Category: Boys & Girls Club – Team B

1. User Interview: Tristan (BGCA Attendee (Extreme #1))

Team Participants: Garrett Fisher

Location: Boys & Girls Club 502 E Sample St, South Bend

Date: 2/24/17

Characteristics:

13 years old

Began attending BGC at 3 months old

African American

Freshman at Adams High School

Hobbies: Listening to music, playing basketball

Interview Highlights:

What do you like about the BGCA?

“I can positively develop my personality here, the environment is great, the people are nice… it’s like a second home for me.”

What could be better about the BGCA for you?

“We could have better sports equipment and more technology.”

What is the BGCA to you?

“It’s a team of people like me, a community, a home.”

How do you get to and from the BGCA?

“Miss Camille drives me here from school, and then I ride my bike home or sometimes my parents pick me up.  I bring my bike from school on the back of Miss Camille’s van.”

 

Learnings:

Tristan associates the BGC strongly with feelings of home and personal identity.

While the issue of transportation is kind of a hassle, Tristan focused on other areas when asked where the BGC could be improved.

During the interview, kids could be overheard asking for permission to go to the gym multiple times.  Sports matter more to these kids’ perception of the club than the logistics of getting to and from the BGC.

Key Insights:

There are kids who believe the BGC is part of who they are.

These kids will find ways to make it to the club as long as it remains available, welcoming, and beneficial for them.

 

2. User Interview: Drechun (BGCA Attendee)

Team Participants: Garrett Fisher

Location: Boys & Girls Club 502 E Sample St, South Bend

Date: 2/24/17

Characteristics:

14 years old

Started attending BGC summer of 2016

African American

Freshman at Penn High School

Hobbies: Snapchat, playing basketball, playing NBA 2k video game

Interview Highlights:

What do you like about the BGCA?

“The people and the positivity.”

What could be better about the BGCA for you?

“I like everything here the way it is. The BGC doesn’t need to change.”

What is the BGCA to you?

“A place to have fun.”

How do you get to and from the BGCA?

“My parents pick me up and drop me off… it’s a pretty easy process.”

 

Learnings:

Drechun sees the BGC as a place to have fun and doesn’t believe any major changes are necessary.

He also has no complaints with transportation, as his parents can take him directly to and from the club.

As during the other interview, kids could be overheard asking for permission to go to the gym multiple times.  Again, sports matter more to these kids’ perception of the club than the logistics of getting to and from the BGC.

Key Insights:

Kids that don’t have transportation issues are a strong resource for the club and they should be kept in mind when coming up with solutions later.

Kids attending BGC don’t necessarily do so in order to spend more time with friends from school, as Drechun knows of no other Penn students at the BGC.

 

3. Expert Interview: Miss Missy

Team Participants: Garrett Fisher

Location: Boys & Girls Club 502 E Sample St, South Bend

Date: 2/24/17

Characteristics:

Age: Mid 30s-40s

Mother, College Student

African American

Interview Highlights:

Why do you think kids come to the BGC?

“It’s a place for them to just be kids, to see friends that they may have gone to school with before they split up for high school, and to just hang out in a positive atmosphere.”

How do kids get to the BGC?

“LaSalle buses students to the BGC, but otherwise its mostly parents taking them here and home.  Miss Camille drives some students here in her van too. Some students walk here if their school is nearby.  Any kids who walk home need a permission slip and can only walk home on days when the weather isn’t too bad.”

What do the kids like to do the most at the BGC?

“Basketball, definitely.  The computers and the video games are popular but they always want to play basketball.”

Learnings:

Both the students and the staff at the BGC see the club as a strongly positive place for kids.

Transportation is largely parent-driven right now, as these kids are generally not walking or biking to the club.

Sports, as noted before, are a major part of the culture at the BGC.

Key Insights:

Since parents continue to bring their children to the BGC every day while many of them work, they must see the value in the BGC.  The parents may be a resource to tap in solution plans later.

Staff at the BGC are incredibly dedicated and are willing to do anything to help the kids.

