My plan of action is going well. So far I have volunteer in preparing the Jennings Hall Rain Garden for spring by helping other students remove trash and mulch the garden boxes. I have also done some weeding. This helps to beautify the campus and provide the OSU community with a green space that helps mitigate climate change and attract more people. I have also contacted the Columbus community and organized some canned goods form my floor in Lincoln to donate to the pantry. I am currently still getting toiletries together because this is a little more difficult to procure than canned goods and nonperishable food items. What is so neat about this effort is that people can pick it up from you and you do not need to travel to drop off items for donation. This helps address population loss because healthy food options have a major role in the movement of people. Health is an issue that affects society and is especially highlighted in cities. I also traveled to Tuttle Park and Garden of Roses Park to pick up trash and help clean up the area for others to enjoy. A large part of population loss is city planning where people must decide how to design public space and affordable houses, while maintaining the history of communities and not gentrifying or discriminating against low-income families or races.

A root cause to population loss can be racism and I plan to somehow find organizations that deal with equality on campus. I am also planning to collect pop tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House to help families in need.

It’s difficult to find time to volunteer and get involved with organizations and entities that are actively making a difference in one’s community. The issue of population loss is also very difficult to address, however, I’ve found a few organizations and opportunities to volunteer and devote some of my time to actively make a difference in my issue. I think this will be exciting, fun, and challenging. A few of these organizations don’t directly tackle “population loss” because it is a broad, widespread issue. But these groups focus on a few root causes and community development that is essential to creating a lasting impact on the movement of people out of cities and its effect on the community as a whole.

Month of Action:

BUCKEYES GIVE: MONTH OF SERVICE 2018

Sat, April 07, 2018
8:00 am – 1:00 pm

 

This event joins Buckeyes across central Ohio to come together and make a difference in the community. Buckeyes across central Ohio will come together on April 7 to make a difference in our community. The day kicks off the Alumni Association’s annual Buckeye’s Give: Month of Service.

It focuses on making a difference on a variety of social issues, including: neighborhood and park beautification; senior assistance; food insecurity; homelessness; recycling/reuse; patient encouragement; and health and wellness.

 

Make welcome blankets for the Ronald McDonald house in Columbus: more information for this can be requested and it is an easy task to do in a group that indirectly improves the lives of children and families by donating necessary supplies.

 

Pop Tab Collection for the Ronald McDonald House: save pop tabs and help give hope to RMHC Families. The Ronald McDonald House collects the aluminum pop tabs from cans. They can generate thousands of dollars from their pop tab collection program every year. It’s an easy way to do something good and make a difference in the life of a seriously ill child. I can go around campus and collect pop tabs from dorms and dining halls and then donate these!

Work with the MidOhio Foodbank and organize donations of food from grocers, food distributors, farmers, and community members. This provides a much needed supplement to the food they receive from government agencies. Donating non perishable foods and fresh produce is a great way to help out and improve the surrounding community.

Another option is to organize donations of toiletries: a list of things they accept can be found on the website.

I can also participate in Faith Mission and serve dinner to homeless men, women, and children. There are hundreds of persons each day who are forced to live “in the open”, on the streets, in abandoned buildings, on railroad land and under bridges.  Cut off, excluded and left behind they turn to The Open Shelter.

THE TOPIARY PARK IN COLUMBUS, OHIO – AN ARTIST’S VISION: help clean and maintain the topiary park in Columbus. this provides necessary green space for all community members and creates an atmosphere that encourages equality and growth.

-as an individual I can go to parks and pick up trash, clean vandalism, and make them more enjoyable for ALL citizens of Columbus. Sometimes public spaces can be created in a way that doesn’t include diversification. Cleaning up the parks along the Olentangy Trail and within the City can help address this issue and improve them.

Park of Roses

Across the nation people are hungry for opportunities to transform their communities for the better. HandsOn Central Ohio is an integral component to engaging and energizing this cultural movement of people who are so willing to give. HandsOn Central Ohio connects interested individuals and organizations with meaningful civic engagement opportunities in the communities in which we live and work. HandsOn Central Ohio also connects residents in need to social services, enabling them to create change in their lives.

I want to develop a more efficient way to connect students and community members to volunteer opportunities that truly interests them. Also these opportunities can be sorted by availability, type of work,  how it helps the community, and location. This would entail communication among organizations, a network, and an accessible organization strategy.
 

 sources: https://www.eventbrite.com/d/oh–columbus/volunteer/

I am for sure doing the Buckeye month of action: there are two events for this date, the Ronald McDonald house volunteer opportunities, running in a 5k on Campus that I have to organize, working with AFROTC group for a volunteer project TBD and volunteering at Topiary Park and other parks around Columbus.

 

 

The railroad industry brought people, goods and jobs to Columbus. This led to an influx of people looking for work and beginning a family. In the late 1860s, the railroad company made gun carriages used in Spanish American War. The Ralston Steel Car company also brought people into the city. The railroad industry was thriving and built numerous cars that prompted more business and encouraged large corporations to build and hire within the City. Columbus already had German and Irish communities from its history; and the railroad industry brought immigrants from Eastern and Central Europe and migrants from the South. This was followed by African Americans looking for work and opportunity. Columbus was a busting, industrial community that became a company town. One company controlled many things and Ralston built a variety of different houses for employees.

Eventually, immigrant families settled into their lives and created new businesses which created a diverse economy.

