Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2012
Capstone Advisor
Larry Elin
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Social Sciences
Abstract
Jessica and I worked in tandem throughout all stages of this project endeavor. Due to the scope and time intensive nature of the project and the breakdown of requirements, we felt that this partnership was necessary to complete the Capstone. One of the most fascinating aspects of modern times, in our opinion, is the limitless ways in which mankind can use multimedia storytelling and digital media to directly attack specific needs in society. We felt that as students with comprehensive knowledge in these areas of study, we could use our skills to try to create change and target hunger in Central New York.
Through previously established relations with the Assumption Food Pantry, we vowed to help them with their efforts by spreading the word about their pantry and sandwich program, and to improve their online presence. Jessica, having more skills and experience in technology, bore IT related responsibilities. Namely, she was charged with creation and maintenance of a website and all systems that support the longevity of these systems, including, but not limited to, database creation and management and programming upkeep.
I was responsible for the video content creation. These video packages were completed in the form of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for our website, and a series of video diaries of a few volunteers who donate their time and effort to the pantry. The PSAs are intended to highlight all of the good work that is going on at Assumption, with the main focus being on the food panty, and then the “Diary of a Volunteer” series features short testimonials from four volunteers (one of whom referred to herself as the “hostess” of the pantry.) The goal of these videos is to encourage donations in the form of time, money, or food.
We believe that an online website/forum is the best way explain our purpose and goals and to provide instructions for how to sign up and get involved, in addition to presenting profiles on the individuals who already help out there. The videos were meant to humanize the pantry and allow viewers to relate to the material they were looking at, with the hope that they would be encouraged to get involved if they were inspired by the stories and footage they saw.
After many hours spent over at Assumption, I collected a ton of footage that I was confident would accurately depict what was going on at the pantry, as well as the sandwich program that they have. I used my own equipment on every shoot, specifically a Canon EOS Rebel t3i DSLR camera, and edited the footage on my own. I created a Youtube channel for the Assumption Food Pantry and uploaded the six videos that are viewable here:
www.youtube.com/user/AssumptionFoodPantry/videos
We hope that our combined efforts will lead to an increased presence at the pantry itself in the form of volunteers, and an increased amount of donations. The work we’ve created is accessible to anyone, and we hope it can gain as much exposure as possible. The project was both rewarding and challenging, and we both grew tremendously as a result.
Recommended Citation
Bernard, Sophia, "Assumption Food Pantry Website and Multimedia Content" (2012). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 110.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/110
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
