Last class

I was excited with the amount of money we were able to bring in yesterday at the final on campus fundraiser. Although the pie in the face did not sell as we expected, we were able to sell shirts and baked goods. Students walking buy would also give us money without taking anything. What I need to accomplish this week is gathering the supplies for the event. So far, I know I need to buy drinks (water and soda from Sam's), plates, cups, napkins, and cutlery. We need to decide who is buying the ticket buckets (garden pots), how many sodas and what type along with the amount of water, if we are buying Arnold Palmer ice tea and how much, and if there is anything else I need to get on my shopping trip. I also need to get the gift baskets from my friends house. I think I'll get the baskets closer to the event so the beer does not have to sit in my car until Sunday.  As for my performance in the class, I think I could of participated more in class. I would of also liked to go to more events outside of the class, but was unable to.

12 more days

Over the past week, I've been exploring stores to get an idea of the cost of supplies. I finally heard a response from my friends mother who works at Bond Distributing. She said her work is planning to give us some gift baskets filled with beer, t-shirts and "other fun stuff". I am meeting with her tonight to help her create the baskets. The next step for the party planning committee is to price out the cost of a keg for the event. We also need to plan and get everything together for the other fundraiser on campus. We need to determine when we are going to have the event, who is going to participate and what we are going to have in the way of games and/or baked goods. Other than that, we need to decide what decor and supplies we need, and find the cheapest places to get them.

Limited Time Left

In Thursday's class, we discusses the possibility of needed students cook appetizers for the event. I think in today's class when we are reunited with the students who were working on the radio series, we will have a better idea of who will be willing to cook and the quantity of food we will be able to cook. In today's class, I would like to reconnect with  my committee (the party planning committee) and discuss our next steps. We need to discuss where we are going to get the materials for decorations. We also need to discuss how we plan to implement the second fundraiser we had in mind. I like the idea of having multiple people getting pied in the face, and having carnival like games as well. We need to discuss what worked at the last fundraiser and what did not. I think we could made this next fundraiser more of a success. We need to make sure the fundraiser is in a good location to attracted enough people. The weather should be warmer which contributes to more students outside. With only a few weeks left, we need to make sure we are on track with what needs to be done to make the event a success.

Continuing The Search

I contacted DuClaw a few weeks ago attempting to have them involved with our event, but no luck. They have stated that "At this time DuClaw Brewing Company is unable to donate packaged product (including kegs), cash, brewery tours, or private tastings; we are also currently unable to provide team or event sponsorship's."  

Around the same time, I handed an Ask letter to my friends mother who works at Bond Distributing in Baltimore. She sounded excited to be involved, but I have not had heard specifically what they are donating. I'm going to get into contact with her by the end of this week at the latest. When I talked to her a week ago, it sounded as if they were going to create a gift basket to donate. 

In Thursdays class, we talked to one of Steve Bradley's former students who continues to work in the garden. She gave us a lot of great feedback and offered to send out our Ask letters to some companies she knows. Hopefully we'll get some good news from her, but for now we should see if any of the places who were unable to donate or who donated gift cards would be willing to give us a discount on their beer for the event. 

Committee Work

In the next few weeks, The party planning committee needs to evaluate the number of restaurants donating to our event. We need to be persistent in following up with restaurants who have not answered back. Our committee needs to see how many restaurants are donating food versus how many are donating objects for our prizes. The party planning committee, along with any other committee, also need to find other organizations such as Under Armor or the National Aquarium and ask if they will be willing to donate objects for our prizes. I am in the process of seeing if the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders are willing to donate anything.Our committee has much to discuss in the next few weeks regarding what needs to be done at the event, but first we must continue to send out our asks to see what can be donated.

Marc Steiner's Talk

Marc Steiner’s talk had some great points. I think he’s a great person to learn from because of his rich background in the Baltimore community. I liked how Marc Steiner emphasized that we need to expose what is going on. We need to expose what is right and what is wrong through the stories we tell. That is our goal; we want the history and stories of these forgotten places to be told. In the process we will change others minds about the area. Instead of seeing only negative, they will begin to see the history and appreciate it. My mind was changed when I began my research on Farring-Baybrook Park.  Growing up I have heard nothing but negative things about Brooklyn Park and Curtis Bay. Through my research I learned the park’s recreation center serves to disabled children and adults. It also provides a place for children to go rather than spending time out on the streets. This information was masked from the negative surroundings. It is definitely something that should be exposed and brought to light. I really liked when Marc said we are the ones who are going to define where Baltimore is going to go in the years to come. He also said we need to envision the questions we need to ask when we are in the Baybrook area so we know where we will go next. Those questions will tell the stories of what is going on in those areas. I thought those points were very important in regards to what we are trying to do. We want to share the history as well as the stories and tell what is happening now. Marc Steiner’s talk was very interesting and important for our class to hear, so we can keep his points in mind while we are out in the community. 

Research and The Committee

Exploring the Farring-Baybrook Park was interesting, but extremely frustrating.  It was as if the park did not exist prior to being renamed in 1975. I only knew the park was renamed Farring-Baybrook in 1975 (I did not see any clear indication to what the park was named before) by reading the Maree G Farring Elementary and Middle schools ‘Who was Maree Farring?’ section on their website. I looked up surrounding street names, misspelled names I found in articles, and other names I found in articles. I did find out a lot about Maree Farring and what she did in the community. I enjoyed learning what I did, but I wish I would have been able to find more of the history of the park. The most enjoyable part of the research was learning that the Farring-Baybrook Recreation Center is primarily for those who are disabled. I really liked reading the articles where people would talk about what the center meant to them and how great it is for their loved ones to participate in wheelchair sports. However I am still upset that I was unable to find more on the history of the park prior to 1975. 

Meeting with my committee this week, for the time I was there, was a great time to figure out how we want the event to run. I’m excited to continue to share ideas and hear from others to get a better sense of how we want the even to run. I think the games and raffles will be a great way to bring in money. One of my biggest concerns is having enough items that people will be interested in to raffle off. From our talk on Thursday, it sounds like my committee has many great ideas for prizes. Since I left early on Thursday, I’m looking forward to reconnecting with my committee to hear any ideas I might have missed. Also, since I was unable to view the 2640 building, I would really like to hear what the members of my committee who were able to go thought of the space and hear how they think we should utilize the space, as well as other classmates who were able to go as well.