Blog 8
3654 words by dwhite9
7041 Lake Barrington Dr.
New Orleans, La. 70128
April 25, 2009
Tommy Raines
Branch Manager
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
5110 Jefferson Hwy
Harahan, LA 70123
Dear Mr. Raines,
My name is Demetria White and I am in a first level Theology course at Xavier University. We were given an assignment to design a project that would help improve the world in any aspect. My project was to help in the fight against poverty and educate people on the effects of this issue. The reason I am writing you is because I think your store, and many others, can have a drastic impact on this problem.
I was employed at your store for about 6 weeks in 2008. During the course of those 6 weeks, I worked in the customer service area. Every night after store hours, the customer service representatives would throw away all food that was retuned. No matter if it was an unopened box of cereal or an unpeeled banana, we were required to throw everything away; there was no inspection done on the food to see if it had been tampered with. We just put it in a basket and at the end of the night, after hundreds of items had been returned, they were discarded. Many times I asked why the foods were thrown away and the answer I received most of the time was, “We just have to.” I never understood that. Maybe you or someone else feels that it may take too much time to inspect the food items for damage, so the employees are told to throw everything away. There are other alternatives to throwing, sometimes, perfectly good food away.
There is a Second Harvester’s Food Bank located at 1201 Sams Ave, which is right down the street from your store. As you may already know, Second Harvesters openly accepts donated food items. They, then, donate these items to unfortunate families or missions around the city. There are many volunteers that inspect the donated foods for any tampering and signs of damage. So, if your employees don’t have the time or the right to inspect the foods to try and salvage them, your store can donate them to Second Harvester’s Food Bank. This way everything works out for the greater good of humanity. With the foods donated by your store, Second Harvester’s can feed another family.
If it isn’t too much, I would like you to consider my proposition. Keep in mind the hundreds of people you will help in this effort; help in the fight against poverty. Thanks for your time.
Best Regards,
Demetria White
7041 Lake Barrington Dr.
New Orleans, La. 70128
April 25, 2009
Gabriel A. Sanchez
Regional Director
U.S. Census Bureau: Dallas Regional Office
8585 N. Stemmons Freeway Suite 800 S
Dallas, TX 75247-3836
Dear Gabriel A. Sanchez:
My name is Demetria White and I am in a first level Theology course at Xavier University of Louisiana. We were given an assignment to design a project that would help improve the world in any aspect. My project is to help in the fight against poverty and to educate people on this issue. The reason I am writing you is because I think the Census Bureau weakens the reality of poverty.
After doing much, I have some to the understanding that Americans who are supposedly “impoverished” really are not. It is reported, by the Census Bureau, that 35.9 million Americans live in poverty. However, of those 35.9 million impoverished Americans, forty-six percent of them own there own houses and seventy-six percent of them have air conditioned homes. I think the standard for living in poverty in America needs to be higher. We have these so called “12.9 million poverty stricken children” that experience hunger at some time in the year. In this context, hunger is defined as a lack of calories or protein. While in Haitian children who experience hunger go days and days without a meal; they have nothing. In America, I think we need to redefine the term poverty.
I feel your department is the best place to start. Since you all report a new set of statistics every ten years, maybe this time around we can lift the standard for being considered impoverished. I believe if we continue to tell less fortunate Americans that they are living in poverty, they will never be able to appreciate what they have. Maybe if they see what impoverished people really lived like, they would not want to be considered impoverished. This too may strengthen Americans perception on poverty and they may begin to understand the severity of it.
If it isn’t too much, I would like you to consider my proposition. Maybe you can go over this with your fellow colleagues and you all can some up with some sort of agreement. Thanks for your time and consideration.
Best Regards,
Demetria White
7041 Lake Barrington Dr.
New Orleans, La. 70128
April 25, 2009
Natalie A. Jayroe
President and CEO
Second Harvester Food Bank of Greater New Orleans
1201 Sams Ave.
New Orleans, La. 70123
Dear Natalie Jayroe,
My name is Demetria White and I am in a first level Theology course at Xavier University. We were given an assignment to design a project that would help improve the world in any aspect. My project is to help in the fight against poverty and educate people on the effects of this issue. I just wanted to write you a thank you note for helping me in carrying out my project. I volunteered at Second Harvest and my experience there was awesome. I helped with the brown bag campaign (I think that is the name of it). Along with 6 others, I filled bags with different nutritious snacks that would be delivered to schools in the area. It was an amazing experience. Just knowing that a child would be ecstatic upon receiving that bag of snacks, makes me feel great. Helping in the war against poverty was very dear to me and I thank you and your entire staff for allowing me to share this experience with you.
7041 Lake Barrington Dr
New Orleans, LA. 70128
April 25, 2009
Terry Herbert
Branch Manager
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
1901 Tchoupitoulas St.
New Orleans, La 70130
Dear Terry Herbert,
My name is Demetria White and I am in a first level Theology course at Xavier University. We were given an assignment to design a project that would help improve the world in any aspect. My project was to help in the fight against poverty and educate people on the effects of this issue. The reason I am writing you is because I think your store, and many others, can have a drastic impact on this problem.
I was employed at Wal-Mart, not this store, for about 6 weeks in 2008. During the course of those 6 weeks, I worked in the customer service area. Every night after store hours, the customer service representatives would throw away all food that was retuned. No matter if it was an unopened box of cereal or an unpeeled banana, we were required to throw everything away; there was no inspection done on the food to see if it had been tampered with. We just put it in a basket and at the end of the night, after hundreds of items had been returned, they were discarded. Many times I asked why the foods were thrown away and the answer I received most of the time was, “We just have to.” I never understood that. Maybe Wal-Mart head executives feel that it may take too much time to inspect the food items for damage, so the employees are told to throw everything away. There are other alternatives to throwing, sometimes, perfectly good food away.
There is a Second Harvester’s Food Bank located at 1201 Sams Ave, which is about 5-10 miles from your store. As you may already know, Second Harvesters openly accepts donated food items. They, then, donate these items to unfortunate families or missions around the city. There are many volunteers that inspect the donated foods for any tampering and signs of damage. So, if your employees don’t have the time or the right to inspect the foods to try and salvage them, your store can donate them to Second Harvester’s Food Bank. This way everything works out for the greater good of humanity. With the foods donated by your store, Second Harvester’s can feed another family.
If it isn’t too much, I would like you to consider my proposition. Keep in mind the hundreds of people you will help in this effort; help in the fight against poverty. Thanks for your time.
Best Regards,
Demetria White
God’s house implies many things about His personality. In John 14 Jesus tells the people that in his Father’s house there are many mansions. This symbolizes that God loves and he has opened his kingdom to all (that believe). In Revelation it talks about the all the different stones that the walls were made of; jasper, sapphire, and emerald. It says that the streets are paved with gold. I think this symbolizes God’s strength and shows that God is very diverse.
The idea of the Promise Land is problematic for many reasons. However, the main reason it is so problematic is because God sends the Israelites to a land that was already inhabited. So the Israelites are supposed to convince the natives that God sent them to this land. I guess the Israelites thought that once they told the people God had sent them, they would just up and leave. Since the natives weren’t believers of God, they didn’t take this too well. This invasion causes many wars and problems. How can God take something away from one group and give it to another?
African American criticism is such a useful tool to Bible scholars because it helps them understand ancient African civilization. It can be used to show that the concept of race was non-existent. It looks at the various skin colors of the people; the closer to the equator the darker the skin. African American criticism can also look at how the civilizations survived.