11 Things I Learned in ACC 255

Of all the things I learnt during the course, the 11 most striking ones to me are:

1. I learnt how to create a blog and adequately manage it.
2. I learnt how to manipulate my Google account.
3. I learnt how to use Google Adwords.
4. I learnt how to apply descriptive things properly.
5. I learnt how to create an e-book.
6. I learnt how to be focused on the topic when writing a post or a page in my blog/web site.
7. I learnt how to create CafePress products.
8. I learnt how to promote other blogs, and possibly have other blogs promote me.
9. I learnt how to create advertisements in my blog.
10. I learnt how to create a business development plan.
11. Most of all, I learnt that asking questions helps you understand things better, and helps with self-improvement.

The Organization For Poverty Alleviation And Development

The Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development (OPAD) is a charitable and voluntary organization that renders its assistance and resources (human efforts, time, materials, and finance) for free, to its target beneficiaries, where and when it is necessary. OPAD operates in a multicultural environment where there is exposure of the growing human population in line with unemployment, discrimination, drugs/addiction, homelessness, youth gang, and violence. OPAD strides to fight against all natural and man-made disasters that threatens and affects the lives of men, women, and children.

OPAD emphasizes its values and beliefs of "We are committed to the welfare of other young people, We serve youth and children especially in crises, We serve with complete impartiality, We work for sustainable pace and development at local, national and international levels, We are an organization with a vision, mission, belief, and values."These values can be seen in their marginalized/minority focused programs. Some of these programs include, but are not limited to:

• Poor and unskilled farmers;
• Abandoned/street, unaccompanied/orphaned children;
• Refugee and internally displaced persons;
• Drug abusers/addicts;
• Under privileged families;
• Foreign domestic workers including commercial sex workers, and many more.

OPAD also provides free of charge assistance to its target audience, including:

• Providing community health centers and other health facilities,
• Providing counseling and youth friendly drop-in - information centers,
• Providing care and support for HIV/AIDS, STDs, malaria etc. infected and affected youth and children,
• Providing rehabilitation and reintegration centers,
• Providing relief aid, and many more.

I have included a link to OPAD's website below.

http://www.opad.eu/index.html

• 
  

2nd Product Recommendation

There are different organizations that focus on eradicating poverty. Some are nation based, while others are locally oriented. Give Hope, Fight Poverty (GHFP) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to foster philanthropy domestically by designing service-learning programs, engaging students and professionals with rural communities in Swaziland, Africa and work hand-in-hand to educate, empower, and lift orphaned and vulnerable children out of poverty. The organization three vision:

• A culturally competent and philanthropic minded generation,
• Increased opportunity through academic achievement, and 
• Sustainable programs that involve locals in development, implementation, and evaluation.

GHFP has a Service Learning program in Africa, involving both professionals and students, to learn about unknown cultures, and dedicate their times, skills, and labor to a community of orphaned children struggling with poverty, HIV/AIDS, and illiteracy. The organization is available to speak in churches, schools, or community events, to educate the people about poverty, and also adheres to the coordination of donation drives. 

The "Painting For A Purpose" events allows interested people to have fun while helping Give Hope, Fight Poverty to spread the word. The necessary supplies needed for painting will be provided by art teachers. Participants can either paint a canvas for an orphan or a piece of a mural that will be hung in one of the classrooms in Swaziland. 

GHFP has created different donation sections available. Each section describes where exactly your donation is going. Some of their available donation slots include: the orphan champion, orphan ambassador, orphan buddy, orphan painted thank you cards, the orphan education scholarship campaign, and more. 

I have included a ling to Give Hope, Fight Poverty below.

http://www.ifightpoverty.org/

2nd Sneeze Post

Below is a list of some of my previous posts, and the corresponding links, that I believe will make the most impact on my readers. I hope you find these posts helpful.

• Promote a Post: This post allowed me to gain more knowledge on other bloggers, and their styles of writing/blogging. I reviewed a couple of blogs, and found two that I presumed will be interested in promoting my post, based on the correlations of our writings. The post talks about my experience in connecting with these bloggers, and the response I received. http://eradicatingpoverty.blogspot.com/2014/06/promote-post.html

• Promoting My Web Site Post: This post helped me in realizing the sole purpose of blogging. It talks about my experience in shadowing a couple other poverty related blogs. The similarities and differences I noticed, and the realization that came from it. http://eradicatingpoverty.blogspot.com/2014/06/promoting-my-web-site-post_27.html

• 2nd List Post: In this post, I focus on the organization HEIFER, and their take on poverty. I list the ways that HEIFER has adopted in eradicating poverty, and also briefly explain how they plan on going about it. http://eradicatingpoverty.blogspot.com/2014/07/2nd-list-post.html

