Trying to Help out Everyone

Part I:

Everyone could use a helping hand. No matter if it is taking groceries out to the car, or having people give you free food and clothes. That is why community service is such a major role in society to make us grow as people. Giving back to the world is just as important as taking from it. That is why I feel that what our school does in the way of community service is necessary for all schools. Kids need to realize that it is not just all about them. We are all human beings and deserve as much as a chance as everybody else. Not everyone is lucky enough to be born into wealthy communities, but everyone should feel obligated to help out other people when they are in a time of need. Other schools should have community service because we are the people of the future. If we do not learn how to give when we are young, how should we be able to learn to give when we are older? Community service is such a viable thing because it teaches us a lot of things about other people and ourselves. Through community service, people learn compassion for others and understand that the world is not as perfect as it seems.

For my community service I worked for two organizations. One of the two organizations was Christmas for Everyone. This was an organization was about helping out families in need so they could enjoy their Christmas without any stress. My second organization was for Walnut Creek Warriors Lacrosse which is a non-profit youth sports program. I did most of my blogs about youth sports, but for this paper I decided that poverty has much more community need. Considering that the income earned by the richest 50,000 people in the developed world almost exactly equals the income of the 2.7 billion poorest (DeRouen) is far more of a problem striking our world. This number is unfair but will not be changed for awhile. If these numbers can’t change, then people need to help out the 2.7 billion who are barely surviving. Anything can help whether it is a dollar a day to a charity or if it is going to a third world country and building the town a school or a family a home.

“The UN measures poverty with a three-part index comprised of education, health care, and economic strength” (DeRouen). This shows that poverty is not all about the amount of money you have. Money is a big part of poverty because if someone had access to a lot of money, then they would not have to worry about getting good education and health care. The poorest communities score low in this category because they have no access to money. And no access to money means no access to food or water which can ultimately lead to death. “Life expectancies are very short in the poorest nations of the world. For example, 2008 data from the World Health Organization indicate that life expectancies are less than 42 years in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe and less than 47 years in Lesotho, Chad, Central African Republic, and Angola. This is in contrast to people in developed countries who can expect to live over 75 years and can reasonably expect to see their grandchildren grow up” (DeRouen). It is unfair that people do not get as good as a life because a lack of money. I feel that everyone should have the same exact chance as everyone to be able to enjoy life. A lack of money should mean no fancy vacations or no five star meals, but not a shorter life. If people in richer countries live about thirty years longer, this should tell developed nations to help out. It should be a moral duty to try and help out the weak when you are the strong.

I believe that when someone is done, you pick them up. Whether they have fallen or they have no home is no different. Many kids I know go to Mexico every year and build homes for the less fortunate. They can’t shower for a week, work hard all day long, and get paid nothing. People care about other people. That is why they would sacrifice their time for other people’s happiness. There is also National Charity Leagues where people do community service like working at food shelters. People like giving their time and are happy to put a smile on someone’s face. Developing nations aren’t the only place where there is poverty. In the United States, 37 million which is 12.6% of the population lives under the poverty line (Smith). If 36.5 million people live in California, which is basically our nation’s most populated state living under the poverty line. And that number is poverty number is growing. In five years, five million people in the United States became poor (Smith). This probably has to do with a bad economy or not being able to get a job. And it is not just that. “Forty percent of children born in the bottom income quintile will remain in that quintile as adults” (Smith). People who are born into poverty have a big chance to stay there. If these people do not have the will power to get out of their current position, then they will have no reason to leave. The government has many shelters for poor people. These people can go there and get food, water and a bed to sleep in. This is probably the best they could get without going to prison. A hot meal, some cold water and a place to sleep that isn’t a park bench is better than what they are used to. The government is also looking into health care so this could possibly help out the people that can’t afford it. Considering that 19 % of children in poverty and 11.2 % above poverty do not have health insurance, this could really help. President Obama has made it so that kids on their parent’s health care plans now have to be on it until they are twenty five. I think this is good because many of those people would probably not have health care because a lack of money.

