By Brenna Spurling
This week, we had the opportunity to interact with two panels. The first, was a group of students from last year’s Can Giving Change the World class. These students came to give their opinion of the class and their advice about the grant decision process. One of the most helpful pieces of advice they gave us had to do with judging grant proposals. Passions run very high during this process and it can be hard to decipher which programs actually fit the theme of the grant and which ones are simply wonderful programs that are sparking a passion within the class. They told us it’s important to look for clear, well put together proposals that fit with the theme the class has decided on. Overall, it was amazing to talk with these people. They’re admiration of this class was so apparent that it heightened my excitement for the incredible things that I will have the opportunity to be a part of in the coming weeks.
The second panel we had the opportunity to talk to was made of last year’s grantees. We heard from the Missoula Aging Services, Youth Homes, and Garden City Harvest. These nonprofits discussed what they do and how they used the money they received last year. This was my favorite part of the week. It was proof that this class is worthwhile. It has all seemed so abstract until this point. Meeting with people who were actually benefiting from the work of class was surreal.
Both of these panels just made me realize that this class is bigger than me. It’s bigger than a grade. We have the opportunity to help people in a major way, and I want to do all I can to foster that.
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