Daily Archives: April 21, 2019

Volunteering at Lowcountry Food Bank!

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In the beginning of March (Saturday March 2nd), I spent my morning volunteering with the College’s Center for Civic Engagement. From 8:30am-12:30pm, I worked helped at the Lowcountry Food Bank in North Charleston!

I have volunteered here one other time before, but this time I was helping with the CSFP, which stands for Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Myself, along with our CCE leaders, Makaila Davis and Susannah McFaul, and a few other students helped pack boxes for food insecure senior citizens in need!

When we arrived at the warehouse, we first were introduced to the other groups we would be working with for the day. We got placed with a local high school from the area, as well as a few other couples. We then got a quick tour of the workshop and assembly line. The manager explained that we should spread out and be stationed at different spots in order for everything to flow more smoothly. Thus, we had people at the front – this is where they would assemble the boxes – then in the middle – this is where we would place items such as, rice, beans, canned tomatoes, applesauce, juice, and other non-perishables in the boxes – and then at the end – this is where the boxes would be tapped and closed up for transport to their location. There were also people needed to collect the excess packaging that came off of the items were placing in the boxes we were giving away. For example, we went through soooo much cardboard and plastic that day, because the food items came in these huge pallets, and we all went through at least two of them (and they were all taller than me!). Therefore, people were needed on the other side to take these parts and break them down and put them in the recycling pile. I was in the middle section, helping to put rice and beans into the boxes.

We packaged boxes for about three hours and the production moved smoothly for the most part. Communication was significant to the process, because if someone needed to take a break or was falling behind, they could ask someone to step in to their place. I had to switch places a few times and go to a few different stations because it just worked out that that was where I was most needed. It was truly a “go with the flow” type of job, but at the same time, we all accomplished so much!

We ended up packing up about 800 boxes I think! This was a fun experience, because I got to meet fellow students and others from our community, who all wanted to help out others. While we did make an impact in the world of hunger in the Charleston community, part of me did feel as if all the waste that was involved in the process was almost counterintuitive in a way. For example, even though we were sending all the food off to be eaten (and not wasted), all the plastic that came from the packaging seemed so wasteful in a way. This showed how everything is connected and in a way, always comes back around, and must be thought of in a fully sustainable way.

Lowcountry Citizens’ Summit

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A couple of weekends ago, on March 30th, I was lucky enough to participate in the Lowcountry Citizens’ Summit! The event was from 10:45am-3:45pm and was hosted by CofC’s very own Honors College. The day welcomed all those who were dedicated to learning more about the pressing issues facing both our society in general, as well as our Charleston community. Students, faculty, and community leaders joined in the Stern Center for a panel discussion, followed by boxed lunches provided by City Bistro! The remaining hour and a half, we spent time participating in breakout sessions.

Dr. Folds-Bennett introduced the panelist that would be speaking on the topic of “Redefining Leadership.” There were five individuals, all different ages and having different backgrounds and professions. Their leadership ranged from being involved in the Charleston School District, the Shared Future Project, the College’s Farmer’s Market, the League of Women Voters, a local education-rights activist, and a very own CofC faculty member! These individuals were all asked several questions from an Honors College student that was in charge of leading the discussion. Questions were all surrounding the topic of leadership (i.e. “What kind of leader are you?” or “Can a leader be made or are you born a leader?”). Each member offered a unique perspective to each question and was able to pull from their own experiences to provide the audience with a wide range of answers.

After several aspects of leadership had been touched on, the discussion dove into more about the issues our Charleston community faces. Most of the panelists answered with something similar to the following; racism, classism, education, climate change/sustainability, and many more that most people do not even realize. This lead into the audience being given the opportunity to then ask the panelists any questions they wish. The panelists, again, answered the questions thoughtfully and offered several solutions and perspectives.

After a quick break for lunch, we were each given the choice as to which small-group “breakout session” we wished to participate in. The choices ranged from justice, to southern hospitality, to hunger and homelessness, to leadership. I chose the topic of southern hospitality, because underneath the description it touched on environmental aspects, which are of interest to me.

Thus, in my small group, we first talked about the “myth” that surrounds our city and about how when you tell people you go to the College of Charleston they are in awe because “Charleston is so beautiful!” However, in reality, those that have not spent a lot of time in this city, do not really know or understand that Charleston faces many societal problems, ranging from racism, classism, gentrification, sustainability issues, food waste, and large amounts of homelessness. We like to put bandaids on these issues and make the tourist areas (i.e. King Street) all pretty, for economic reasons, when the majority of the rest of the peninsula is suffering in other ways. This was one of the most influential parts of the day, in my opinion, because it made me think of our class, and how everything is truly connected. It made me use more systems thinking and more interdisciplinary.

At the end of the small discussion, each of the groups came together and told the larger, entire room about their findings and conclusions. Overall, I thought the day was productive; I learned about several problems that exist around me all the time that I had no idea about. However, at the same time, I still feel overwhelmed, because there are so many! All I can do is continue to talk about these problems with other people and educate others and do my part to ease their effects.

 

 

Social Justice Coffee Hour: TOURISM

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On Tuesday April 9th, I attended an event that was part of the Sustainability Week 2019 called Social Justice Coffee Hour. At this final coffee hour, a panel consisting of two CofC professors, Dr. Jen Wright and Dr. Blake Scott, and a local air b&b host named Tia Clark talked about the complexity of traveling abroad—including the interactions between travelers and locals that shape the cultures from both sides of the interactions—and the effects of tourism on the Charleston community.

Each panelist spoke of a particular issue of importance from what I gathered. Dr. Jen Wright, a professor of psychology, conducts study abroad trips to Cambodia and Vietnam every summer and highlighted the importance of having raw connections with the local people and living like a local as much as possible in order to get the real experience of that culture. She also indicated to stay away from voluntourism, which means that the volunteer program that tourists take part in may not be genuine and impactful but rather was made for tourists as a way for the business to make money. As a traveler, this is something that we should all be aware of when we want to give to a community and make sure that our engagement is meaningful and beneficial for the local people in the long run. It is important to ask many questions and not to manifest the position of privilege that we have on locals because it is detrimental to both individuals.

Moreover, Dr. Blake Scott, a professor of International Studies, highlighted intersectionality thinking meaning how a native community (like Charleston) was formed by other cultures from around the globe (Barbados, Creole) and being aware of historical amnesia, such as when the US invaded Cuba through tourism in 1898 and Cubans revolted as a result. Therefore, when visiting countries that the US has taken over in the past, tourists must be conscious of the historical trauma that may exist from individuals in these countries.

Lastly, Tia Clark is a Charleston native who is an air b&b host that features crabbing as part of the air b&b experience. She emphasized how tourists in Charleston now value cultural/local experiences like crabbing more than souvenirs and that Southern Hospitality has been a big part of the tourist experience in Charleston. She was disheartened at the fact that tourism has taken over downtown Charleston and is no longer the friendly community that she once was a part of. What struck me was her question on why people (investors) choose to change the places that are already beautiful, in which I knew the answer was because of money.

The Social Justice Coffee Hour was very informative and eye-opening. During the panel, I thought about how I should use “conscious tourism” for my trips abroad this summer in other countries. Most importantly, I will use it in the Philippines because I just realized that even as and Filipino-American, I previously manifested my privilege on fellow Filipinos by dressing and acting like I was better than them. Thus, I now know better and will become more aware of the direct and indirect consequences of my actions as a tourist abroad.