Heartbeats and Hashtags

                Heartbeats and hashtags, what could that even mean?  This essay shows the relationships between helping individuals and social networking. I’ve notice that people don’t understand all the benefits to social networking. Presidential candidates use social networks to gain supporters. Doctor’s use it to raise awareness on medical issues. Religious groups even use it to share their beliefs. In this particular essay, social networking is used to raise awareness about poverty in the Bronx and ways the Bronx life center gives help.

              

http://www.gaudette-insurance.com/Blog/?Tag=volunteering

              The history of the life center dates back thirty years. A woman, by the name Sister Margaret, opened a soup kitchen with one bowl of soup and a single roll. Since that day, six organizations have arisen in the Bronx. The only thing missing is a website to let the world know about the life center and the help they give.

               

          That is where Hannah comes in. Hannah was a recent unemployed college graduate. The recession took a toll on her generation and the jobs available to them. “Why College Isn’t Enough” stated that the recession was taking a lot of jobs from students. She decided to start volunteering. She lived in New York, where the price of living is extremely high. When she would tell people she was only a volunteer, they would look at her crazy. She made twenty-five dollars a week. That will not get you a whole lot anywhere, especially in New York. She dedicated a year to volunteering, hoping the economy would pick up.

               

              Hannah volunteered and helped Sister Margaret set up a Facebook page. Sister Margaret wanted people to know about what the life center was doing to help others help themselves. This is where two generations came together. Hannah knew all about social media and how to make people aware in the community. Sister Margaret knew people. She could feel the heartbeat of an unemployed mother trying to feed her kids. She could feel the heartbeat of kids playing after nap-time.  She had been around long enough to where she could see what they felt like. Sister Margaret felt the pain they did and wanted to reach out.

              

              I believe this article really shows the recession and how it hurts everyone. It hurts businesses like Sister Margaret’s. She has had this business for thirty years. The government is cutting her funds, making it almost impossible to stay in business. Hannah, who is a recent college grad, can’t get a job because businesses can’t afford to hire new employees. The businesses also want experience more over a college degree now.

                

              With Hannah volunteering at the Bronx life center, she now has experience with running computers in a business. The experience will make her stand out when she goes to apply for a job. “Why college isn’t good enough” informs us that experience wins every time.  A college degree doesn’t make you stand out anymore and Hannah found that out the hard way. She was smart about it though and decided to keep pushing until jobs in her field were available while also gaining experience.

               

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               Sister Margaret reminded Hannah the real reason for social networking. In the younger generation, we tend to use social media in the wrong way. Instead of posting what we had for supper, we could post about October being breast cancer awareness month. The younger generation acts like they don’t need the older generation, and the older generation acts like the younger generation don’t know too much. In this essay, the younger generation needed the older one to remind them about the important things in life. Likewise, the older generation needed help with technology that they refuse to try a lot of times. Technology can be a great thing to have as long as you’re using it the right way.  Instead of trying to repel jobs by posting pictures of partying, post pictures of volunteering in the community.