exemplar-_personal_project

IB MYP Personal Project - Christmas In July Experience Planning Learning Goal My learning goal is to become more educated about the effects of homelessness in my community. During the summer of my 9th-grade year, I began contemplating my chosen IB MYP project topic. Shortly after pondering about my passions, I came upon a seemingly obvious answer instantaneously. My mother would always say I had a love for the homeless, but I never understood how that passion originated. For as long as I could remember, I have always loved to serve the homeless. Beginning in late elementary school, I participated in initiatives involving feeding and caring for the homeless. Even so, I always felt disconnected since I never got to interact with those I was helping in these programs. Nevertheless, a global pandemic, known as COVID-19, surprisingly gave me an opportunity to mend the disconnect I felt for the past few years. The effects of homelessness became more pronounced to me in this season as the roads were silent and, for the most part, clear of human presence. As my mom and I strolled through our neighborhood, we interacted with the homeless and formed authentic relationships with each soul along our street. We soon considered these souls our friends, which coined the phrase, "friends on the streets". My experiences with the “friends on the streets” inspired me to write an article and produce a video about the lessons they taught me during the pandemic. In this article, I featured the inspiration for my learning goal. Once my mom and I gave our "friend on the street" money, he returned to us ecstatic about every item he purchased. "Without us asking, he showed us everything he bought and gave us a heartfelt thank you," (Strother 1). Because of my newfound relationships with the “friends on the streets” and the experiences I had, I decided my learning goal should delve deeper into the homeless topic. Prior Knowledge & Skill Knowledge Before beginning this process, I knew little information about the extent of homelessness from an educational standpoint since my classes skimmed the topic. I understood that homelessness was a problem affecting many Americans, specifically veterans, women, and children populations. Similarly, I realized mental illness was heavily intertwined with the homeless population. Skill As a current entrepreneur and co-founder of You Can Fit Out 2, LLC, I had experience with website design, marketing, and video production. Because of my involvement in business, I also polished my organizational, strategic, financial, and promotional skills. This arsenal of skills will enable me to continue serving the homeless community without going into debt. Also, I was familiar with event planning because of my experiences with You Can Fit Out 2, LLC and my IB PYP project in the fifth grade. My IB PYP group project encompassed healthy lifestyle planning, which developed my planning skills for future tasks. Product Through my learning goal, I hope to gain a clearer perspective of homelessness in my community and greater insight regarding the lives of my “friends on the streets''. Although this is true, I mainly desire to use my learning goal to positively impact the homeless community. For these reasons, my product will be an annual community experience for the homeless, entitled Christmas in July. I planned to put this annual event into effect during the summer, in July, after discovering the harsh conditions faced by Atlanta’s homeless population during the summer. According to the Atlanta Mission, "Without access to air-conditioned spaces, reliable shelter, and water supplies, those experiencing homelessness in the summer are left to spend night after night on the scorching streets [which can reach up to 175 degrees]" (1). As a result, homeless individuals can experience illnesses such as heat stroke and brain damage (Atlanta Mission 1). I made the theme of my annual experience Christmas in July, given my love for Christmas and the under-the-radar holiday, Christmas in July. I planned to create Christmas-inspired summer packages to pass out to my “friends on the streets” in Downtown Atlanta where homelessness is fairly prevalent with the help of several volunteers. 1

Product Success Criteria Given the extent of my final product, I wanted to establish parameters to ensure that Christmas in July was feasible and successful. Georgia has more than 10,000 homeless individuals, which is not a feasible number for Christmas in July at the moment (“Georgia Homelessness Statistics” 1). Subsequently, I had to narrow down my experience to involve fewer homeless people in a highly concentrated area in my community. On that note, I also had to create neat and appealing packages for the homeless that aligned with my dream for the annual community experience. As a server, I want contributors and those being serviced to feel the positive impact of my work. Therefore, I designed the packages to accommodate the possible mental health needs of the homeless community as twenty-five percent are considered seriously mentally ill (Tarr 1). Likewise, I wanted to have a spokesperson who resonated with my passion about the homeless so their words and participation could inspire children, teens, and adults to serve in their passions in the community. Aesthetics: The Christmas-inspired packaging must be within the established color palette, which is red, watermelon green, light blue, and gold. To adhere to the Christmas in July theme, my packaging color palette must combine both Christmas elements and summer colors. The evidence of success will be the packaging colors aligning with the detailed palette. Size (Feasibility): I will serve a minimum of ten homeless individuals in my community. I will have a maximum of three volunteers (excluding myself) take part in Christmas in July this year. Since this is a soft launch for my annual community experience, I would prefer to start at a smaller scale to identify more efficient processes for fundraising, advertising, recruiting, etc. By serving fewer people with the help of fewer individuals, I can create high-end packages for the homeless, which can affect them at a higher level. The amount of Christmas-inspired care packages created will measure the number of homeless individuals served. The number of individuals recruited to assist in the execution stage will measure the number of volunteers. Customer: Christmas in July will add life value to the lives of the homeless and positively impact volunteers. This project adds life to the served and the servers. It embodies the season of giving in the heat of July. Thus, I want the served, or the homeless, to have something more in their life, and the servers, or volunteers, to have a new perspective on service. I will measure this criterion by observing the reactions of homeless individuals and taking testimonies from participants and donors afterward. Safety: My annual community experience must have Christmas-inspired packaging and materials that individuals with behavioral and mental illnesses can safely use, which would include things like blunt objects. Because about 45% of the homeless have a mental illness, I chose to have my packages be beneficial to their current health status (Tarr 1). I will measure the safety of my packaging by researching appropriate materials and consulting with experienced medical professionals (i.e., my mom and dad). 2