 

4. Non-User Interview (Noah)

Team Participants: Garrett Fisher

Location: Phone Call

Characteristics:

17 years old

Has never attended Boys and Girls Club

Hawaiian-Samoan American

Junior at Woodlake High School in Woodlake, CA

Hobbies: Camping, surfing, hunting

Interview Highlights:

What do you think of when you hear ‘Boys and Girls Club of America’?

“I think of a place where little kids go to hang out, they’re usually in cities I think.  Like ‘The Y’ but aimed more at kids.”

Do you know anyone who attends a Boys and Girls Club?

“No, but I do have a lot of friends who go to ‘The Y.’”

What do you typically do after school?

“I play sports year-round, I work with my fair animals, and I go to work. If I’m not doing any of that I’m usually trying to hang out with friends”

How do you get from place to place?

“My mom works at the school and coaches volleyball after, so unless I have morning swim practice I go with her, otherwise I drive my grandpa’s truck, as long as it works.”

 

Learnings:

Noah occupies his time with a lot of different activities, and doesn’t seem to find himself having much free time.

He is able to take advantage of the fact that his mother is a teacher and a coach, allowing him to partake in sports without needing his own car most of the time.

There is no BGC in his area, but he seems to think “The Y” would be a good substitute.

Key Insights:

Consider “The Y” for an analogous immersion.

Students with lots of extracurricular activities are probably not the best target demographic for the BGC.

 

Immersion Experience at the BGC

Date: 2/24/17

Event: Day at BGC

Event Description: Played cards with the kids and Miss Missy, played pool, and watched basketball, all while making small talk.

Key Insights:

The kids are extremely personable and lively.  They have no problem talking about whatever comes to their minds, and they include others without fail.  Nobody in the BGC is an outcast, no matter the age or background.  Many of the kids are quiet and content to sit in the lounge in silence, but anyone who wants to be social at the BGC is in good company.  The kids who attend the BGC seem to be at the younger end of the high school age spectrum.  Maybe once they are of the age when they can begin to drive themselves they no longer choose to go to the BGC.  Maybe once they can drive they have to get jobs to support themselves and their families.  These could be important issues to consider when trying to target certain groups to attend the BGC.

 

Analogous Immersion at “The Y”:

In order to accurately determine the performance of the BGC, our team is comparing results and activities to similar organizations.

After talking to Mikey, head of The Y in Woodlake California, the following information was gathered:

What activities does The Y sponsor?

“We keep the high school pool open in the summer for recreational use and partner with the local Tiger Sharks summer league swim team to teach kids to swim safely and in a fun environment.  We also hold open gym almost year-round after school hours during both semesters and all day in the summer.  We host summer day activities for small children as well.  Zumba classes use our facilities occasionally too.”

Does The Y have any school-specific activities like homework help or tutoring?

“We are severely limited in staff and funding, so while we do what we can, there isn’t much structure to our academic side.”

How is attendance across different student ages?

“Attendance remains relatively even among ages, maybe even increasing among high schoolers because we’re right behind the high school and we have both indoor and outdoor basketball courts, and the outdoor courts are open for use at any time. That’s a really good draw for the kids who are bored and just need something to do.  They want to be active, they just don’t always have many options here in Woodlake.”

Key Insights:

The 24-hour basketball court is a big plus for The Y.  The Y’s location between the middle school and high school is also an advantage, as transportation is not an issue for students, and the area is familiar.  Police tend to check on the well-lit area pretty often so the courts are always a safe place to exercise.  While an outdoor court is a more viable option in sunny, warm California, something similar may be of interest to the BGC of Saint Joseph County, at least for the warmer months.  What BGC does better than The Y, however, lies in their academic help.  The Y is run by about five people at most, while the BGC has staff and volunteers that allow each kid to get more individualized attention when he or she needs it.

You are capturing some good insights.  I’d like to see more user quotes to support your GP’s.  Next up, coming up with ideas that meet your Design Criteria and creating physical manifestations of these ideas to share with users.

