Charity - Asha Hope Amanaki

Asha Hope Amanaki’s Back-to-School Event: Building Community and Bright Futures

Khushi Balar — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 16:02:19 +0000

We are excited to share with you all the wonderful moments and highlights from this year’s back-to-school event. As we reflect on this heartwarming occasion, we want to take you behind the scenes, showcasing the dedication, teamwork, and community spirit that made it all possible.

Key Highlights and Activities

This year’s back-to-school event was a resounding success, and there were several key highlights and activities that made it truly special. One of the highlights was our collaboration with Oregon’s Food Innovation Center. This partnerships allowed us to provide educational opportunities to children and families while also giving back to the community.

In addition to these collaborations, we distributed essential supplies such as backpacks and groceries to families in need. This support was crucial in helping families prepare for the upcoming school year and alleviating some of the financial burdens they face.

Furthermore, our event provided an amazing platform for volunteers to showcase their talents and products to the community, all while raising funds for our cause. It was a wonderful blend of creativity and generosity that truly embodies the spirit of Asha Hope Amanaki.

Inspiration Behind the Theme

The theme of this year’s back-to-school event was inspired by several factors close to our hearts. AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Heritage Month served as a backdrop, reminding us of the diverse cultures and backgrounds that make our community vibrant. We wanted to honor this diversity and promote education as a means of unity and empowerment.

The event also aimed to support families with short-term groceries, ensuring that they have the resources they need to thrive. Additionally, we sought to ignite a passion for learning by offering educational experiences through food innovation tours. Finally, our dedication to community support was further fueled by our involvement in assisting the Maui fire relief efforts.

Behind-the-Scenes Insights

One of the most remarkable aspects of our event was the sense of unity and camaraderie among volunteers from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Despite coming from different walks of life, everyone came together with open hearts and a shared goal: to make a positive impact on our community. New volunteers were welcomed with warmth and kindness, embodying the spirit of Asha Hope Amanaki.

The sight of volunteers unloading a U-Haul full of food and seamlessly organizing its distribution was nothing short of mesmerizing. It showcased the power of teamwork and the incredible impact it can have on our community. It was a true testament to what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

Building Community and Connection

At Asha Hope Amanaki, we believe that events like this are instrumental in building a stronger sense of community and connection. By witnessing the support and care we provide to one another, attendees are inspired to become part of this ever-growing community. The event also offers a glimpse into the wealth of like-minded, giving individuals in our midst, further reinforcing the bonds that connect us.

Educational opportunities, such as access to museums, art, and various industries, offer attendees a chance to discover the world around them. These experiences invigorate a sense of community by fostering a deeper understanding of our shared interests and passions. We encourage everyone to spread the word and invite friends, families, students, and anyone who can contribute to making our community even stronger.

Interactive Activities and Games

Our event offered interactive activities that attendees eagerly looked forward to. For instance, lucky participants had the opportunity to step into the Food Innovation Center, where they got an exclusive look behind the scenes of their favorite food brands coming to life. From taste-testing rooms to a massive kitchen and a wall of successes, it was a captivating experience. This firsthand look at the journey from dream to reality left a lasting impression on all who ventured inside.

Local Businesses and Sponsors

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors and local businesses who played a pivotal role in supporting our event. Their involvement allowed attendees to connect on a deeper level, as it provided insight into their motivations, dreams, and commitment to community engagement. Through these interactions, attendees saw the human side of these businesses and sponsors, strengthening the sense of community.

The Takeaway Message

As we conclude this year’s back-to-school event, our hope is that attendees enjoyed their visit and will spread the word about the wonderful work we do at Asha Hope Amanaki. We encourage everyone to get involved, whether it’s by joining a cause dear to their hearts, creating products to sell or donate, or simply sharing the event with friends and family. Together, we can make the world a better place, one act of kindness at a time.

Thank you for being a part of our community, and we look forward to continuing our journey of hope, unity, and empowerment with all of you. Until next time, let’s keep spreading love and making a difference together!

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Making a Meaningful Impact: Sreyoshi Patra’s Journey as a Volunteer at Asha Hope Amanaki

ashahopeamanaki — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 18:52:40 +0000

Sreyoshi Patra’s journey at Asha Hope Amanaki began as a Social Media Manager, using her skills to create meaningful connections and promote impactful causes. Over time, she transitioned to a Volunteer Coordinator, finding personal fulfillment in helping the underprivileged and making a positive difference in her community.