10/11/21- 10/15/21 Research appropriate materials for the packages ● Establish packaging color scheme Via online research: ● Settle on safe packaging form for those with mental illnesses ● Determine which items of the three categories (hygiene, nutrition, and physical well being) are needed most ● Decide on edible items that have the least likelihood of allergy ( & create alternatives for allergy items) Aesthetics Customer Safety October 15th ● Completed early on October 8th ○ Due to fall break (October 7th - October 11th) ● While doing the CRAAP test, I found useful information regarding items for homeless care packaging and the packaging itself. ● While I was researching the connection between mental illness and homelessness, I also settled on a type of packaging within the theme and safe for everyone to use. ● Since my success criteria for aesthetics had a specific color palette, I chose the following colors: ○ Red ○ Watermelon Green ○ Light Blue ○ Gold 10/15/21- 10/20/21 Determine finances and funding ● List item costs ● Determine sum of costs for each package ● Establish packaging cost ● Outline a feasible number of packages to give within budget ● Establish a donation amount ● Decide the number of items placed in each package and the arrangement of those items ● Create a Paypal account for donations Material Size Safety October 20th ● Began early on October 9th due to Fall Break October 7th - October 11th) ○ Checked off four tasks on October 9th ■ Decided that 12 packages were feasible ■ Decided the number of items and arrangements in the jars ■ Still need to factor in packaging costs so it may change ● Continued working October 17th ○ Created a Paypal account and spreadsheet for financials 10/20/21- 10/31/21 Create a media kit for the outreach experience ● Decide on the face of the community experience ● Produce promotional material (website & promo video) with the chosen face of the experience ● Link the financial elements (Paypal account) to the website ● Create flyers & email promotional materials ● Share website link, Paypal link, and marketing materials with appropriate audience Aesthetics Impact Materials October 31st Since it was senior SAT day, I had an ample amount of time to complete the following: ● Decided on the face of the community experience prior to the established starting point (October 20th) ● I did not record my thoughts about the process until October 28th. ● Began editing and producing promotional materials (email banners, videos, flyers, etc.)prior to established starting point (October 20th) ○ Like the previous task, I recorded the finished product on October 28th. ● Began creating website prior to established starting point (October 20th) ○ Like the other tasks, I decided to wait until I had a finished product to record in my journal. ● Since the initial idea, I have been contacting friends and family to contribute to this experience. 4