Design Goal

• Target customers in this case are the teens of BGC. We have learned that out of those that attend regularly, there is an overall positive outlook on the experience, fellow members and staff.
• There is a desire to bring others into the club, but many friends of members are not interested, because of the lack of the “cool” factor.
• There are social and psychological ends that need to be fulfilled for the target customers with our specific case. Social in terms of making the club a place that is not only beneficial for their safety, but also their social lives. Psychologically, it is important for them to see consistency in a place like this, because it is shown in research that a majority of members experience some lack of structure in at least one aspect of their lives outside the club.

User Perceptions

• I think bringing more members in and providing a more robust option list of activities is important to the well being of our customer, but not necessary. The club has managed to get along well enough before, so this would just be something to enhance it.
• I think perception is very important to our users, because as teenagers, that means a lot to them. There could be an aesthetic attribute to our solutions in new technology or activities we introduce to the club, as if they are good and up to date, it would help up the “cool” factor we discussed earlier.
• Similar to the aesthetic aspects, reputational aspects are extremely important in this case, because a big issue of attracting new members to the club is the reputation it has of being “boring” or “uncool”. Working on building up the positive reputation of BGC would have a positive domino effect.
• Key insights from our research are that once members are there, they tend to stay loyal, but it is a challenge to recruit new members for a variety of reasons (money, other commitments, etc.). Also was insightful to realize the lack of active promotion of the club, which could be a reason the issue of transportation has not been brought up before.

Problems/Needs/Opportunities

• The current members want more from the club. They want to take more field trips and have better technology programs.
• The BGC offers activities such as crafts and gym time. The users get bored with doing the same thing everyday.
• Field trips and other experiences could allow students to get out of their comfort zone and learn new skills. In addition, it will challenge them to be leaders and better communicators, which are attributes BGC strives to instill in the students.

Functional Attributes

• It would be necessary to be mindful of the members and their schedules. So for transportation, we would need to assure that it could be coordinated to fit a wide variety of high school’s end time of the day. Also, if we would look into rides back after the afternoon, we would have to do our best to find a time that would work for the most members (if we were to implement an extended hours option).
• As per everything at BGC, any new implementation would need to live up to the standards they have set and consequently followed as a club for decades. We would want our solutions to only enhance a member’s experience at BGC in a positive way, so therefore would be extremely thoughtful when creating anything new.

Constraints

• BGC faces financial constraints. They do not have the money to get buses for field trips, or better technology.
• BGC also lacks a sufficient number of quality workers. They only have 8 part time volunteers and one full time volunteer.

Guiding Principle 1: Keep me engaged

• This includes giving the students opportunities to participate in various activities and field trips where they take part in something outside of their comfort zone.
• Keeping up to date technology and computer programs can also keep kids interested in the club.

“Some people say it’s boring.”

-Ciarra

“There are not enough activities.”

-Kaliyah

Guiding Principle 2: Provide me with consistency

• The relationships the teens make with the volunteers and each other is the driving force behind keeping them involved in the club. It is critical to get more volunteers that will stay around so that the teens can become comfortable around them.
• Tutors should also be consistent as well.

“I like the environment. There are good people and we learn good habits.”

-Kaliyah

Guiding Principle 3: Help me inform others

• Not many teens know about BGC. This is due to a lack of advertising by the club, and the members do not talk to their friends about it. The teens need guidance on how to spread word about their experience to get more people involved.
• The club can guide the teens on ways to spread news about BGC via social media.

“The BGC is not advertised at all throughout the school.”

-Adams Principal

1. Expert Interview (Mr. T)

Date: 03/02/2017

Type: Expert Interview

Location: BGCA Gym

Team Participants: Sarah, Jake, Jordan

User Characteristics:

• Approximately 27 years old
• African American
• Used to be a volunteer, now the athletic director
• Been involved in BGCA in some way for 10 years
• Has ideas for more variety in payment plans
• Puts emphasis on importance of members having a ride home
• Look for what the kids want and create a place that has all those things

Memorable Quotes:

• “We need to offer more open gym time for older kids because some don’t think they can come after they’re done with their sports at their high schools”
• “We could get kids interested with just one flyer that says we have Wifi, a gym to play basketball and an XBOX”
• “A lot of these kids would come more often if they could pay per visit instead of the $50 all at once and risk not getting their money’s worth.”