Part II

“Americans donate $300 billion to charity every year, according to Giving USA 2009” (Dorian).  This is a great start to such an important cause. If every developed country could help out developing countries, those countries would be able to have proper education and health care to live better lives. In the United States, people have a different view on how the government should respond poverty. “Some people believe that the government should be doing more, some believe it should be doing less, and some feel that the current role is about right” (Gorman). I think our government should do a little more about poverty. We have a progressive income tax which I think is good because it deals with income inequality. Our government also has public assistance programs. These programs include federal unemployment insurance, Medicare, and federal welfare programs like food stamps to help poor and temporarily hard-pressed households to make ends meet (Gorman). These to me are very good ways of helping out. These families may be embarrassed of using food stamps but if comes whether to eating or not, I am sure they would rather use the food stamps. “Nearly 40 million Americans received food stamps -- the latest in an ever-higher string of record enrollment that dates from December 2008 and the U.S. recession, according to a government update” (Abbott).  This number isn’t very shocking to me. Everyone struggles to put food on the table and they have got to do it anyway they can. Food stamps are an easy way for them to get food to feed their families and still pay bills. But critics of helping the poverty more and the way the government measures poverty are still there. “One on-going critique is of the types of income that are included in (or excluded from) the poverty measure. By failing to include income that many low-income people receive in the form of public assistance, some critics maintain that the extent of poverty is over-stated. If the value of food stamps, publicly provided health insurance benefits, and cash welfare payments were counted as income in the poverty calculation, many people would no longer be considered poor” (Willis). Maybe we should give these poor people cash payments instead of these benefits and maybe they wouldn’t be considered poor.

As we learned in economics, money is a tricky thing. You can invest your money in the stock market to help you get more, but if you don’t have money you can’t. We learned about capitalism and about how it is all about the greatest good for yourself. I am glad we don’t live in a capitalistic society because then we wouldn’t help the poor. No one would care about the others suffering and would only worry about getting more money. Also we learned about taking loans out on homes, but some people can’t afford homes so they are forced to live out on the streets. We also learned about having disposable income and savings but people in poverty don’t have enough money for that. “Having access to saved income or other assets (e.g. a home) creates stability in a person's financial life” (Tax Policy and Poverty). These people can’t create themselves a sustainable life and then end up living on the streets due to money problems.

Part III

In Thomas Friedman’s, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, a major topic he talks about is how our world’s population is getting very big. If our world is getting bigger and bigger, we need everyone to have an equal opportunity for a good life. This means we can’t have people in developing nations living thirty years less. This is a major disadvantage that no one has a choice because some people can’t choose where they live. If people in developing nations don’t have access to education then they will not be able to have a job that pays a decent wage. And if they don’t get paid a decent wage, then they can’t pay for health care. It is a cycle that needs to be address if more and more people are going to live on this planet.

During winter break, my fellow teammates and I went to Christmas for Everyone where they collected Christmas presents for the less fortunate. There was a whole gymnasium filled with donations of new and slightly used items. There were tons of toys, clothes and miscellaneous items stacked up in huge barrels. The organization was using what looked like a church and Sunday school to help people in need during the holidays. The other great thing about this event was that they were collecting food. They were collecting food so families could have a nice family dinner and not have to stress about coming up with the money to pay for it. It was nice to know that people still cared for other people. We need to have more organizations like this so people can help others. A lot of people are better off than others so I think that those people should give back. Not everyone can be successful; it's hard to make a lot of money. But we can't as people not help out the needy. It felt good knowing what we were doing was for a great cause. I am also glad to see that there were so many people there helping out. Every one could use a helping hand, and for that Christmas it was our hands. It was an eye opener about how many people actually do need help. Even though most of my hours were helping out with youth sports, working for a poverty based organization really put it into my mind that I should help out more with my free time. Poverty is all over the world and you can never stop helping the cause. I knew if I didn’t have a home or food to eat I would love a helping hand and would forever be thankful. That is why many people do community service and give money to charity. “Many researchers told us lower income people give more because they think they are more likely to need charity or know someone who needs charity” (Stossel). This is a good thing because people need to help out their friends and others in their situation. If my community service was for just one Christmas, then there has to be at least five gymnasiums in every city around the world to help out the needy every day. Even this does not seem like enough to help out everyone. It is hard to say whether we can fix this problem as a whole or not but we need to make steps forward to change it. We are all part of this world so we should treat each other like family.

Reinstated!

As this video shows, CAL baseball has been reinstated. The long trip to get their sport back is finally over. These players will play another season. It is great to know that these people who worked so hard will be able to see the feild again. Playing sports at a young age has taught them to pursure their dreams and this is a perfect example of where it can take you. No one knew how this incident would end up but the players never quit. They had hope and a good reason not to quit fighting. These players must be filled with joy because their legacy will live on to see another day.

Hopes are High

There must be millions of thoughts running through the CAL baseball players minds. To know that your program may be saved will make their college years less stressful. These players deserve more years for their determination and will power. When all odds are stacked up against you, some people wouldn't try. But all of the odds were against these players and they didn't back down. These players were told that this would be the last years of their baseball careers at CAL. Usually someone would cry and blame others but the team did the oppostie. They held their heads high and wanted to change something that seemed unchangable; getting their team back.