11/1/21 Complete 2nd conference w/ Advisor Speak to Dr. Gopalsingh about ATL skills and progress Time November 1st Since it was senior SAT day, I was able to complete my meeting with Dr. Gopalsingh early on October 28th. 11/15/21 Decide on logistics regarding Christmas in July Experience ● Decide on volunteers ● Decide the method of transportation for the goods Size Impact November 15th Decisions about logistics were made prior to Thanksgiving Break (November 15th) 11/29/21- 12/15/21 Evaluate the product & reflect on the overall success ● Create a rubric using my success criteria ● Access product ● Select evidence of the applying ATL skills ● Reflect on the impact of Personal Project Impact December 15th The evaluation regarding my success criteria was completed on December 3rd at 12:16 A.M., which is prior to my completion of step 14. I selected my pieces of evidence early on December 7th. Unfortunately, I was behind on my established deadline and completed the final step (personal project impact reflection) on December 29th. 12/15/21- 12/30/21 Write Rough Draft ● Decide format for the rough draft ● Complete rough draft with the chosen format in mind ○ Create video ○ Write report Time Impact December 30th After finishing the reflection, I had some spare time to begin on the rough draft. (Completed formatting December 29th) Completed rough draft on the deadline date (December 30th) 1/11/21- 1/22/21 Complete final product ● Have the final product completed ● Have acceptable rough draft for revision Time January 22nd Completed significantly earlier than the deadline date (December 30th) Applying Skills Learning Goal: Information Literacy Skill Development & Application The path to achieving my learning goal entailed extensive research. It was essential for me to acquire further knowledge to gain a well-rounded perspective on the effects of homelessness in my community. By doing so, I would be able to accurately analyze and understand its effects in my community from an objective and empathetic lens. While researching, I decided to make research reports including my conclusions and gathered statistics. The following excerpt is from one of my reports regarding the state of homelessness in Atlanta. -According to research, there are 10,234 people experiencing homelessness in Georgia alone. -9.6 homeless per 10,000 people in the general population **Side Note: I conclude one cannot see the true magnitude of homelessness in one concentrated area as it spans to various areas and states. I conclude that many of these individuals range from school age to adult age as the average encompasses two basic family units worth of individuals.*** - In the city of Atlanta, there were 3,240 people homeless on any night in 2020 -63.9 homeless per 10,000 people in the general population **Side Note: As the urban center and capital of Georgia, I conclude Atlanta contributes more heavily to the Georgia homeless population because of its larger population and greater number of specialized jobs.*** 5

greater depth than I previously understood. This recently discovered knowledge superseded my expectation for the learning goal and gave me the resources needed to arrange an exceptional final product, The Christmas in July Experience. CRAAP Analysis “SOH: State and COC Dashboards.” National Alliance to End Homelessness, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 27 July 2021, https://endhomele ssness.org/homele ssness-in-america/ homelessness-stat istics/state-of-ho melessness-dashb oards/?State=Geo rgia . Accessed 08 October 2021. Homeless population in Georgia, Homeless population in Atlanta, Statistics about Homeless Demographics in Atlanta C- The information was posted July 2021. The information has been revised recently, considering that all the statistics apply to the current year. I believe my topic, homelessness, requires current information as it is an ever-changing topic. The links are functional and accessible. R- The statistics and population analyses within this source are relevant because it answers my question about the extent of homelessness in my specific community. The information is at an appropriate comprehension level. I have looked at a variety of sources before settling on this one, and I would be comfortable citing information from this source in a research paper. A- The sponsor of this source is a credible, non-profit organization called the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The source offers contact information for the reader (address and number) and establishes itself as a credible source since it ends with .org. A-The information from the source comes from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau. The statistics have been reviewed and are supported by the national survey conducted by the government. The information is also unbiased, objective, and free from any typographical errors. P- This information informs the audience about the magnitude of homelessness in their communities. Their objective use of facts made this intention clear in the form of statistical research. **Recorded full notes as a separate document entitled “State of Homelessness Research”** -According to research, there are 10,234 people experiencing homelessness in Georgia alone. -9.6 homeless per 10,000 people in the general population - In the city of Atlanta, there were 3,240 people homeless on any night in 2020 -63.9 homeless per 10,000 people in the general population -Fortunately, homelessness has improved exponentially over the past few years (2007-2020) CRAAP Analysis Excerpt Product: Creative Thinking Skills Development & Application The Christmas in July Experience incorporated every piece of knowledge and skill I possessed and did not possess prior to this process. Initially, the idea of combining my expertise with experience for most of the process was intimidating. It takes an immense amount of work to create an organization from chaos and floating ideas. Yet, once I welcomed the concept of amalgamating the abstract with the concrete, my mind opened to the various possibilities for the Christmas in July Experience. After the research portion, I began to design Christmas-inspired care packages, which drew on my right brain. Concurrently, I formulated a budget outline and estimated the necessary donations for high-quality packages. With the known estimates, I was able to create a donation amount for donors, reach out to several relatives and 7