• The Hunger Project: In this post, I got the opportunity to review a powerful organizations that focuses on eradicating poverty in the nation, The Hunger Project. I talk about the three critical elements that HEIFER, in collaboration with their partners, have developed to empower to make rapid progress in eradicating hunger and poverty. http://eradicatingpoverty.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-hunger-project.html

• 2nd Review Post: This post focuses on The United Communities Against Poverty, INC. (UCAP). It touches on how UCAP differentiates itself from other organizations that strive to eradicate poverty. http://eradicatingpoverty.blogspot.com/2014/07/2nd-review-post.html

CafePress Product

I have successfully been able to create my own personalized "End Poverty" t-shirts that I believe will help in advocating and creating awareness for those living in poverty, around the world. Below is the links to some of the shirts and their descriptions:

1. The first shirt is a women's white "end-poverty"t-shirt. It is a women's shirt, that comes in various sizes. Made in USA by American Apparel. It is a body-hugging, close-contoured fit, with a thin fabric. It is a 4.3 oz 100% ultra fined combined ring-spun jersey, and can also be gotten in the color pink.
2. The second t-shirt is a men's black "end poverty" t-shirt. It also comes in various sizes, with a smaller cut, designed to fit tightly. For a looser fit, there are bigger sizes available. It is a 4.3 oz 100% ultra fined combined ring-spun jersey, that can be machine washed cold, and tumble dried cold. It comes in 19 different colors, with only a cost of $34.50 for one.
3. The third "end poverty" t-shirt is a kids sweatshirt by the fashion company Hanes. It is a 7.8 oz 50/50 cotton/polyester fieece. A standard unisex fit that can be worn by both female and male, that is not too tight or too loose, with a fieece-paneled front pocket. It has a hood, but without drawstrings, for the safety of the child, and is also machine washable. It comes in different sizes, labeled by both numbers and letters. 

All of these products ship within 24 hours of order, and has a 30-day money back guarantee. 

2nd Review Post

Established in 1964, The United Communities Against Poverty, INC. (UCAP) prides itself as the leading advocate for communities of people facing deficiencies in education, affordable housing,  economic stability, and adequate health care access. Unlike other poverty advocating organizations, UCAP differentiates itself by not just providing for those living in poverty, but by also catering for those that have been negatively impacted by unemployment, homelessness, crime, and inadequate public health services. With a mission to alleviate poverty, UCAP improves awareness of the needs of low and moderate income residents, and maximizes the quality of life for residents of Prince George's County and impoverished individuals throughout the State of Maryland.

The services provided by UCAP include, but are not limited to:

• Homeless Services: Through their partnership with other local organizations, The Shepherd's Core Emergency Center For Women And Children is designed to transition the women living in the shelter out of shelter and into permanent or transitional housing.

• Supportive Housing: UCAP's Community Linked Supportive Housing program low-income persons living in permanent housing links to supportive services in the community.

• Homeowner Services: With their First Time Home Buyer Education, consisting of an eight-hour, one-day homeownership education group workshop covering: credit, financial planning, affordability, financing types, the closing/settlement process, home inspection, and the real estate agent, UCAP assists in the preparation of buying and maintaining a home. 

• Neighborhood Development: The two purposes of this program is to stabilize communities that suffer from foreclosures, abandonment, and vacant homes, and to provide green affordable healthy energy-efficient homes for low-to-moderate-income homeowners. 

I have included a link to The United Communities Against Poverty, INC.'s website below.

http://www.ucappgc.org/default.aspx

The Hunger Project

Founded in 1977, The Hunger Project (THP) is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world poverty. The Hunger Project has partnered with grassroots people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, to develop effective bottom-up strategies, and has developed three critical elements, that when combined, empower people to make rapid progress in overcoming hunger and poverty, including:

• Mobilizing People At The Grassroots Level To Build Self-Reliance: The Hunger Project trains women and men equipping them with the skills, knowledge and methods used needed to take self-reliant actions to improve their lives and conditions in their communities, urging people not to wait to be rescued, but to take action now to meet their basic needs. The hunger project has created a vision level workshop that allows people to create their own vision for the future, commit to achieving it, and outline the actions that are needed for it to succeed, known as the Vision, Commitment, and Action Workshop (VCAW).
• Empowering Women as Key Change Agents: Women bear almost all responsibilities of meeting basic needs, yet, are systematically denied the resources, information, and freedom of action they need in fulfilling this responsibility. Around the world, millions of people eat two or three times a day, but a significant percentage of women eat just once. Research has shown that when women are supported and empowered, all of society benefits. Hence, The Hunger Project has created programs, wherever they work, that aims at supporting women and building their capacity.
• Forging Partnerships With Local Governments: The Hunger Project works in partnership with local government bodies to ensure that they are effective, include the leadership of women, are directly accountable to local people, and provide access to information and resources.

I have included a link to The Hunger Project's website below. 

http://www.thp.org/