If anyone grew up or lives near the Albany area, they know that it has its problems; what major city doesn’t? On Thursday September 15th, my Technology and Social Change first year seminar class took a field trip to St. John/St. Ann’s Center located in the South end of Albany. This center is dedicated to helping the residents in whatever necessities are needed in the area. Some of the programs include The Clothing program (the collecting of clothes and distributing them), Extra Helping Program (a program that is designed to teach budgeting skills) and The Furniture Program (a volunteer coordinated program where good, usable furniture is collected and distributed).
One of the main programs that The Center takes pride in is their Food Pantry. They have about 450 families registered who made up of all different ethnic backgrounds. The Pantry provides three meals for three days or a total of nine meals per moth for each individual registered to a household. These meals are not meant to be the main source of where they get their food but merely to make ends meet. Unfortunately it seems that The Center by Food Pantries of the Capital District, the organization in charge of the smaller food pantries in each city, recently cut their budget drastically. With Hurricane Irene destroying crops (that local farmers dedicate to give to the center) and the price in food rising each day, The Center is having a difficult time providing the same type of service it used to last year to the residents who rely on the Center.
Although it has its difficulties, The Center perseveres and still tries to provide the same opportunities. One additional program that they offer that I really like is the Holiday program. During Thanksgiving and Christmas time, baskets are delivered to families. These baskets contain all sorts of fun treats, gifts and other items that the families could not offered. I believe it is an excellent way to cheer up any families’ holiday.
Lastly, what The Center does that makes them different from other center is that they have a different way of serving their ‘customers.’ Rather than having a lunch line, they have a “Welcome Table”. It is a time on Tuesday’s and Saturday’s where they service hot meals and rather than them serving themselves, volunteers serve themselves; almost as if they were going to a restaurant. This way of serving the food not only gets the volunteers in the community involved but it lets the people being served have a sense of dignity.
So how might technology for example, help the Operations at St. John/St. Anne's? Some ideas of mine that I have include starting a check-in/login system at the food pantry or dining services. By having each person of the family member have an ID or Participant number and scan in every time they use the food pantry or dining services, The Center will have more accurate records as to who is using the services and how much is being used.
Deanna, I really liked your blog post! It was insightful and recognized the way that the center helps the community in major ways. Also, I liked how you added the bit about technology at the end of the post. It is a really good idea to have check ins at the center. My question for you is aside from the challenges that the center faces, can you name some personal challenges you will face at the center itself? As someone who will be working closely with the center, do you think there will be struggles? Good job!
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