You can reach out to her on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Hi Sreyoshi, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Tell us a little about yourself to our readers(your town, your hobbies etc)?

My name is Sreyoshi Patra. I currently live in Portland, Oregon. I am from India. I relocated to the United States in 2018. So, it has been nearly about five years now.

It’s nice, it’s beautiful. I was in Texas for three years; it was kind of hot there and now because I’ve moved to the Northwest it’s beautiful it’s green. I like the weather here.

During my free time I enjoy painting, cooking, and trying out new recipes. My favorite food is biryani. My favorite thing about Portland where I live right now is it’s so beautiful and green, especially during the spring and summer. I love the place here, so I guess it’s beautiful that’s what I like about Portland and what I love about my hometown I have family there.

Could you describe your volunteer role at Asha Hope Amanaki?

Absolutely. This is a beautiful question, I joined Asha Hope Amanaki in

January 2022. It has been about a year and a half now. I started working as a Social Media Manager, where I would coordinate social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. I did quite a few projects there and then I transitioned to more of a volunteer coordinator, and I coordinated projects more in the Portland area which has more to do with physical distribution or meeting people in person. Right now, my involvement has not been general like it used to be in the last six months ago.

I love working for Asha Hope Amanaki because I feel very connected with it. That was my role, I started as a Social Media Manager and now I work more like a volunteer coordinator.

How did you find out about the Volunteer Opportunity?

I found this beautiful opportunity in VolunteerMatch . It’s a platform where you can look for volunteer jobs and I think Ashwin posted this above this particular vacancy. They were looking for volunteers for a Social Media Manager or a Social Media Coordinator and then I applied online, and we got in touch over a phone call and then I was there.

How was your experience working with Asha Hope Amanaki and the volunteer opportunity in general?

I strongly believe that it was and is an incredible experience. It’s a rewarding experience for me. It provided me the opportunity to make some meaningful and impactful work. I got the opportunity to work with some truly dedicated professionals and dedicated individuals like Ashwin.

I really feel happy that I am able to contribute to a cause that I deeply care about like Asha Hope Amanaki is working for the underprivileged people in our community. I really find it meaningful; I relate to the cause that they are working for. I think, deep down in my heart over the last 1 ½ years I was able to create a positive change in the lives of at least a couple of people. I really feel very happy and impactful, and I feel a sense of gratitude that I am able to contribute a little bit towards this organization and my community, so I’m really happy with that.

Did volunteering on community projects help you in your job or career?

Absolutely. This is a great question. I think the most important part, the most important change that I have seen after working at Asha Hope Amanaki, was that it has helped me grow as an individual, it has helped me grow as a person. I met some truly wonderful people here and I came here because I transitioned from working as a Social Media Coordinator to a Volunteer Coordinator where I would meet people in person.

I still remember the happiness on the faces of the coordinators when I dropped off origami for the International Day of Older People, I think it was in October. The happiness on their faces, I got in contact with a couple of them. The happiness on their faces was just heart-touching, my heart was filled with gratitude. It was filled with contentment and fulfillment. It has a personal connection, I am not talking about future internships or job prospects because I was working as a Social Media Manager first, and I entered the HR background, of course nowadays nothing works in silos, but more than professionally I’m talking about jobs or internships or college admissions it had to do with my personal growth.

I was able to sharpen my skills, meet new people, and visit those old-age community centers. They would send photographs of them sharing origami with older people. It was a beautiful experience right from the beginning – collecting origami from our volunteers at Asha Hope Amanaki. To distributing it to volunteers who work with cloth and drop off the origami to the community centers, to actually getting photographs from them and then I also got to coordinate a visit with a couple of them here in Portland which is very near to my place, so it was a beautiful experience. There was a time I got to take a picture with a couple of them, it was beautiful. It has to do more with my personal growth and with my life.

What motivated you to volunteer?

