The Republican Party

Although I may not completely agree with some of the Republican parties policies, they do have many strengths that gain the support of many American citizens. The Republican party takes an opposite approach on tax reform compared to the tax raises supported by Democrats; "Cut taxes to stimulate economy and help families". Read more    

One weakness I believe the Republican party has is their lack of interest in environmental conservation. The Democratic party takes a much stronger stand on environmental issues, which will continue to become more significant as the effects of global warming enhance. Read More
One final weakness I see in the republican party is their lack of incentives to use alternative energy sources. I think it is a major mistake for the Republican party to oppose the kyoto protocol, which plans to reduce carbon emissions through the support of many nations across the globe.

The Democratic Party

The Democratic party takes an approach to politics that I believe benefits the people. Many Democratic beliefs are based on equality and regulation. I think this is a major strength for the party that attracts many working class citizens. Democrats typically "Support an increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for public programs".   Read more 
Another strength I believe the Democrats have over the Republicans, is their answer to the major national problem of health care. The Democrats have a solution that will provide affordable health care for many Americans in need: " President Obama fulfilled a promise that Democrats have pursued for nearly a century: making health care available to all Americans" Read More Here
One of the weaknesses I believe the Democratic party has is their tendency to raise taxes. Although the money raised from these taxes supports infrastructure, many citizens don't support tax raises. The Democrats have come up with a system for taxation that attempts to help lower class workers who struggle to pay high taxes; "Taxes should not be used to increase the gap between the very wealthy and the very poor in the United States. Giving tax breaks to the rich while unloading the weight onto the shoulders of the poor, is wrong." Read More

A Healthcare Plan for the Homeless

20 years ago UC Berkeley students began to serve the homeless using a suitcase full of medical supplies. This idea has now expanded into a series of clinics set up in Berkeley, dedicated to providing basic healthcare for homeless adults and children. Students at UC Santa Cruz have adopted the mobile suitcase clinic idea as a way to support the homeless community in Santa Cruz, which accounts for one percent of the population.

"By giving our basic services and being mobile we can find out what is needed,” Petraki said. “Our goal is to fill in the gaps of what other clinics aren’t providing, like the free services.” Read More

 These students are providing the homeless with additional care other than what is offered by many food banks and community organizations. The student volunteers are reaching out to the homeless by providing mobile services that do not require people to make appointments. This program is run as a result of volunteer work and donated supplies. It is important for communities to continue to set up creative help opportunities such as the mobile suitcase clinic.

My Political Party

 
South-You are a Southerner-an egalitarian-which means that you advocate an increased role for the government in the economic realm. You are more or less pleased the government's role in the personal realm.

Community Service

My next volunteer job for my community service project of Bay Area hunger, was working at the Alameda County Food bank. This event was set up by my high school soccer coach, and I worked along side my teammates. We were assigned to the job of bagging apples that would later be distributed to those in need. After our work was finished, we were given the opportunity to learn some more about the issue of Bay Area Hunger. The Alameda County Food Bank had a presentation set up for us that revealed many interesting facts about our local hunger problems that were very startling. Some of these facts included statistics such as one out of every five people in the Bay Area has received help from the Alameda county food bank. Facts like this really made me aware that hunger was not an issue seen in poor third world counties, but it is also a major issue seen locally. Overall, we ended up bagging over 3,000 pounds of apples during our time spent at the food bank.  It is important to educate people about these issues that affect millions of people across the world.

My Community Service

So far, I have focused my community service efforts in two specific ways. First, I volunteered at feeding the homeless at St. Mark's Church in Berkeley. As I arrived at the church, I was surprised to see so many homeless people waiting outside the door in the pouring rain, waiting to be let in and served food. I was assigned the job of a server at three of the many tables set up in the dinning hall. The church had prepared a traditional thanksgiving dinner for the homeless, including turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and some small sides. I was shocked how good the meal looked based on the huge amount of people they needed to serve. finally, after some preparation, we opened the doors, and people began to flood in to the building, filling up the seats quickly. All of the servers then started bringing plates around to every table, which we had placed an equal amount of food on. All of the homeless people I served were all very grateful for what they had received. We then started serving seconds, which almost every person asked for, sometimes multiple times. After the food was gone, and everyone had left, we finished up by cleaning off the tables and putting everything away. Overall, I thought it was a good experience, and it gave me the chance to understand how fortunate I am, and how important it is to give back too your community.

Community Service Work

I decided to focus on the issue of hunger for my community service work. This is a major issue seen across the world, that affects many and is responsible for thousands of deaths every year. What most people don't realize, is that these problems are not only present in rural countries infested with poverty, but are also very present in our local communities in the United States and similar countries.

"Over 500,000 people are at risk of hunger every month. About 38-percent of this number are children"     Read More: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=resources/lifestyle_community/community&id=3283664

 I decided to focus my community service efforts more specifically, choosing to contribute my help on the issue of bay area hunger problems. So far, I have helped serve food to the homeless in Berkley, as well as bagging food at a food bank. This is only the start of my efforts, and I plan to continue providing my help where it is needed.