Monday, October 26

What?

Today we clarified more about the calendar and group tasks. The focus was on group-work -- everyone is divided into multiple different groups, each being a part of phase one (needing to be completed first) and phase two (can be put aside until more of phase one is completed). I am part of the Budgeteers (the budget and fundraising group), the Art Squad (call for entries and collecting art), and the Recipe Crew (in charge of the free recipe take-away).

The Venue/Date group secured and finalized the date/venue: Project Winterfood event will be held at 1509 W. Main from 7pm-10pm on Wed. Dec 2nd, then will move to be on display at Gallery 5 for the remainder of December.

We have a small budget of $100 from VCU, so the Budgeteers decided it would be a great idea to supplement these funds with a fundraiser. We hope to be able to have most of the supplies for this project either donated or at a discount, but it will be useful to have a bit of a cushion, especially since getting the VCU money might be a bit complex and having pocket money is good. We will be holding a fundraiser on First Friday, November 6th. Kristine A. and I are crocheting bracelets, some other team members are making baked goods, and other students are still deciding what they can contribute to the effort.

So What?

It is a bit frustrating (but understandable) that none of the groups know what supplies they will require or how much of the budget they will need for their group yet. It makes it somewhat difficult for the budgeting group. However, additional funds from the fundraiser may alleviate some of this stress.

Now What?

It is a very different experience working with so many people on one project, since most teamwork is teams of 2-4. This is a good exercise since in the "real world," many projects are group efforts and not everyone will really know what is happening; sometimes you do have to badger people to figure out their in order to do your own job. Since the total budget is a bit unknown, we are going to try our best to use our contacts to get donated or discounted materials -- it's good to network!! We will also expand our own networks, working to find sponsors, donors, and partners, as well as becoming more familiar with the activist groups in the local Richmond area. Hopefully the fundraiser will help raise some funds, as well as being a great opportunity for initial promotion of the event.