Throughout the week we visited different state departments and met government officials. I was inspired a lot by everyone’s stories and gained more knowledge about government career paths.

I planned where I would be dropping off my clothing donations, which organization I would be benefitting (Note in the Pocket), who I wanted to reach out to for donations, where to store them until drop off day, and how long I would be accepting donations. Since I was running a clothing drive, all of the planning was done by just me or any collaboration that occurred was done via text/online. I have attached a photo of one of my volunteers on drop off day, but he helped me plan the storage part of the clothing drive as well.

Created a graphic for social media for my clothing drive!

My event was dropping off the actual clothes at an official Note in the Pocket drop off site. Because my clothing drive ran throughout the entire month of November, I was constantly getting donations, so the actual drop off day felt very significant. Two volunteers helped me with making sure all the clothes were stored properly and ready for drop off. We consolidated the best we could and donated everything I collected from friends, family, and neighbors throughout the past couple weeks. Just in time for the new year!

Reflecting on my service project, I am really proud of how many clothes I donated to Note in the Pocket, especially because I have been to their facilities prior to this project and met with several employees. Being in that space inspired me to run this clothing drive because I saw how much care they put into providing clothes for people who do not have options. I take pride in being able to help their organization provide clothing for kids in our city. For my project specifically, I would have liked to have more in person involvement. I had lots of communication via text to organize donations and while I did get my family, neighbors, and friends involved in the drive throughout the month, I think it would have been cool to get them involved in the drop off day as well. I know and trust this organization to find good homes for every piece of clothing donated and they make sure each kid actually likes the clothes they get which is very important. It’s nice that instead of a landfill, those 5 big boxes/bags be distributed to kids in my community who need it.