This is a personal story. I was waiting for my work permit in the US, and I had a baby, he was 3 months old. I felt like I was missing out on something. I really wanted to make good use of my time because I was there at home, my husband was working, and I was taking care of the baby. There was a time that I felt I needed to do something for me. I wanted to do something meaningful so that I could give back to the community, to contribute to a creative cause, while focusing on myself as an individual at the same time. To create something meaningful and impactful was my main motivation, and then at the same time to brush up on some of my skills that I had. This is coming out of a nutshell and reaching towards a few people every week. Then I got in touch, I was lucky that I could volunteer, and I could come onboard for Asha Hope Amanaki. I got the chance to meet with Ashwin to talk to him and I’m happy to be working toward a problem or helping the underprivileged.

The difference that I was making in the community was a big motivational factor for me. The positive impact that I was able to create whether by putting up a post on social media relating to a fundraiser for victims of the flood that took place. Whether it was the International Day of Older People distributing the origami to them. So those are all small, tiny bits that really give me a sense of happiness, and this happiness motivates me to do more. So, these are my efforts, and two main reasons why I chose to volunteer especially with Asha Hope Amanaki.

How did online format change your volunteer experience?

It was nice, I mean I did not feel any difference personally because that was my first volunteer experience. That was the first time I got into volunteering. Meeting people online was a great experience and then talking about online volunteering I was handling the social media platforms. I got to learn many things, I got to learn how to choose hashtags, and what kind of hashtags to use to create more publicity for your cause, what time to post so you can get the maximum number of views for a post. These are some very small things which actually make a lot of difference. I learned how to use Canva, it was a beautiful and very useful tool that everybody should know how to use. So, because the online experience was very fruitful for me and I personally did not feel much of the difference, it was the same condition that I felt meeting with people, it was the same sense of responsibility I felt that time to deliver when I was asked to do a task. It was not much of a difference between online and in-person volunteering.

What would you say was the most memorable moment volunteering for Asha Hope Amanaki?

I still remember this will always be a very special memory to me, I cannot recall the name of the community center, but I went to drop off origami at a senior living center here in Portland, I met the volunteer over there who was coordinating with us on receiving the number of origamis, where to drop off and stuff like that. When I met her, she was so happy. It was an office, all the staff all the employees were working there, they came up to me to say thank you. You know, a small piece of origami, a small piece of paper that people were folding was an art. When I went to drop them off the way they greeted me was so warm and I felt like I had a very big job. I felt so great and touched that this was something that I was not expecting. I just went there with the hope that I would be dropping off the origami. The person who was there in charge, the person who was coordinating, the lady was sharing the origami with their residents, the senior people there. It was there that she handed over a duck, it was a duck folded origami to a senior person who was sitting there. He was so happy and then he asked me – What is this, what is the meaning of this, why are you giving me an origami? I felt so good explaining to him that was why we are giving out origami.

So that is a beautiful memory that I had during my whole experience with Asha Hope Amanaki. I still have the photographs. Whenever I see it, I’m like wow. They were like okay can I take a picture with you? Then you take a photograph of the origami – okay you hold one origami – and I will hold one and then can you please take a picture for me? It was a beautiful experience there. [laughs] I was living in the moment

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Food for Thought LLC : Where Food & Philanthropy Meet

Khushi Balar — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 17:32:16 +0000

Finding an organization that philanthropically distributes all its profits to charities is a breath of fresh air in a world where enterprises are primarily motivated by monetary pursuits. Food for Thought LLC is one such special establishment. They choose a deserving nonprofit each month and donate all of their earnings to further that organization’s admirable goals. The Hillsboro based nonprofit committed to strengthening disadvantaged children, Asha Hope Amanaki, is in the limelight this month. Let’s examine Food for Thought LLC’s outstanding work and their impact.

Food for Thought LLC has reimagined the standard restaurant concept on the basis of the idea that cuisine and philanthropy can coexist. They handcraft, in small batches, delectable food items inspired from the western region of India and sell these at local grocery stores and Farmer’s Markets. Their flagship product is Shrikhand, a yogurt based Indian dessert.

With key focus on quality and sustainability, they responsibly try to source their ingredients from local vendors in the pacific northwest. Their customers get to satisfy their sweet cravings, and the money raised from their sales are donated to charitable organizations which are working at a grass root level. This is a great example of effective altruism and win- win -win for the customer, Food For Thought and the beneficiary of the charitable donation.

