Elijah Whiteside

For two years, I would help organize food and clothing drives for the homeless and less fortunate communities of Charleston. My responsibilities with this organization included: collecting, sorting, and properly storing donations; creating media graphics to promote awareness of the organization; coordinating with local government to provide resources to targeted communities; collaborated with other local organizations to provide to families in need.

Over the course of a little over a year I acted as an organizer for Stand As One, specifically as the Head of Youth Engagements. My responsibilities with SA1 included:

• Organizing events and demonstrations around the Tri-County area of Charleston to respond to the needs of its underserved youth.
• Focusing on helping the youth of Charleston recognize the power of their own voice.
• Organizing multiple successful fundraises led entirely by North Charleston's Youth, taking the forms of car washes, community events and online webpages.
• Advocating for a more wholistic, beneficial, and uplifting education throughout all of Charleston's public schools at respective school board meetings.
• Holding weekly meetings with members of the community, and furthermore facilitated platforms/spaces for a plethora of diverse voices to positively engage with another to address pressing concerns.
• Creating media such as videos, graphics, and photos to promote events, spread awareness, and attract recruits.
• Gathered opinions and support from grass-roots supporters to solidify group position.
• Assisted clients with obtaining housing, employment and support resources.
• Educated young people about strategies for driving discussions and promoting social changes.
• Built partnerships with related organizations to develop support and gain greater attention for important issues.

Starting as a junior in High School, I was offered a position by the school's staff to participate in a newly formed tutoring program for 9th and 10th graders. My responsibilities under this role include:

• Collaborated with students to complete homework assignments, identify lagging skills, and correct weaknesses.
• Created tailored lesson plans and study guides to teach and assist students in area of study.
• Leveraged technology to accelerate learning by proving students with easy-to-access information.
• Led tutoring workshops for groups of students with related tutoring needs.
• Motivated students with accurate feedback and positive reinforcement.
• Worked closely with students on specific class struggles, closely reviewing materials and assignments to offer targeted help.
• Collaborated with teachers, administrators and parents to determine how best to support student success.
• Maintained records of student assessments, tutoring activities and results.
• Assessed student learning needs and provided relevant instruction to close knowledge gaps.

• Exhibited the values of teamwork and strong work ethic through promoting camaraderie amongst teammates.
• Organized weekly and weekend workout schedules, outside of regular practice, for the team to get better.
• Collaborated with coaches to map out a plan for the ultimate success of the team over each season.
• Acted as positive role model to set tone for program and enhanced leadership credibility with teammates and coaches.
• Invested time to build and strengthen relationships with teammates by inquiring about individual challenges and goals.
• Challenged teammates to get better and work harder by constructively confronting negativity, pessimism and laziness.

• Provided care and assistance in two separate homes over the course of four months for both a 6 and 93 year old, Xavier and Dr. Gupta, respectively. With these roles my responsibilities included: Logging information regarding naps, feedings and any medications administered; managing home environments to ensure a clean, organized, and safety hazards free space; Meal preparations, crafting nutritious meals and kept lots of fresh fruit and vegetables on hand to meet dietary needs; Meeting weekly with the family members employing myself to discuss daily activities, positive developments, and issues; Sanitizing dishes, tabletops, possessions, and frequently touched surfaces/objects to prevent spreading of germs.

• Prepared and packaged boxes during box assembly line phase.
• Assisted recipients with voucher interpretation to include type of food and allotted weight.
• Loaded completed boxes onto pallets prior to departure.
• Maintained accurate log of in-stock food supply and restocked shelves as inventory got low.
• Loaded and unloaded distribution trucks at destination.
• Organized food drive for misfortunate populations during christmas holiday season.