During Eisenhower’s presidency, the trucking industry boomed and dominated transportation and infrastructure. Thousands of people were employed, and this shift led to a loss of jobs from previous companies. The manufacturing aspect faded, and different companies took precedence. In the late 1950s, distribution became known in Columbus. Highway 670 divided communities and this led to unemployment and vacant houses. Population Loss can lead to vacant lots and today, Columbus may contain over 10,000 vacant and abandoned housing units.

The root causes behind population loss can be traced back to lack of education, racism, poverty, and poor healthcare. Many issues can stem from these such as gentrification, low-income communities, food deserts, and many social issues. All of this causes people to abandon their homes and leave their communities behind. The greatest challenges for addressing these issues is the inherent history of them. De facto racism has played a major role in history and it continues to be prevalent today. The social challenges in society make population loss difficult and hard for people to address head on. Policies include “smart decline” or “managed decline” For many cities urban planning has often become a form of creative destruction and many Rust Belt leaders have focused on sacrificing existing structures to create innovative, sustainable complexes. What’s possible is hard to see. The inner world is projected into how the city is built up or torn down.

Cities create employment opportunities, form supply chains, and harbor ideas that fuel innovation. These benefits offset the costs of congestion that lead to vast urban growth. Many cities have fallen into decline. The cost of moving goods can dramatically increase and affect the decline or growth of cities. Things that are important in a city: well-structured education, and diverse economy that’s not dependent on one major commodity. A collection of people, institutions, and culture can survive through hardship and create a community that is sustainable and efficient.

Urbanization and the future of cities:

More than half of all people in the world live in an urban area and this will increase by more than 70 percent. The world has reached a high degree of urbanization and this is greatly impacting how cities are structured. In the earliest day humans were hunters and gatherers but 10,000 years ago agricultural techniques became known. This led to development of semi-permanent villages in history

The still had to relocate for soil purpose, but with techniques like irrigation and soil tilling, this made permanent settlements possible. It wallowed the development of other specialized trades and eventually cities. This led to trade and transportation. All these things required labor and more people flocked to the cities to fill in these roles. In the early ages, cities had populations twice as high as Calcutta or Shanghai.

Modern cities really started during the industrial revolution which allowed expansion and innovation. Global population is more than 7 billion and most of this growth will occur in poor, urban areas. Cities must seek easy ways to provide adequate food, sanitation, and education. This growth will need to occur in a way that doesn’t damage the around us and rooftop gardens, renewable energies, and multi-purpose family homes built vertically will be the future. Smaller, self-sufficient cities will focus on stability and sustainability.

Columbus has gained population significantly between 1950 and the present, largely because of its ability to add surrounding lands. Its population gain is since annexation permitted it to include vacant areas that have subsequently grown. In addition, it has a strong economic base that is supported by state government entities, Ohio State University, and major private sector employers such as Nationwide Insurance and AEP. At the same time, although its population and job base continue to grow, the ‘1950 Columbus’ has lost a significant part of its population and shares the characteristics of Ohio’s other shrinking cities.

 

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoM718PrYjU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOhlGrjZVz4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKnAJCSGSdk

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/03/smart-decline-is-dumb/518640/

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0518_ohio_cities_mallach_brachman.pdf

 

Kindness: Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them.

Humility: Letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding oneself as more special than one is.

Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done and at the same time maintain good relations within the group; organizing group activities and seeing that they happen.

Judgment: Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one’s mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly.

Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence: Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in various domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

My top 5 strengths represent the part of me that loves helping others. It might sound “cheesy” but I cherish the opportunity to guide others and help them find what they love or at least step out of their comfort zone. Going to college created a fear inside of me that fed upon my anxiety in leaving my hometown, my rigorous routine, and my family. However, this survey encourages me to look beyond the big and scary, and create a new picture that focuses on adventure, risks, and constant learning. I am not surprised that kindness is my number 1 strength because it is a moral that I live by. I am also very humble because I believe that actions speak for themselves and being able to appreciate your own accomplishments without creating unnecessary competition is extremely valuable and will draw people towards you. I am surprised that leadership is so high up on my strengths assessment because my style of leadership is unconventional and very observant. Although I am part of Air Force ROTC and the ENR Scholars Group, I try to lead by example and not have an overwhelming presence. The description of leadership fits seamlessly into my motivations for treating others with respect and working as a group to accomplish varying tasks.

Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence is one of my favorite strengths because it is the foundation for my passion in environmental activism and perception on the world. I am surprised that teamwork isn’t as high on my assessment, but I think that this part of my life is centered around independence and a sense of self that has highlighted my other strengths and forced me to branch out and grow. While my roots remain tied to my past experiences, I want to continue to build upon them and develop my other strengths that are less prominent in my character. I want to improve my creativity, faith, and temperance. Constant effort and perseverance will help me reinvent my character and as time goes on, my strengths will change. While some fade into the background, others will thrive and prosper.

 

Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement.

Global Awareness: I plan to study abroad through the SENR and experience a unique culture while strengthening my passion for sustainability and the planet.

Original Inquiry: I have explored the Olentangy river with my ENR Scholars group and I have spent my senior year of high school researching conservation ecology and creating a need for community involvement in environmental issues. I have also been involved in the creation of a land lab and the research of water quality throughout Licking County.

Academic Enrichment: I am taking CHEM 1210 and it is kicking my butt.

Leadership Development: I am slowly taking the leadership skills I have and applying them to my ROTC for the Air Force.

Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community. I am volunteering for the city of Columbus and keeping my service ties with my hometown.