Food for Thought’s mission is to support causes that are working on children’s education, women’s empowerment, social justice and equality, nature conservation, and health and wellbeing. They have decided to support Asha Hope Amanaki this month with the aim of supporting marginalized children as well as spreading awareness about this amazing NGOs work. Any non-profit work of this nature requires helping hands and the same applies to Food for Thought LLC. This is a 100% volunteer run organization. All volunteers at Food for Thought LLC donate their time and talents to this non-profit operation.

Food for Thought LLC is aware of how crucial community engagement is to building a just and sustainable society. In addition to their regular contributions, they actively participate in their neighborhood by planning fundraisers, volunteer activities, and awareness campaigns. In order to encourage people to embrace the idea of giving back, Food for Thought LLC works to cultivate a feeling of community and shared responsibility. Their monetary donations in 2022 was upwards of $9000 and in the first half of 2023 alone, their impact has exceeded $9000.

This is an outstanding organization that personifies giving back. They not only give crucial resources to deserving NGOs like Asha Hope Amanaki, but they also motivate others to do business in a socially conscious manner. Customers at Food for Thought LLC may appreciate knowing that their donation supports a deserving cause with each delectable item they purchase. Let’s acknowledge and support Food for Thought LLC’s goal of spreading kindness in the world, one dish at a time.

www.foodforthoughtpdx.com

Insta @annapurnapdx

Facebook @Food for Thought, LLC

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Learning STEM through programming

ashahopeamanaki — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 09:41:32 +0000

Drew is a volunteer mentor for Jaden Staten with Asha Hope Amanaki and has mentored a Compute Science at Jackson State University student to develop an automated tool post blogs from Google Sheet. The entire project was developed using Python and Selenium. Drew works as a MET at Intel Hillsboro. Here is a snipped of Drew’s volunteer experience with Asha Hope Amanaki as a part of our STEM Education blog series. You can also connect with Drew on LinkedIn.

Hi Drew, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Tell us a little about yourself to our readers?

My name is Drew Aho. I am a Manufacturing Equipment Technician at Intel, Hillsboro, Oregon. I have been there for about a yaer now, but I have been programming various languages since I was thirteen, so I over a decade-plus of experience in programming.

How did you come to know about the STEM volunteer opportunity?

Intel uses a tool called Benevity, which is a volunteer opportunity posting board. If people have a volunteer opportunity they will post on it and those who are interested within Intel will apply for it. This opportunity fit well with my background in programming and hence I applied for it.

Could you describe your volunteer role at Asha Hope Amanaki?

Asha Hope Amanaki wanted an automated tool that could post blogs for them automatically through a form filled by volunteers. The tool was being developed by Jaden Staten and my responsibility was to provide feedback when the need arose or if he got stuck and provide pointers for improvement. He know what he was doing so it was easy to mentor him on the project.

What was the project that the two of you working on?

Asha Hope Amanaki wanted an automated tool that could post blogs for them automatically . This community project thus involved scarping Google Sheet that contained responses of volunteers to Google Forms sent to them. Using that data we had to create a WordPress post ensuring it is formatted properly ready to be published by the admin. The trickiest part was to ensure the data gets properly formatted to ensure the blog looks nice.

How was your experience working with Asha Hope Amanaki and the volunteer opportunity in general?

This was my first volunteer opportunity, so I had not come with a lot of expectations, however, overall it was positive and pleasant to be able to come in and help resolve issues. There was a new library called Selenium that I have never worked with. It is used to interact with web browser just like a human would to automate tasks. The documentation was good, so it was easy to learn it.

Although you were a STEM Mentor, did you get to learn anything from this experience?

Most certainly Communication! Due to the virtual nature of the opportunity there were challenges discussing issues on the digital screen. I had to be more communicative to ensure i was able to convey my message to Jaden in a way that made sense.

Did volunteering on a STEM project help you in your job or career?

Unfortunately, for my current role, there is no prerequisite for programming whatsoever. Programming right now is more like a hobby. in that sense it did help me think out loud and to solve problems

Why should professionals like you spend their time volunteering on STEM projects?

One thing, its always nice to give back to people especially if it involves something that you are good at. For me at least – I derive a lot from that — plus keeps me sharp

Do you believe you had an impact on the mentee?

When you are working in the real world, you are always going to be working with people and I guess this was good a test as any to work towards a common goal. So in terms of working together I absolutely thing it would have prepared them for a programming job. If we were to work on another project, I definitely see a lot of opportunity for the relationship to grow stronger. Mentorship is a huge part of youth development

How do you think these mentoring opportunities compare to the resources you had when you learned STEM Programming?