Five teams were cut from Cal's slate back in September, but rugby, lacrosse and women's gymnastics were reinstated on Feb. 11 after $12 million to $13 million was collectively raised. Although the campus had earlier set a $25 million mark for the restoration of all five sports, it said that baseball and men's gymnastics would not return for the 2011-12 season because they did not meet their respective targets of $10 million and $4 million for long-term sustainability.

These kids learned at a young age you win some and you lose some, but no matter what you give it your all. These kids wanted their future to be through CAL baseball and that is what they are trying to do. One step closer for these young men to get their team back for years to come. They will make history for CAL baseball for years to come.

Reinstatement Please

If you have a team that has won two national championships, five national championship appearances, and over 55 players sent to the major leagues how can you get rid of this program. This is a very good record and some schools haven't even come close to being in the championships. If a legacy like this can be shattered, then other schools should be careful of what may happen to them. I am sure that these kids will never give up. They have to big of a heart to let this bother them. The kids are trying to get pledges and money so their program will live on for years to come. As the coach said in the video, these kids are looking into other schools so this won't be their final year playing baseball. I am sure this is heartbreaking to everyone involved with CAL baseball and they are hoping this will be resolved. Why would they cut a team that won a double header which is tough enough in itself. Hopefully they can see that this is a team worth saving.

Rapping for a reason

Who would listen to a bunch of college kids rap? Maybe someone. But these kids are rapping for a reason. These kids want the ability to play baseball for the rest of their college years. They didn't have to make a rap about how they want their team to be able to play next year but they did. they want their message across that this isn't fair and they want another chance. Like they said in the video, they don't have any fans, but they play anyways. They have a passion to play whether anyone is watching or not. As you can see these kids are having a lot of fun just making a song so they must have tons of fun when they are out playing. Hopefully things change and they are able to play next year. I know it would make all of the players and coaches extremely happy. Also i would like to point out Katie Bruzzone who is an ex-Acalanes student. I thought it was pretty funny to see her in the video. She is in the video around the 3:30 mark.

Off to Alameda

Last Saturday I had to go out to Alameda for a girls lacrosse game. The game was between the Walnut Creek Warriors and the Alameda Attack. The game was at ten o'clock and considering I have never been to Alameda, I had to wake up pretty early. We got there and the town was really nice. I was surprised of how nice it was because it was on the outskirts of a not so nice part of Oakland.

VS.

The first half was heavily in favor of the Attack with a three to nothing lead going into half time. The referees were new to reffing so the coaches had to help them out. Because of that, the Attack girls were getting away with what should have been fouls but did not get called for them. That is why they had such a big lead. After the fouls were clarified, the Warriors scored three straight unanswered goals. They had a chance to score at the end of the game but unfortunately the time ran out.

Even though the girls had been roughed by the other players, when the game was over they were really happy they came back to tie it up. As score and time keeper I got a close look at how happy they really were. They were all smiling and saying great game to their teammates. I am glad to see how they didn't get mad at the refs but played on and still were able to come back at the end.

Five Teams Gone

As you have been reading on my blog, CAL is one of the major schools to be hit with sport cuts. The program has lost five of their teams, leaving people in shock and horror. Some people don't know what to do now that they don't have sports. For some people, sports is all they know. This is largely affecting the student athletes role as athletes.

The cuts are scheduled to save $4 million in the 2011-12, the university said. The decrease in teams from 29 to 24 will affect 163 of the school's more than 800 athletes, as well as 13 full-time coaches. Even with the cuts, Cal remains one of the Bowl Subdivision's broadest programs. The average number of sports in FBS is 20.

Many families are upset with the results that are happening. They have tried many things to save their sports. Many people have donated but it wasn't enough. Other sports could take some budget decreases to help out other sports. Instead of the excessive gear they give all of their players, maybe save that money for future years so things like this won't happen. The only other school that has taken hits like CAL has is Rutgers. Rutgers had to get rid of six teams after the 2006-2007 season. When the Pac-10 changes to the Pac-12 next year, Colorado and CAL will be the only schools without a baseball team.

FBS athletics programs drew a greater percentage of their revenue from student fees and their schools' general funds in 2008-09 than they had in any of the previous four years.

If schools are creating a lot of money from their programs, where is that money going? That money should stay in the athletics program and be save so crisis's like these will be avoided.

