Blog Post #3

What do you know about the relationship between citizens and your CP?

       My community partner is the Ecumenical Hunger Program. This is a great program that provided necessities to families. Ecumenical Hunger Program dedicates it's existence to assist local families and individuals who are experiencing economic and/or personal hardship. They do this by providing clothes, clothing, household essentials, support, and advocacy to our neighbors to help them survive through difficult times so eventually they will be independent again. The Ecumenical Hunger Program serves working families, seniors, and people with limited incomes and those who have both emergency and on-going needs in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, as well as surrounding areas.
      I know that the citizens rely heavily on this service to get them through hard times. From some testimonials I've read online, I can see that this program has helped people when they really needed it.    This program was there for them when they had no one else to turn to. Ecumenical Hunger Program really made it possible for people to be at their lowest and have them work towards their independence again. Also, I noticed that a majority of the testimonials showed that after the people were out of their funk, they returned and volunteered and contributed to the program. A lot of people who needed his assistance prior really want to give someone else the opportunity they had. I think that is great. It really shows how appreciative they are.

On what levels do they interact?

One major way the citizens interact with this program is volunteerism. As mentioned earlier, volunteers assist people in need. Some of those volunteers have been in the same spot as the current people in need, and that is the exact reason they are volunteering. In addition, the program embraces volunteers and encourages people to join their mission to help as many people as they can.

How can citizen participation affect your CP?

According to table 4.1, voice is a major necessity to keep this program going strong. Donations and volunteering is great, but sometimes it's not always enough. We need to speak up and broadcast all the good does for the community and surrounding communities. Maybe if the government knows all the good that it does, they will be tempted to help out in any way they can. Another helpful actions is loyalty and showing support for the community by attending functions as well as spreading the word of their great works. If the citizens participate on a regular basis and spread the word, this program would get a lot more attention as well as volunteers excited to help. The more attention this program gets, the better it is for them. Who knows, it could get so big that the government would love to jump in and help any way they can!