When I was in school, I had no mentorship whatsoever. We had to learn from Google. I would have cherished to have a mentorship if I could go back in time.

Finally, what’s next with Asha Hope Amanaki?

Well because of positive experience I had mentoring Jaden, I am going to mentor another student on yet another tool for a college graduate. The new project is more challenging and in a programming language that I have never used before. So I looking forward to working on it!

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Skill Based Volunteering through corporate volunteering

ashahopeamanaki — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 09:21:47 +0000

Eric is a Software Developer with Asha Hope Amanaki and has been developing a tool that generates Hashtags for us automatically for our social media posts on Facebook Instagram and LinkedIn. Eric joined us a while back and initially helped us fix a ton of issues with the tools that we had developed previously.

Hi Eric, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Tell us a little about yourself to our readers?

I I live in Southern California with my wife and two teenage boys. I enjoy fishing, biking and playing basketball with my boys. I have been a software developer my entire 20+ year career. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-wong-a390431)

At Asha Hope Amanaki, what were your roles and responsibilities as a volunteer in the team?

I helped Asha Hope Amanaki add new features to an existing scheduling tool based on google Sheet that they were using to coordinate their meal distribution. I also went on to create a Hashtag organizing tool for them. For rapid development and deployment, it is also based on Google Sheets augmented with custom programming through Google Apps Script. This new tool allows the social media team to organize hundreds of Hastag based on categories and generates relevant Hashtags on request for use in the social media postings

For students interested in participating with us, what would you say, you learnt from this opportunity?

It has been rewarding helping a nonprofit in their mission.

Since this was a remote opportunity, what would you say were the biggest advantages and disadvantages?

The advantages are being able to help even though we are physically located in different states and working whenever we want.

A disadvantage is not being able to make a human connection that comes from face to face meetings.

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Encouraging STEM in High School via Paid Summer Internships

ashahopeamanaki — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 16:34:07 +0000

Ammar is a Software Developer with Asha Hope Amanaki and has been developing a tool that helps us keep a track of all the volunteers we have interacted with or have volunteered with us. Ammar came on board through a marvelous program by Washington Chamber of Commerce. Learn more about it in the short interview below

Hi Ammar, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Tell us a little about yourself to our readers?

I am a 11th grader at Westview High School in Beaverton, Oregon. I enjoy playing soccer reading and sleeping

Tell us a little more about the Hillsboro Works Internship?

Hillboro Chamber of Commerce program lets nonprofits have paid interns who are high school students between 16-24. The nonprofits host the students and also provide them with a mentor who can meet with the students on regular basis to help them grow in their role at the nonprofit.

At Asha Hope Amanaki, what were your roles and responsibilities as a volunteer in the team?

I have worked as an intern for Asha Hope Amanaki during summer and currently volunteer for them to develop and internal database system for keeping track of volunteers that have either interacted with or volunteered with Asha Hope Amanaki.

For students interested in participating with us, what would you say, you learnt from this opportunity?

I learned a lot from this opportunity with Asha Hope Amanaki, from a new language in google apps script, to how to solve coding problems by effectively planning and how to utilize resources on the internet. Additionally, I understood how to effectively communicate with my mentors and stay accountable for my work even if I were busy.

Since this was a remote opportunity, what would you say were the biggest advantages and disadvantages?

The biggest advantage for me was being able to work around my schedule, which allowed me to effectively plan and take part in lots of different activities without having to compromise.

The biggest disadvantage was that being remote made it easy to get distracted and off-task at times. Additionally, it made it difficult to interact with my mentors as much as I would have liked.

Are there any final thoughts you would like to share with our audience?

I have had a great time working with Asha Hope Amanaki and have learned a lot from the incredible mentors they have. it is very rewarding to know the incredible charity work that is going on and to have a small part in all of the great work that is taking place.

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Diwali Dinner Donation – help needy via meal donation

ashahopeamanaki — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 18:59:00 +0000

Diwali is a Hindu festival originating from India which celebrates light. It’s India’s most treasured holiday and a beautiful time for families, friends, and acquaintances to come together eat, and jolly. It marks the beginning of a new year in the Hindu calendar.