Warriors Vs Scorpions

A couple of Sundays ago I did some community service. I took the time and score for a girls game. The Warriors were playing the Scorpions. They played their game at Las Lomas High School. The day was pretty rainy but luckily I got to sit under a big tent so I didn't get wet. The game went pretty smoothly considering this is many of the girls first years. They all seem to have enjoyed themselves even though they were playing in bad conditions. Luckily most of them wore long sleeves and leggings under their skirts.

The game went heavily in favor of the Scorpions. But that is okay because even when the Warriors came off of the field they had smiling faces. In sports, it is not all about being competitive but whether you have fun. And if I say so myself these girls were having fun. Knowing that they could just play made them happy. But not everyone was happy. The Warriors were stuck with a few minor injuries. Both of these girls seemed to be okay but just needed to rest.

I feel that it is good for these girls to deal with minor injuries now, so that later they can deal with more serious ones if that happens to be the case. No one likes being injured but it tests your mental and physical strength. I know personally that I hate being injured more than anything and not being able to participate in basketball. I don't let injures stop me. No pain, no gain is always my motto.

CAL Rugby Lives On

What would you do if you knew you might lose something you loved to do? Some might cry, while others might have anger. Others would try to do everything in their power to stop it from happening. At CAL, some sports players didn't have an option. Some may lose everything they love due to some financial issues. Rugby being one of them. Rugby, in the past 30 years, has won 25 national titles and is the reigning national champion. So why would they cut such an excellent program? Not to mention that they are also scholar athletes. It is not easy to play at such a high level of sports and to keep good grades. But these young adults do it anyways. They have the drive and passion to be the best at whatever they do.

With all that, why was rugby demoted? “It started as a financial question,” Barbour told Berkeleyside, “but it became more than a financial decision.” Asked whether she was referring to Title IX, Barbour said: “It’s Title IX  and a range of other factors that came into it.”

Luckily, CAL's rugby team didn't get cut. I have a friend who is a freshman that plays rugby for CAL and I would hate to hear that he couldn't play. Plus a program that has so much success shouldn't be able to just get put up there to go down in the dumps. CAL has dominated at rugby and will for quite some time. Hopefully more sport cuts won't come up like this so they won't have to be worried about losing such a great program.

Play Day

Last Sunday I went to Treasure Island for a girls lacrosse "play day". There were tons of teams with a variety of ages. They only bad part was that it was pouring. We got their around eight in the morning and left around two in the afternoon. My day was filled with keeping score and the time. It was fun to watch these girls play considering it was some of their first times playing.

 The picture to the left shows me waiting in the pouring rain to start my day. It wasn't very fun being soaking wet but it was worth it. Lucky i had prepared and brought a rain jacket. I feel sort of bad for the girls that had to play in the rain because some of them slipped and fell into the mud. I would not have been a happy camper if I had slipped but the girls just got right back up and continued to play. It was fun to see the girls enjoy themselves all day, not caring whether they won or lost but rather that they got to play.

Also what was cool about that day was that after we got to see CAL play Sonoma State. These girls were much better than the little girls but that is obviously because they are much older. The game was fun to watch other than that it was a blow out. CAL won by over ten goals and it wasn't even fair to Sonoma. But Somona didn't care they kept playing hard and got even more excited than CAL when they scored. After all I would call it a pretty successful day and it was fun to get out and help the younger girls.

Sport Cuts

This video is sort of old but still relates perfectly. You can see the different reactions in the student population on how the budget affects everyone. Yes, education should come first but it is fun to play sports. They should have taken away money from the football team and the basketball team like one of the people said to make it fair to other sports. I know from talking to friends that play college basketball that they get a ton of gear which wasn't paid by a penny out of their pockets. Maybe they could limit what they give players and save money for other sports to be able to play. It's still very sad to see these sports go. CAL is the only NCAA school without a baseball team in the near future. How could such a prestigious school not have a baseball team? It's just so unfair to me on how the decisions were made and how little they tried to save the schools. These student athletes must keep their heads high knowing that they have bright futures ahead. They know they can achieve whatever they want because sports has taught them to push their selves to the full potential that they know they have. The budget cuts are just a minor set back of what these athletes will achieve.

Hard to move on

They are probably all thinking; why us? Of all the schools, of all the teams that could be cut, why them? Well the truth is someone had to lose. And for Davis sports, the story was sad for some and brighter for others. Some teams got to live to see another season, other teams did not.

UC Davis decided to close four intercollegiate sports teams in trying to address an existing $1.4 million budget deficit and an additional $2.4 million fiscal hole for 2009 to 2010.

