Good work by all on the first collaborative project. If you have trouble viewing my feedback, let me know. The second project has two parts: drafting and finishing the Rubbermaid letter to share with Brenda Lambert, and initial planning for updating and polishing the Forest Hills Church Backpack Buddies Ministry brochure.

CP2a: Finishing the letter

We'll keep the same teams A & B for this assignment. Here's what to do:

• Information update: I was incorrect in stating last week that FHCBBM serves only elementary schools. Actually, they work with with elementary schools primarily (pun?) but also with a handful of middle and high schools. I also retract my comment in responding to Team A's CP1 re: challenges: you were dutifully following instructions to summarize challenges faced in putting the project together. I should have thought more about likely challenges when composing the assignment. My bad! Both groups covered potential challenges in the AUP quite effectively.
  
  
• More information: In our D2L unit, see the quick snapshots of the Forest Hills BBM facilities to get a visual sense of their workspace--and the all-important carts. I took the pics late Thursday afternoon, when all the carts and packets were packed (sorry) and ready for pickup or delivery Friday morning. On Monday, the spaces crammed with loaded carts and piles of loaded grocery bags will be mostly empty. Week in and week out, the volunteers load in supplies, pack them up, and send them off with close to 100% turnover of inventory. The volume and pace of the work is impressive, and the planning and attention to detail--down to the level of careful prepping of bags for students with food allergies or other dietary restrictions--the whole operation requires intricately involved teamwork that runs with machine-like precision. On the occasions I've stopped in, every volunteer working seemed to enjoy what they were doing. Quite an amazing team!
  
  
• Cart specifics: see also in D2L the particulars and specs of the Rubbermaid carts in question. One crucial reason these carts work better than others, which they have tried, is that they are sturdy and durable and also collapsible. Storage space is tight, so when stock comes in, they have to scramble for space to hold it. Carts that can collapse to half the size (from the two sides inward) are essential in getting everything to fit in the weekly shifting of stock from storage in stacks and shelves into the carts, one by one. At one time all the work was done in a house originally occupied by the family of someone affiliated with the church (pastor, rector? beats me). They outgrew the house and now have a substantial no-frills warehouse and additional storage sheds attached to the house.
  
  
• Okay, now some actual tasks: plot out a process that seems efficient and productive for these steps:
  
  
  • Review preparatory materials completed in CP1 and form a loose outline structuring the letter; include in the outline any new items or info not accounted for in CP1.
    
    
  • Have one team member volunteer to explore and set up a Gantt Chart laying out the timeline and work assignments for the project. You can update the chart on the fly as the the work unfolds. . . . A Gantt chart is extreme overkill for such a small project, but there is value in using one "for real" instead of just seeing one in a textbook "figure 6a," e.g.
    
    
  • Determine specific team-member roles in the actual composition of the letter: it may not be best to have each team member write a paragraph, you know? The whole must have a consistent voice throughout. Your method may take some hashing out. Think outside of the box: you might have two primary writers, for instance, and then two or three hard-core close-reading editors. However you work it out will be fine.
    
    
  • Create a visually appealing new letterhead for use in this document--you may incorporate elements from the organization's existing materials, or you can go 100% original.
    
    
  • Distribute the draft to the team and have a video-meeting to consider strengths, weaknesses, and ideas for improvement.
    
    
  • Revise the document following the meeting and share out to the group again--this time for more of a line-by-line editing for clarity, concision, tone, and correctness: so long as you avoid those irritating "reply all" email conversations, however you share and implement the group's input is up to you.
    
    
  • Update the letter now using the new letterhead, and if time permits, share out one last time for final polish.
    
    
  • Have the team leader submit the letter to the CP2 dropbox.

CP2b: First steps on the brochure

See the existing brochure posted in the D2L unit--it's not completely "professional," but I think it is reasonably well done. Have at least one meeting to discuss its strengths and weaknesses. Then construct a list of items or information you would need to bring this 2019-vintage brochure into 2025. Also consider whether you favor keeping the half-fold four-page format, or would some other format be more effective? Consider pros and cons of each format you discuss.

Each team should have a member other than the team leader take notes in the meeting and summarize the group's thoughts on strengths, weaknesses, and items or info needed to do a professional-caliber new brochure. Submit this document, too, in the CP2 dropbox.