Group Members: Aws Al Masslawai, Alejandro De Dios, Monical Jaswal, Lance Lawson, Clara Nguyen, Ronnie Ramiro, Jayden Wright
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The problem in our community is that our food banks do not have enough food or volunteers to help better serve our community. Inflation in the cost of groceries and goods increased 7.7% from 2021 to 2022 according to the consumer price index, bringing more families to seek help from their local food banks (Cohen, J.,2022, November 1 Inflation, low donations and rising demand hit Seattle Food Banks. Crosscut.). Food shortages in grocery stores also caused food banks to have less food available because there was not as much food left over due to the shortage of products. Lastly, the volunteer shortage began during the pandemic and food banks have been struggling to get people to help. Spreading awareness to the community to donate and volunteer at their local food banks would help significantly.
Our small wins group project is about tackling the urgent problems of local food banks struggling with insufficient resources and food. It’s hitting hard because of the pandemic, with inflation and rising costs making things even tougher. (Rothwell, 2019, p. 258) . What makes this personal for us is that members of our group have been affected by this tragedy firsthand – seeing local food banks running out of supplies. As we dive into this issue, we’re looking to understand how widespread it is. What’s causing it is the pandemic’s inflation, and how it’s changed over time. We recognize that we are not alone in this, and we are reaching out to communities in response to our social media posts. Our primary goals are to provide immediate help through social media, showing our commitment to making real differences in our community.
The solution criteria for the Small Wins group project are that it must be the achievement of a goal or task consistent with the definition of a group from our text. That is, the project includes three or more persons interacting who both influence and are influenced by one another. (Rothwell, 2019, p. 24). The Small Wins project must include a community service component, with our group determining what is both our “community” and who is being “served.” However, the project must have an actionable activity that is conducted by all the members.
Further, the project must be accomplished within the provided timeline of four weeks, along with the required documentation and support as described in the assignment.
Lastly, the project needs to be consistent with Green River College’s guidelines for the safety and security of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The solutions that were given by the group were all great ideas. We came up with things such as asking local social media groups to help donate food for food banks, asking larger companies for donations and help local food banks with financial contributions, raising a go-fund-me page, asking local restaurants if they have unused/excess food that can be donated, and connecting with volunteering groups to ask for their help in supporting local food banks. Each one of these ideas were capable of having an impact on our goal of helping food banks support the community. Many suggestions were based on team members’ familiarity with an organization or volunteering method. This was something to keep in mind, as it would help us as a group navigate how to best implement a solution.
The solutions that were brainstormed in the solution suggestions section of the group project 2 proposal were all great ideas to get us started. Through close evaluation, we were able to remove many of these ideas and develop a more clear, concise goal for our small-wins project. We came to a consensus of keeping our small wins project online to reach some people on the Instagram platform and spread awareness of the lack of support food banks are having this year. Informing the community of the need for monetary and food donations was our priority. Our second priority was to invite the community to help their local food banks through temporary help to organize and disperse the food; finding volunteers has also been a struggle in the region for food banks. Meeting the consensus selection, we proceeded to create our awareness campaign through social media to invite the community to volunteer at their local food banks and donate food or money using the food banks’ website.
After careful consideration and elimination of ideas such as volunteering at a local food bank due to conflicting schedules among members, therefore, can’t meet up, we’ve settled on a solution: setting up a social media account on Instagram that aims to provide resources for people to support our local food banks in Kent and possibly neighboring areas. (We brainstormed and planned the idea on November 15th and posted our first post on Instagram on November 19th.) This solution is imperative and effective because all group members will have access to the login information, allowing them to contribute posts and disseminate information on the platform at various times and from virtually anywhere. The primary goal of this Instagram account is to offer valuable information not only to Green River College students and faculty but to a broader audience. We shared details about volunteering opportunities, donation drives, and the latest news and developments related to our local food banks. Given the increasing number of people in need during this challenging time, our focus extends beyond specific demographics, and we wanted to reach out to anyone who’s interested in making a positive impact. In addition, we also provided information that does not focus solely on what needs to be done such as posting information about the places and items that food banks are looking for, but also raising awareness as to why a simple act of providing food can be significant and valuable since food is a basic human need, and yet there are millions of Americans who are hungry and struggle with food insecurity every day. Through our efforts, we aspire to not only inform but also inspire others to join us in helping to ease the suffering of members of our community who are experiencing food insecurity.
The Public Relations Group recognized that local community food banks need assistance due to current inflation and the post-COVID-19 impact on the economy. The group decided to take on an approach of spreading awareness on social media to utilize social media audiences & some of the views leading to successful donations for the food bank. The group was able to utilize learnings from the communication class on group forming, functioning, handling disagreements, utilizing “small wins” to push through and conclude to work toward a very noble cause which can have an effect on increase in the resources and volunteers at Kent and neighboring food banks. USA Today, an article published last month discussed the hunger crisis. The article stated that post-pandemic government aid ended, and families are turning to food banks to fill the gap so there is a greater level of hunger. It further added that due to Inflation and budget cuts, nonprofit organizations are buying less food and cutting back services, and economists are comparing this to past recessions! The article also discussed donating to the local food banks.
Public Relations Group values supporting the local community and will actively work on spreading awareness and urge the community to donate so less fortunate families and/or individuals are able to have their basic needs of food met. Public Relations groups also will spread awareness of the shortage of volunteers and the need to volunteer at our local food banks. Holidays bring hardship not only for families but also for the food bank to keep up with supply and demand. Food Bank Donation awareness through social media will allow the group to reach a broader audience and convert some views into donations and volunteers. In conclusion, spreading awareness on social media will increase revenue, donations, and volunteers for the local food banks.
Rothwell, J.D. (2019). In mixed company: Communicating in small groups and teams (10th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Thornton, C. (2023, November 20). The staggering hunger crisis in america: How you can help struggling food banks this year. USA Today.
Cohen, J. (2022, November 1). Inflation, low donations and rising demand hit Seattle Food Banks. Crosscut.
New Partnership set to take on critical shortage of shortage of volunteers at Washington State Food Banks. (2023, September 6). Lynnwood Times.
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