos seems to be far more effective than other animal based media we have seen. They portray exactly what Second Chance Animal is trying to do. Photos such as the ones of your volunteers building dog houses are incredibly inspiring. By avoiding the use of heartbreaking photos of abused animals, it seems Second Chance Animal will be able to get a much more productive reaction from your audience.
We want to thank you for taking the time to look over our recommendations and giving us a chance to help spread the word about your selfless organization. Our group has enjoyed getting to learn about Second Chance Animal and all of the wonderful things the organization aims to do. If you have any questions about any of our recommendations, or would like to contact us for any other forms of support, we can be reached at joshua.perry@email.wsu.edu. Thanks again for your time.
Sincerely,
Joshua Perry, Cody Cameron, Kyle Schneiders
The formatting got a little messed up when I pasted the letter into this blog, but the actual letter will be properly formatted. For the presentation, I am going to explain the purpose of the letter. I'll let Georgia know it is intended to show a few recommendations our group came up with that may improve their organization, as well as how certain aspects are working well and should probably be left the way they are. It will basically be a brief introduction to her about what to expect when reading this letter.
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