friends for donations, and design a Paypal funding page. Financial Chart for Christmas in July Once the behind-the-scenes finances were squared away, I immersed myself in the realm of marketing and production. My first goal was to obtain an inspiring spokesperson around my age. Naturally, I had to select someone I was familiar with who had a low risk of transmitting COVID-19. Given those requirements, I chose my sister. Since she lived in the same household, it was easier to complete the tasks I had in mind. That being said, as a freshman in high school, she had many other tasks to complete, so the scheduling process was somewhat difficult. Immediately after the schedule was finalized, we jumped into production. I had her do an interview for the website and model in photo shoots for the website, flyers, and commercial. Throughout production, I spent time constructing a website with desirable photos and the appropriate links for donations and contact information. Following the fun production period, I focused on the logistical aspects of the Christmas in July Experience. Sadly, the pandemic prevented me from having too many volunteers, so I chose two close friends of mine to accompany my sister, mother, and me on the trip around downtown Atlanta. Reflecting Reflection: Impact on my Learning Goal My learning goal was research-focused, so I developed my information literacy and creative thinking skills. To learn about the extent of homelessness in my community, I had to consult statistics from reputable sources such as SOH. There, I learned that there were 9.6 homeless per 10,000 people in the general population of Atlanta (“SOH” 1). In this estimate, I noticed that the average encompassed two basic family units worth of individuals. From this analysis, I could conclude that many of these individuals ranged from school age to adult age as they appeared to be grouped according to familial units. The research also revised my understanding of homelessness and its related topics. While researching the relationship between homelessness and mental health, I noticed that only twenty-five percent of homeless individuals are seriously mentally ill (Tarr 1). Because people tend to group homelessness and mental illness, I believed the percentage would be significantly larger. That being said, this source revised my perspective about the relationship between the homeless and mental illness. I can now conclude that a predominant portion of homeless individuals are not severely mentally ill. Personal Reflection The IB MYP project uncovered my innate multi-tasker mindset. Instead of focusing on one minute detail of a plan, I alternated between the big and the smaller pictures to ensure the details and the final product were how I saw fit. I 8

(Size/ Feasibility) surpassed the predicted budget, which allowed us to create twelve packages. For future reference, I will designate an estimated route beforehand. At times, it was difficult to find homeless individuals in the busy Atlanta streets. I will have a maximum of three volunteers (excluding myself) participate in Christmas in July this year. (Size/ Feasibility) One extra candidate joined the Christmas in July experience right before we served. As a result, I had four volunteers, which is slightly above my initial amount of 3. Next time, I will make sure that I establish a known cut off , so I will remain completely in line with my plans. Christmas in July will add life value to the lives of the homeless and positively impact volunteers. (Customer) There were so many events during the Christmas in July experience that brought me to tears. The volunteers and I also received something while serving the homeless. We felt a sense of joy in serving and it transferred to those we were serving in the streets of Atlanta. My annual community experience must have Christmas-inspired packaging and materials that individuals with behavioral and mental illnesses can safely use, which would include things like blunt objects. (Safety) My research and consults allowed me to be successful in this field. I discovered items that were safe for those with mental ailments. If I could do it over again, I would first check sites relating to brain functionality prior to trauma. Even so, I am extremely proud of what I could achieve in this arena. Christmas in July needs to have promotional and fundraiser materials, which would include a promotional video, website, and PayPal funding page. (Material) I could create promotional videos, email marketing materials, a website, PayPal funding page, flyers, etc. These materials brought donations to the experience, which allowed us to purchase more packaging materials. If I were to go back in time, I would ensure that I complete the tasks efficiently. The way I completed 10

the tasks was time-consuming. The deadline for my project will be January 22, 2021, which is exactly a month before the official deadline. As of now, I am finished with the product and ahead of the established deadlines. I am on track to complete my project by my projected deadline. Currently, it appears I may complete my project earlier than I predicted. To introduce an alternative perspective, my annual community experience will have a fellow peer-leader as the face (or model). My little sister acted as the model for the Christmas in July experience. I included her in the promotional material, on the website, in an interview, and as a volunteer in the experience. Her presence provided an extra inspiration factor to the experience. My one downfall was efficiency once again. I could have done her tasks quicker. Challenges The challenges I faced were regarding the feasibility of the Christmas in July experience. I could not expect to have a large-scale event as that would be out of the budget at the moment. To solve this issue, I set a budget that would cover twelve homeless packages and reached out to friends and family via messaging, emails, etc. for donations. Unfortunately, there was also a worldwide pandemic occurring during the event. To resolve this problem, I did a drive-by version of the Christmas in July experience to reduce the amount of contact between the volunteers, myself, and the homeless individuals. Impact Evidence (Testimonies) “This is such a fun and creative way to serve. I love it!”- D.D. “The website, video, and branding made me want to be a part of this amazing initiative,”- T.H. “I couldn’t take my eyes off the Christmas in July video! Soooooo creative!”- S.J. “I love the genuine compassion to serve and the creativity!- A.C. “The website and blog brought tears to my eyes,”- T.R. “It’s a joy to see two young servant leaders. Thanks for serving with passion!”- A.M. 11