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Today I woke up excited about finally being able to volunteer at the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto. I woke up early and headed over there, thinking that I was going to be able to beat traffic; I was wrong. It took me approximately 54 minutes to arrive. I didn't think that a morning commute from San Bruno area to East Palo Alto was going to be so time consuming, but at last I made it and only to find out that I was not going to be able to volunteer.

My classmate and I had some difficulties trying to get in touch with the volunteer coordinator. After several emails and phones calls my partner was given the times for volunteers. I arrive and speak to the lady in the front office, Mari, who told me that I needed to wait for the volunteer coordinator to tell me when I can come in specifically. I was a bit disappointed because I was excited to learn hands on and be a part of the help the program provides to its community. It also was concerning as far as time goes because I would not like get behind on my hours. I did leave my contact information with Mari and have emailed them, so I hope that I hear back from them soon!

Blog Topic #4

Define "subsidiarity" in your own words. How is the concept of subsidiarity as discussed in today's reading related to "devolution" as described in your textbook? 

A community that supports subsidiarity in their government will agree with having most of the power at the local levels. This community would highly respect organizations that are formed by the people because they are the ones who are more aware of the necessities of their own communities. Although they support power at the lowest level, they are aware that a larger government is necessary to make real changes. This idea relates closely to devolution because power is trickled down from highest government level to lower levels of government. The ultimate of the government is that the needs of local communities are met.