Hall Endowment for Community Outreach
Project Abstracts
Fall 2011
Project Title: Senior Services and Alzheimer’s Outreach
Project Title: PARC Inventory Control System The purpose of “PARC Inventory Control System” is three-fold. First, two modernize the inventory control system that currently takes seven people to do by hand. Second, build and install an optical counter to count items that are made by the piece-rate employees of PARC. Third, program and setup a handheld scanner for the delivery driver. The objective of the inventory control is to take the process from its current seven people requirement, down to two people. The second objective is to build a counting station that can keep count of the items that are ran through a tape machine, thereby by making the piece-rate employee job more efficient. The third objective is to modernize the delivery process that would give an accurate count of product delivered to each of the 600+ building on HAFB. It is expected with the scanner and inventory control that at the end of the project, PARC will be able to see at any time exactly what has been delivered to any of the 600 buildings for both the month and year-to-date. This will take integration of proven methods of inventory control. The software and integration that will be incorporated with this project will be complex, from the project side, but this will make it easier for PARC. There will be use of multiple lookup tables. Databases and other items will be written to make tracking inventory simple. It is also expected that at the end of this project the inventory control at PARC will only need to be done by two people thereby freeing up the time of the other five to do other things to benefit the company and the community. The expected outcome at the end of the project for the optical sensors will be a way for the piece-rate employees of PARC to maintain an accurate count of the items made. This will increase the efficiency of the employee. Thereby making the employee more money and the supplier more product. Project Title: Venture Course in the Humanities-Weber State University The Venture Course in the Humanities provides adults facing economic barriers with a chance to start college. Modeled on the Clemente Course in the Humanities SM, created by educator and journalist Earl Shorris in 1995 and now an international movement, Venture is a year-long, introductory humanities course taught by university and college faculty in Salt Lake City, Ogden and southern Utah (Cedar City region). Venture includes sections in literature, American history, art history, philosophy, and writing/critical thinking. Many low-income Ogden area adults face significant challenges to pursuing higher education. Some did not graduate from high school; others are intimidated by the university setting. They also face financial challenges such as how to pay for books, child-care and/or transportation costs. For all of them, the cost of tuition and fees is out of reach. Venture seeks to address some of these concerns by offering textbooks free of charge, and providing public transportation. Students are not charged tuition and a childcare reimbursement program is also offered. Project Title: Making a Difference.
Project Director: India Nielsen
Bridging the Gap is a Weber State University Volunteer Involvement Program focused on building relationships between students and our elders in the Ogden community. All of the Bridging the Gap events are aimed at helping our elderly community feel young again by bringing our cheerful volunteers to participate in exciting and interactive events. This year, Bridging the Gap is excited to announce a new partnership with the Utah Alzheimer’s Association. We will provide student volunteers to participate in their weekly Dementia Day Care programs offered at no cost at senior centers across Weber County. Bridging the Gap would like to provide the Alzheimer’s Association with specific items that support their multi-sensory approach at dementia care. Burchcreek Home Health is providing certified personnel to conduct actual client interaction. Student volunteers will add a one-on-one approach not possible without the volunteers. As the prevalence of dementia-related illnesses increases so does the need for respite care. While respite care benefits the caregiver, the type of multi-sensory environment is also valuable to those who suffer from dementia-related illnesses. The expected outcome of this project is to educate the community about Alzheimer’s through our volunteer work as well as by using the multi-sensory products to help our elders that are affected by Alzheimer’s and similar cognitive impairments.
Project Director: Dr. Fon Brown
Project Director: Tonia Wilson
Project Title: PARC Scale Project
Project Director: Brian Berry, Richard Ellis, Kevin Kuppen
We propose to carry out a project on behalf of Pioneer Adult Rehabilitation Center (PARC). PARC is an organization that helps disabled adults with in-house job placement. The project we propose is a military kit comparison scale. It will compare the weight of packages put together by PARC to ensure they are packed with the appropriate amount of supplies. The problems associated with a possible miscounting of supplies can be solved through the use of a weight scale. The scale must be sensitive enough to measure small parts to within a pre-defined tolerance range. The tolerance will be found in each kit by using the weight of the lightest object. When each kit is weighed the scale will indicate whether or not it is within the tolerance range. The user interface must be simple enough to be used by each client at PARC. The device will include a scale as well as a comparator circuit that interfaces with the scale. This device will contain indicator lights that will flash green for a good reading or red for an indication that the items need to be recounted. By the end of spring semester we will present a completed package design including working comparator, scale, and user interface.
Project Director: Azenett A. Garza
The current project will serve three community populations) i.e., Ogden Weber Community Action Partnerships, Head Start Program children and their parents as well as George Washington High School’s college bound students). The goals of the project are to increase the literacy skills of OWCAP’s HS Program children and to provide the opportunity to engage in age-appropriate career and college exploration with help from WSU Psychology Practicum students. Also, OWCAP HS parents will gain access and information about financial and other academic resources including academic skill-building to help their children become academically successful and to facilitate the realization of their children’s potential academic/career goals. Finally, WSU Psychology students will provide George Washington High School students with the opportunity to be positive role models for OWCAP HS children. This long-term partnership is meant to evolve as the OWCAP’s HS program needs evolve.