Challenge:My partners Laura Nix, Kacie Lima and I were asked to find ways to increase donations for their food pantry, increase awareness, and possibly create a logo for them. There are so many food pantries in Fishers, they were having a hard time getting donations that were needed they would struggle to retain personal care items such as shampoo bottles and soap.
I chose to work with this organization because at my church we have a food pantry and through that I was able to see the need in the community. I think that more and more people think that the Fishers area is not in need because we only see the wealth around us. But, there are many people who are hungry and need help in our community.
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Who are they and what do they do?
The Fall Creek Township Food Pantry provides non-pershiable items, personal care items, and cleaning supplies for families in the Fall Creek Township.
Process of Ideation
In the beginning of the project we started by mainly focusing on advertisement and how to increase the awareness of the Food Pantry. We focused on increasing their social media presence and improving their website. However after or initial meeting with Suzanna she asked us to focus on creating a logo, and finding a way that could increase their donations.
After the first meeting we came up with the two logos at the top of the page and Laura thought of an idea where there would be sculptures of giving hands set up around the city. These would be donation points where people could drop off the items that they want to donate to the pantry. When we proposed this idea at the first meeting they liked the idea, however they said this would be a long term solution. They then asked us if we had any ideas that were more applicable for immediate results. The second idea we proposed to them was specified lists that would be unique to what they needed. They could create the lists specifically for $10, $20, or $50. We liked this idea because it made it easier for the people who are donating to the pantry. If they wanted to help the pantry but did not know what they needed specifically and did not want to spend a ton of money then they could be given a list of items that are needed in the pantry at that time, without spending more money than they would like.
Our next idea we proposed was a food drive competition during the mudsock basketball game. We proposed there to be a spirit week leading up to it and both of the schools would participate in a competition to see who could bring in the most cans. We chose this game because it is the most attended basketball game, however the turn around for blue crew was too soon and they asked us to see if we could do it on the Carmel game. When we proposed this to Doug Allman and Suzanna Hobson they thought it was a great idea and would be able to keep the food pantry stocked through out the beginning of the year.
Another idea that we came up with was to have a dine to donate with Chick-Fil-A. At Chick-Fil-A part of their advertising techniques are to partner with local organizations and when people come in and say they are there for the dine to donate, a portion of the proceeds go to the organization they are supporting. If the Fall Creek Township Food pantry has one of these this could help with the costs of emergencies with family situations or purchasing items for care packages for people in need.
After the first meeting we came up with the two logos at the top of the page and Laura thought of an idea where there would be sculptures of giving hands set up around the city. These would be donation points where people could drop off the items that they want to donate to the pantry. When we proposed this idea at the first meeting they liked the idea, however they said this would be a long term solution. They then asked us if we had any ideas that were more applicable for immediate results. The second idea we proposed to them was specified lists that would be unique to what they needed. They could create the lists specifically for $10, $20, or $50. We liked this idea because it made it easier for the people who are donating to the pantry. If they wanted to help the pantry but did not know what they needed specifically and did not want to spend a ton of money then they could be given a list of items that are needed in the pantry at that time, without spending more money than they would like.
Our next idea we proposed was a food drive competition during the mudsock basketball game. We proposed there to be a spirit week leading up to it and both of the schools would participate in a competition to see who could bring in the most cans. We chose this game because it is the most attended basketball game, however the turn around for blue crew was too soon and they asked us to see if we could do it on the Carmel game. When we proposed this to Doug Allman and Suzanna Hobson they thought it was a great idea and would be able to keep the food pantry stocked through out the beginning of the year.
Another idea that we came up with was to have a dine to donate with Chick-Fil-A. At Chick-Fil-A part of their advertising techniques are to partner with local organizations and when people come in and say they are there for the dine to donate, a portion of the proceeds go to the organization they are supporting. If the Fall Creek Township Food pantry has one of these this could help with the costs of emergencies with family situations or purchasing items for care packages for people in need.
My Contribution
Throughout this project I was the organizer that kept notes during the meetings and kept us on task to get everything we needed to get done, done. I helped with the communication with our community partners as well as helped with the brain storming of the ideas that we proposed to or partners. Also, since I work at Chick-Fil-A I was able to find out the details of the dine-to-donate and who they needed to talk to in order to make it happen. As a whole, all three of us contributed equally to the project.
Challenges:
One of the biggest challenges that our group faced was communication between classes. SInce, Laura was in fifth period and Kacie and I were in fourth period it was hard to find time for us to get together and work on our project. Each one of us had busy schedules that were hard to work around. However, when were able to meet and go over ideas and meetings in SMaRT period. We also communicated through a group chat to keep each other informed on what ideas we had and updates on progress we have made.
Improvements
If I could do this project again I would want to have a group that is all in my class period so that we could be more productive in class as well as being able to communicate better. I would also want to try to set up more meetings with out partners to obtain more of their feedback and how to implement and improve our ideas.