Blankets for babies- Using blankets to comfort children displaced by unforeseen circumstances in their country

Introduction

You are a part of a global effort to increase access to education and empower students through “open pedagogy.”  Open pedagogy is a “free access” educational practice that places you – the student – at the center of your own learning process in a more engaging, collaborative learning environment.  The ultimate purpose of this effort is to achieve greater social justice in our community in which the work can be freely shared with the broader community.  This is a renewable assignment that is designed to enable you to become an agent of change in your community through the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  For this work, you will integrate the disciplines of Business and English/Reading to achieve SDG #17: Partnerships for the Goals;

Learning Objectives

This interdisciplinary assignment has three steps. The first part of the project you will identify a crisis in any part of the world and examine its impact on children. Secondly, you will develop a project to collect blankets in either Montgomery County, Maryland or the entire United States (U.S.) for distribution to children impacted in these areas. Finally, you will use your reflection paper as a basis for developing a business plan.

Purpose/Rationale

This active learning practice is designed to improve your academic skills, increase community connections, and improve social justice for our community.

Instructions

Often when we listen to the new, we hear stories of countries that are torn by war; we hear stories of people fleeing their country due to poverty, gang violence and other hardships. Often the casualties of these occurrences are children who are torn or separated from their parents because of violence, poverty or other hardships. This interdisciplinary assignment has three steps. The first part of the project you will identify a crisis in any part of the world and examine its impact on children. You can document your findings using social media such as Facebook or Instagram to capture the imagery of the crisis as well as to report and document your findings.

Secondly, you will develop a project to collect blankets in either Montgomery County, Maryland or the entire United States (U.S.) for distribution to children impacted in these areas. You will document the project (you can use imagery on social media, or you can record your information in a journal). By the end of the project, you should be able to discuss your findings including the impact that this project had on those in the U.S. involved in the project as well as the children impacted.

Finally, to align the assignment with your Introduction to Business course (BSAD 101) or your Critical Reading, Writing, and Research at Work (ENGL 103) course, you will use your reflection paper as a basis for developing a business plan (BSAD 101) or a proposal (ENGL 103 for a non-profit or for-profit business. One aspect of your business plan or proposal should include a suggestion for acquiring drop off bins to collect the blankets.

Format Requirements

The basic framework for a business plan or the proposal will be provided by your professor.