Money has always been an issue with everyone. But for money to be a problem at a collegiate level I just don't understand. These schools make tons of money off of their students that I don't see why it is so expensive to have sports. I understand all of the payments involved but still don't get it. It must be hard to know that your season this year will be your last and it must be harder to deal with the problem of what to do next. Some student athletes must face problems not being able to transfer schools to play. So for some, this is it.

Youth sports is preparing young kids to deal with these type of struggles. Youth sports teaches kids that not everything will go as the way you planned. No matter how hard you practice, you still might not win. But youth sports is teaching kids to go 100% on everything so that they have a  chance to win. Also sports is teaching kids to have fun. Everyone wants to have fun so why not try and use your talents as a way to fulfill that goal?

What now?

What do they do now? They were just told that their future with Cal baseball is done, so why try? These kids have a passion and the need to succeed to prove everybody wrong. when faced with adversity some kids may not know what to do. Teaching kids at a young age that losing is a part of life, when faced with real life problems they will understand it better. These kids obviously don't want to be playing their last season as a Cal baseball player. It is very sad to know that these kids will now have to make a choice; either to find a new school to play at or quit their passion. No one would one want be the reason a young man has to loose everything he has worked for since he was in elementary school. It was probably just as hard on the staff to cut the sports as well on the team. This is truly a sad story.

Christmas without presents?

During winter break, my fellow teammates and I went to place where they collected Christmas presents for the less fortunate. There was a whole gymnasium filled with donations of new and slightly used items. There were tons of toys, clothes and miscellaneous items stacked up in huge barrels. It was ran by an organization that was using what looked like a church and Sunday school to help people in need during the holidays.

The picture to the right shows Sohraab and I helping out by sorting, organizing, and moving the toys. It was really fun to join together as a group and help out. I know I wouldn't enjoy Christmas as much if there wasn't a single present under the tree. It made me feel good inside to know what I was doing, was lighting up a kids day. Looking through the toys, even I wanted to play with them. I knew that these toys and clothes were going to make little kids Christmas wishes come true.

The other great thing about this event was that they were collecting food. They were collecting food so families could have a nice family dinner and not have to stress about coming up with the money to pay for it. It was nice to know that people still cared for other people. We need to have more organizations like this so people can help others. A lot of people are more well off than others so I think that those people should give back. Not everyone can be successful, it's hard to make a lot of money. But we can't as a race not help out the needy. It felt good knowing what we were doing was for a great cause. I am also glad to see that there were so many people there helping out. Every one could use a helping hand, and for that Christmas it was our hands.

You can't put a price on dreams

University of California was faced with tragic news when they learned they had to cut some sports teams. The final decision was that women's lacrosse, men's rugby, and women's gymnastics got to have the feeling that they would play another day. Other teams weren't as fortunate. Men's gymnastics and baseball were cut, sending all of its players into shock not knowing what to do next.

The reaction was as varied and muddled as the decision itself. The survivors are joyous. The losers are livid. And Cal's administration looks incompetent. How did we come to this?

It is very sad to think of all the people that lost their opportunity of their dreams because of money. those players could have had other options of schools to choose where they wouldn't have lost their chance of playing because of money. No young adult should face these tragedies for they are only doing what they've ever known; play. These student athletes deserve a lot of credit for fundraising and trying to save their only passion. If only their hard work was rewarded by saving their sport, the story would have been a lot better.

Teaching these young kids to be involved in a sport and be apart of something will  give them lessons throughout life. I pray that budget cuts won't affect high school sports or anymore college sports because for some kids that is all they have. I  wouldn't know what I would have done with out sports throughout my life. It has taught me tons of lessons so I think if we take away sports from kids, it will be a bleak future.

Sad story, hopefully a good ending

This video shows a strong man dealing with a difficult situation. These players were dealt a bad hand but they are playing it anyways. I really do hope that they do make it to the College World Series. It would be a great story, not just for baseball, but for people. It would inspire tons of people. Knowing that a bunch of teens could make it through the hardships and still come out on top would make a story heard round the world. Knowing that these kids have nothing left to play for why should they even play? Well it's beacuse they have a love for the game.

These players must have been playing for a long time. They might have learned these lessons as a young kid dealing with losing the game.They have been set up for dealing with these kind of bad breaks. Teaching these kids at a young age that life isn't always going to go the way as you planned is important for them to deal with the realization that nothing is prefect. That is why I feel that it is important to teach kids sports so they know how to deal with future problems that can occur throughout their lives