Top 3 Learnings:

• T sees a lot of untapped potential in terms of teen members for the club.
• There are many teens that love to just come into the gym and shoot around/play pick up games.
• There is focus on getting the kids to the club, but there is also a big need to get the kids home at night.

Key Insights:

• There are passionate employees and volunteers throughout BGCA
• Employees/staff have the best insight for areas to improve.

 2. User Interview #1 (Patrick Christie—Extreme #1)

Date: 03/03/2017

Type: User Interview, Extreme #1

Location: via phone call

Team Participants: Sarah

User Characteristics:

• 16 years old
• White
• Sophomore in HS
• Attends private, all boys high school
• Plays baseball and hockey for his high school
• Unaware of many details about BGCA
• Does not know anyone who attends the club

Memorable Quotes:

• “I really don’t know much about the Boys and Girls Club except for what I’ve seen on commercials”
• “Is there even a Boys and Girls Club close to us that people could go to?”

Top 3 Learnings:

• BGCA does a good job of using famous alums in commercials
• Ignorance among upper class areas of the country as to where the closest BGCA site would even be
• Perception that only lower class people attend the club

Key Insights:

• Maybe more other teens would get involved despite economic status
• If it is a fun place that a group of friends would meet frequently, it can appeal to a large group

3. User Interview #2 (Camisa—Extreme #2)

Date: 03/02/2017

Type: User Interview, Extreme #2

Location: BGCA Lounge

Team Participants: Sarah, Jake, Jordan

User Characteristics:

• 16 years old
• African American
• Junior at Adams High School
• Has been going to the club since early childhood
• Mom works at the club
• Has liked moving up through the club from member to part time volunteer now
• Loves being a role model for younger members
• Enjoys closeness among members
• Thinks if more people had a way of getting there, they would go

Memorable Quotes:

• “It honestly becomes like a big family here. You end up growing up with a lot of the other members”
• “I just try to help out as much as possible with all the different members, especially the little kids”

Top 3 Learnings:

• A lot of times members are involved with their entire families
• Think that a bus would really help the teen group because there is only the option of a van that can fit 8 people, but more would most likely be interested
• Overall desire for consistency among both members and volunteers

Key Insights:

• Many teenagers are able to stay home alone and therefore aren’t looking for somewhere to go/something to do after school
• Teen nights are a big success at the club and having them more frequently could help teen turnout at other times too
• There is a desire for more up to date technology and also info sessions on computers and coding

 4. User Interview #3 (Ciarra—Extreme #2)

Date: 03/02/2017

Type: User Interview, Extreme #2

Location: BGCA Lounge

Team Participants: Sarah, Jake, Jordan

User Characteristics:

• 16 years old
• African American
• Junior at Adams High School (takes the van to the club after school)
• Aunt works at the club…that is how she got involved
• None of her school friends go to the club with her
• Wants teens to know they would like coming to the club because they would meet new people, make new friends and help the community
• Thinks having college aged tutors would be beneficial for teens

Memorable Quotes:

• “The quality and consistency of the tutors for the teen group could be better. Like if Notre Dame students came more that would help.”
• “People at my school that I am friends with usually just go straight home after school and don’t want to come here and be with people they don’t know.”

Top 3 Learnings:

• There are a lot teens that actually enjoy their daily trips to the club
• Thinks that the tutor program could be used attract more people. Also introducing coding classes/clinics more consistently would keep people interested.
• The club bridges age gaps, and provides areas of common ground among the entire teen group.

Key Insights:

• Since her friends at school are not the same as her friends at the club, she offers perspective of different types of students in the area
• Really impacts the members when volunteers only come once. They realize they have good intentions, but doesn’t seem that they care too much when they don’t come back at all.