We also are joining the bandwagon and would be celebrating this year’s Diwali by bringing light to people’s lives. We would be providing meals to people who are in need and smiles along with it!

This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy our humanity and you can become a part of this. You can contribute and help feed the homeless from the comfort of your home. How???

If you can provide fresh, mouthwatering food, we would love to arrange for one of our volunteers to collect the food from you.

It is also interesting that around Diwali, there are usually a lot of parties that are hosted by people and a lot of food is made for that cause. However, stacks of food often end up untouched which ends up wasted. If you are aware of anyone hosting a Diwali dinner this winter, please connect us with them and we would be happy to collect the food and ensure it reaches the right hands.

Reach out to us to donate a mean if

you want to donate one for a noble cause as you celebrate your Diwali parties at home
you have some fresh and untouched food once your party is over
OR cook a meal for the homeless

We will be happy to work with you whichever way of donation you choose.

If you are interested in this cause and are passionate about this movement in any form, please reach out to us via email at admin@ashahopeamanaki.org or text/WhatsApp to +1(662)-786-0922

By November, our goal is to reach 300 meals, so what are you waiting for, reach out to us now and join the celebration!

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Volunteer with Tech Skills for NonProfits

ashahopeamanaki — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 10:37:16 +0000

Peoples Place Things (PPT) is a nonprofit based our of Portland Oregon that works with Ciudad Mundo, an organization based in Bolivia, and the US Embassy in Bolivia to put on a program called AccessPlus. The program is a virtual program for young people in Bolivia to get cultural, work, and language experiences as well as coaching, and workshops to develop their professional and leadership capacities.

One of the volunteers from PPT with an experience in Web Developed helped Asha Hope Amanaki upgrade the website and enable features that inactive thus improving the experience of visitors on the website. We interviewed Josoe Ichuta, and tried to understand their journey through this partnership. Follow on to learn more about the experience.

Hi Josoe, Thank you for sharing your experience with us. Tell us a little about yourself to our readers?

I am an Electronic Engineer, currently working as a software developer in a government institution (Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales de Bolivia). I also belong to a telecommunications research amateur group.

Tell us more about AccessPlus and how it helps you with professional development?

The Access Plus volunteer program was oriented to discover our abilities to work as a team, to always give the best of ourselves and also it helps us to create a network with national and international organizations.

At Asha Hope Amanaki, what were your roles and responsibilities as a volunteer in the team?

My role during the internship was the facilitator, I was in charge of gathering all the ideas and advice of the team to perform the requirements of the organization. At the beginning we started to learn how to create and edit a WordPress website, so after that we updated some functionalities, adjusted and improved some styles of Asha Hope Amanaki’s website.

For students interested in participating with us, what would you say, you learnt from this opportunity?

I did learn how to face a problem from different points of view and combine ideas from all of the group to obtain a much better solution. I also learn a lot from the expertise and abilities of my team Daniela and Angela, they are great friends. Now I can say that we can create our own WordPress website to share our hobbies and knowledge on the internet.

Since this was a remote opportunity, what would you say were the biggest advantages and disadvantages?

Since all of us were from different Time Zones, including the team at Asha Hope Amanaki, sometimes it was difficult to coordinate our meetings. We had to find a means of communication that worked for all and we created a Whatsapp group to streamline communications.

As this was an opportunity with an organization based in the United States, it gave us an opportunity to communicate in English and practice our communications skills as we presented our findings and corresponding solutions. We were connected to people from different parts of the world and since we all had to work in a team, it provided great experience to work together as team.

Are there any final thoughts you would like to share with our audience?

This opportunity helped me to grow in my career and I’m sure it will help to find new opportunities outside of my country. Finally I want to thank Srilekhya, who was our mentor, for being with us during the internship and helping us to accomplish all the requirements of the organizations in a timely manner.

If you liked reading this, checkout the experience of another volunteer from PPT who volunteered as a Social Media Manager with Asha Hope Amanaki. To know more about other volunteer opportunities, check the volunteer section.

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How Google Workspace Can Help Organizations Like Yours

ashahopeamanaki — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 16:18:39 +0000

(image credit)

Google workspace is becoming more and more relevant in today’s organizations. Whether the organization is your school, business, or non-profit, it is becoming more popular in today’s world, and for very good reasons. Not only does an organization get more security and some custom tools, but they can get plenty more benefits that could be helpful to their organization, and makes it much easier to navigate and do their work.

