Act Like You Care Group - Essay Example

Lecturer The Service Learning Journal- At the Act Like You Care Group (ALYCG). History Act Like You Care Group is a nonprofit registered in line with the provisions of the United States company registration laws. It operates in all of the states in the US, and in many other parts of the world. It was founded in the aftermath of the great depression in 1929 and was meant to support the families that suffered its (the great depression’s) effects the most. The founded was Moreno O’Sullivan, who had immigrated to North Dakota from Tennessee. There were sufferings and the group looked to feed the deprived and provide for their other insufficiencies. He founded it with five others who had been his friends since his college days in his native Tennessee. Programs, Purpose and Training Act Like You Care Group had clear-cut programs that included setting up children’s homes that acted as concentration camps for children who were underprivileged either because they were orphan or came from deplorable backgrounds that could not support their education and many other needs they had. They established education centers within those concentration camps where the orphaned and vulnerable children would attend, and also put up small dispensaries where they could attend whenever they fell ill. It has the support of the government and many other donor agencies, and this is why they have survived the ever rising cases of vulnerabilities within the Americas and other parts of the world, in the face of the wars and sufferings that go with it. Philanthropic musicians and other artists have often supported the activities of the group through funds, charity performance and more. The group has an estimated eight million dependants worldwide and requires a budget of not less than $60B annually. Being the nonprofit that it is, this budget must be supported by many sources, and sure enough, it has had faithful partners who have constantly aided its fund needs. There are training programs for people who wish to be recruited. It takes a couple of weeks and the rest of it is learnt while one serves under the guidance of the old members whom you are assigned to. The initial training is rigorous and intense but nicely programmed to be covered within the specified timeframe. It runs from the third week of April to the ending week of May and then one is ready to take up light assignments under the guidance of experienced members. Service with diligence is paramount and it’s all one needs to fit in the group. For the duration that I served with the group, I did not note any major inefficiency that called for improvements, maybe apart from the bureaucracy that resulted from having to server within the entire United States and beyond. It called for much, but it was just never easy to get everything proceeding smoothly without hitches. Everything else is okay at the group and the service is with honesty. There are no cases of embezzled funds through corruption, which is why some donors and even the government have partnered faithfully with Act Like You Care Group since its inception over 85 years ago. My service at ALYCG I was assigned the role of a clerical assistant, and the description of my role as such was to make sure, alongside numerous other clerical assistants, records of supplies were updated duly, and it was during the Haiti earthquake disaster effects amelioration programs which were greatly supported by the United States government and many aid agencies registered with it. The two major agencies that swung into action were Act Like You Care and the United States Red Cross Society. It wasn’t an easy job to do because even the lack of clear communication, one needed to do everything right, and much of this called for spontaneity in the manner that one carried out the assigned roles. What made it even tougher was the fact that it was a rapid response measure to rescue and support the earthquake victims and their families and their relocation to safer grounds. It involved travelling from one ALYC office to another to ensure that every aspect of my assignment went right. We worked for the most of the day, sometimes for over 13 hours of a 24hr day and due to the nature of the Haiti disaster, even those who were off-duty were recalled and their offs rescheduled. We had deliberative meetings each day to chat a way forward for that particular day because it was difficult to use the normal schedule and end up doing everything right. We achieved success in most of the assignment we had due to the logistical efficiencies that were ensured by the projects coordinator, Dr. Hillary Owen. He often ensured that everything that we required was there just at the right time and place and in the right quantities. How my service benefited the group and me I stayed on till after the evaluation stages of the job we had done. Everybody was appreciated for the role they played to ensure success in the Haiti mission. I and a few others got a special mention for our swiftness and spontaneity. There were awards for everyone who had served during the mission. I personally was satisfied with the part I had played in the group to alleviate human suffering in Haiti and other parts of the world that had their various problems. I learnt a lot, and much more than I could ever have imagined. I benefited in a number of ways, having improved my rapid response capabilities to serve during emergencies, where it happens that everyone is a leader in a group and no one has the time to instruct others on what to do, as they would when things were relaxed. I did things in a number of amazing ways, I could realize how much I had been efficient when I was back at home and took time to evaluate my day’s work. I however must recognize the fact that my job couldn’t be a success without the support and input of other people I worked closely with in the department. We were nice to one another and consulted so often. Working schedule There was a schedule that was used during the normal days when no emergencies arose and another that was used during emergencies. However the one that was to be used during emergencies was often adjustable to meet the dynamicity of such emergency moments. The normal schedule ran from Mondays to Fridays and most of the people had weekends off-duty, unless there were extraordinary measures that called for their presence on Saturdays and Sundays. Mondays: were meant for rounds of consultative and deliberative meetings to chat a way forward for the week ahead. This took half day and people went to their places of assignment in the afternoon for three hours. Tuesdays: this marked the beginning of field work where people were assigned trips to various facilities affiliated and supported by ALYCG and submit reports at the end of the day or at the end of the week if it could not be complete within a day. Wednesdays: was a continuation of Tuesday’s activities because it was never easy to get done in a day. Thursdays: on this day, people were given to comprehensively compile their field reports, due for submission at the Friday’s morning meeting. Fridays: there were meeting on the morning of this day, during which the week’s works was evaluated and reports for the field trips submitted Works cited A report by the Act Like You Care Group (ALYCG) on the united states government and the united states aid agencies earthquake amelioration measure in Haiti, 2011. Read More