 5. Immersion (at BGCA)

Date: 03/02/2017

Event: Watching the boys play basketball on the bleachers with a group of teenage girl members and then playing some pick up soccer for two of them

Event Description: Casual conversation among the five of us with topics ranging from Prom to future life plans

Key Takeaways:

One of the main things I took away from this was how much more comfortable these girls were talking to me once we were in an environment that was natural and it didn’t feel like I was interviewing them. For example, Ciarra was one of the two girls we did a formal sit down interview with, and during that she was extremely quiet and shy, but once we got to the gym, she began to talk to me about where she wanted to go to college and asked advice on whether to go to Prom or not. I also found it surprising how close these girls were, despite the variety in their ages. They ranged from 12 to 17 and even though there was that gap, they all found common ground. It was nice to talk about their families and what they thought about BGCA, but it was especially good because they didn’t feel like I was forcing any information out of them, instead they volunteered the information. I got the impression that many of them had confusing, and sometimes stressful family situations, and that BGCA was a great outlet for them for 3 hours after school everyday.

6. Analogous Immersion (at King Center)

For my analogous immersion I looked to the Martin Luther King Jr. center that is also located in South Bend. It is a similar set up to BGCA, but obviously is not as major of a non-profit. I had the chance to visit the King Center with the basketball team for a clinic they did as a whole team. I realized that this was a different day for the people that attend the center than typical days because there was a big group of people visiting. However, as a manager I worked with some of the staff there to get everything ready and that’s when I got some good insight. Overall, I got the feeling that it was a more relaxed environment than BGCA. There was less structure, which I view as both a good thing and a potentially problematic thing. There was also a wider variety in age, as well as more even number of each age group. The one big thing that King Center offers that BGCA doesn’t is later hours. I think, especially after our interview with Mr. T, that the extended hours at night would be a major benefit for BGCA’s teen program. It would be interesting to find out more about the King Center’s volunteer program and see how that is compared to BGCA. I think moving forward it would be helpful for our team to take a day or two at the King Center to find out more about it and consequently using its tactics for the betterment of BGCA.

I enjoyed reading your summaries Sam!  An insight that stood out to me from your first two summaries were that teens found the Boys and Girls Club provided the opportunity to connect with friends they might not otherwise see.  It sounds as though perhaps the teens went to different schools?  I wonder how often that happens with the ability to choose schools in South Bend.  That could another opportunity for encouraging attendance.

For your Gallery Day summary you jumped right to solutions.  Follow the process.  Once we complete our Guiding Principles, we will be able to verify that we have user data backing up the what the problem is defined as.  Let’s confirm this before working on the solution to what we propose the problem to be.

Ms. Missy

Date: 3/1/17

Type: Expert Interview

Location: BGC facility

Team Participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:

Middle Aged

Part time worker

African American

Works primarily with teens

Very energetic

The students respect and listen to her.

She has a positive view of the club.

Memorable quote from interview: “They like seeing the other teens. They grew up with some of these people but then went to different schools and BGC is a place they can meet up.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. The teens really enjoy being at the club. The ones that don’t go are not troubled; it is simply a matter of not being able to get teens to the club.
2. There is a mutual level of respect among volunteers and students.
3. They value role models like Ms. Missy who has a big impact on their lives.

Key Insight – (1) The BGC needs more volunteers because they are short on staff, however, it will be a challenge to get volunteers who are as good of a role model as Ms. Missy. (2) There is a very respectful environment in the teen club. The teens are very mature and listen to their elders. They value having a safe place to be.

 

Ms. Camille

Date: 3/1/17

Type: Expert Interview

Location: BGC facility

Team Participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:

She is the only full time worker

She is in charge of BGC.

Camille has a van that she drives to pick the kids up from school.

African American

She has a daughter in BGC

Memorable quotes from the interview:

“They are here to hangout with friends they haven’t seen. They also have structure and consistency.”

“We would have 13 buses coming from the middle and high schools and then they just stopped a couple years ago.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. BGC struggles with being understaffed.
2. They do not have enough money for field trips.
3. BGC has one fundraiser per year.

Key Insight – (1) The kids want more fieldtrips, but that requires more money. We can help them raise money for these activities. (2) We need to communicate with the South Bend bus company on why they stopped sending the buses to BGC after consistently sending buses for many years.