How does Google Workspace Differ from Regular Gmail?

Google Workspace differs from regular gmail in many different ways. One would not only receive additional business-grade services not included in the free gmail accounts, but also receive additional security options like two-factor authentication. Some of the benefits of Google Workspace are unlimited custom emails, such as “name@yourcompany.com,” and twice the amount of cloud storage between your email and Google Drive. The organization can also receive free 24/7 support via phone or email, interoperability with Microsoft Outlook and as mentioned earlier two-factor authentication, amongst many more.

What happens when an organization signs up to Google Workspace?

When an organization signs up for Google Workspace, they get access to several integrated applications that work seamlessly together. One example is, they could get an invite to a gathering and that could be easily converted into Google Calendar. Another example is when someone makes comments on Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides, collaborators get to see others comments and automatically receive email alerts.

Many Google Workspace users have found that they are able to eliminate their current software or softwares and use Google Workspace’s features all-in-one. One can rely on the Google Workspace to create various different files, such as text documents, spreadsheets, and some presentations. One can work on any of these features all in real time with other collaborators and save it to your Google Drive. Unlike traditional desktop applications, there is no software to install. Anyone can access their Google Drive or Workspace from anywhere from a phone, tablet, and desktop. Google is also compatible with Microsoft Office programs. One can also migrate their existing mail to Google Workspace.

Non-Profit Marketing Immersion: Google Ads

What is it?
It’s provided by Google for Non-Profit Organizations. An organization can receive free marketing tools and advice from students to volunteers certified in Google Ads. They can get help with ad grants sponsored by a volunteer through an advisor. Learn more about program requirements and nonprofit expectations here.The steps towards start the organization off by registering, match them with a volunteer team, and help them launch campaigns with free online account support. This helps both, students or volunteers, and non-profit organizations. It helps students and volunteers by giving them more experience with marketing and they are able to help a cause. Non-profits get use of this and more than likely are able to use their Google Ads Grant or put it to good use.

Google Workspace and Non-Profits

A non-profit gets more validation with their organization’s name behind the “@” symbol. Several sites for non-profits even ask for a non-profit email address to get access to them.

The features and programs that non-profits tend to find more useful are the workspaces and how Google Workspace helps distribute the workload. Anyone can use Google Workspace as a great tool for communication vs other programs out there, and most of all it’s secure.

Perhaps one of the things about Google Workspace that is a bit difficult to use for some non-profits is getting used to the differences between the emails. Once they have their own organization email and their old one, there could be some confusion as to which one to use.

Google As A Whole

All-in-all, Google Workspace, and their features amongst other tools and programs that they have are helpful to non-profit organizations, or anyone with a business. The exception being that if your organization is a for-profit business, the Google Ads Grants, campaigns, and such will not be a benefit available for you, since that is strictly only for non-profit organizations; you are welcome to read all about it on their webpage.

The post How Google Workspace Can Help Organizations Like Yours first appeared on Asha Hope Amanaki.

Top 5 homeless shelter in Portland

AHA Assistant — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 00:29:03 +0000

Introduction
The current U.S. economic expansion recently passed its nine-year mark, making it the second
longest expansion on record since World War II. Labor force participation rates are up,
unemployment rates are low, and median household incomes—adjusted for inflation—reached
an all-time high in 2016.

In an October 2017 survey, one in five Portlanders indicated they had personally been homeless at some point in their lives. And 41 percent of respondents knew a family member or friend who had experienced homelessness.

1. Portland Rescue Mission – Burnside Shelter Click here for more details Address: 111 W Burnside St Portland, OR 97209Contact: (503) 906-7690

2. Transition Projects Click here for more details Contact: (503) 280-4700

3. Good Neighbor Center Click here for more details Address:11130 SW Greenburg Rd Portland, OR 97223 Contact: (503) 443-6084

4. Clark Center Click here for more details Address: 323 SE Hawthorne Blvd Portland, OR 97214 Contact: (503) 235-8980

5. City team Portland Click here for more details Address: 26 SE Grand Ave Portland, OR 97214 Contact: (503) 231-9334

The post Top 5 homeless shelter in Portland first appeared on Asha Hope Amanaki.