 

Eric

Date: 3/1/17

Type: Individual Interview

Location: BGC facility

Team Participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:

African American

Teenager

Joined BGC 2 years ago

Takes the van to the club

Memorable quote from the interview: “My mom felt like I needed something to do after school.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. He likes BGC because it is a good place to hangout.
2. He enjoys crafts and the other activities offered.
3. He mentioned that some teens he knows don’t go to the club because they can’t afford it.

Key Insight – Is there a way we can reduce the expenses for the members? Package deal or offer discounts?

 

Kaliyah

Date: 3/1/17

Type: Individual Interview

Location: BGC facility

Team Participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:

 Started the club at age 10

Takes the bus to the club

Teenager

African American

Memorable quote from the interview: “I like the environment. There are good people and we learn good habits.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. It was her parent’s decision to start her in the club, but she enjoys the environment.
2. There are other programs teens go to after school instead of BGC such as the Y.
3. She is not satisfied with the limited activities BGC offers. She desires more options.

Key Insight – BGC needs to find a way to offer more activities such as field trips to keep the teens satisfied. They could incorporate a “Bring your friend day” so teens who do not go to the club can get a sense of what it is all about and want to join.

 

 Angel

Date: 3/1/17

Type: Individual Interview

Location: BGC facility

Team Participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:

 Started BGC at age 8

African American

Teenager

Her aunt drops her off at BGC.

Memorable quote from the interview: “I wish there were more programs.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. She did not want to go home after school.
2. She met a lot of people at the club.
3. She wishes there were more programs in the club.

Key Insights – Somehow we need to incorporate more field trips/activities. This could also include improving technology and the different programs the kids use.

 

Ciarra

Date: 3/1/17

Type: Individual Interview

Location: BGC facility

Team Participants: Conducted interview alone

User Characteristics:

Started BGC at age 6

Teenager

She takes Camille’s van to BGC.

African American

She likes playing sports

Memorable quotes from the interview: “Some people say it’s boring.”

Top 3 Learnings:

1. Gym time is a very big part of the day and the teens really like it.
2. BGC is enjoyable for the teens.
3. There needs to be more activities in the club.

Key Insights – Similar to what was said before, we need to help BGC improve the technology as well as raise money for field trips. We could also come to BGC with different ideas for activities to do with the teens.

 

Immersion Experience:

For the immersion, I talked to and was able to hangout with teens at BGC. Moving forward, I will continue my immersion through more structured activities, specifically crafts. I will work in the craft room with Sarah Christie.

Key Insights: (1) The kids are very respectful of Ms. Missy and Ms. Camille. They seem to enjoy being at BGC. In addition, the teens know each other very well and there seems to be a “family” like culture. The teens are also more mature than some high school kids that I know. (2) Although no one mentioned it in the interviews, I feel as though the teen portion of the club could be renovated. I think even simple redecorating could increase the “cool factor”. The club probably does not have the budget to undergo this type of project, so we would have to raise money.

 

Analogous Immersion:

Our team is benchmarking against other nonprofit organizations that have teen programs. We want to compare their transportation methods with that of BGC. In addition, we are comparing the facilities and the different activities that the other clubs offer. The two clubs we are benchmarking against are Kings and the Y. I interviewed Jesse who is the head of the YMCA teen program. I gained the following information:

 Jesse

YMCA St. Joseph county youth director

574-287-9622

 

Do you have a teen program?

They have a robotics program, which is promoted within the school. This is the school’s club robotics team.

 

How do the kids get to the club?

“The club is onsite at the school. They meet at the high school. We have our own bus and hire a driver to get kids home after the club.”

 

What schools do the kids come from?

Riley

 

What activities make up each day at the club?

“It is a robotics program”

The typical routine for the youth clubs held at the Y are as follows:

YMCA Curriculum

1. Stem
2. Homework help
3. Snack time
4. Family engagement
5. Physical activity
6. Literacy/subjects

“There is not a lot of free time.”

 

Other facts:

There is a group of Notre Dame kids who come to volunteer for tutoring. There are about 15-20 Notre Dame students volunteers.

There are also volunteer coaches.

None of the kids from the youth or preteen programs at the Y make the transition to robotics because they do not go to Riley and the program is only offered at Riley.

Key Insights: The BGC may not be able to work something out with South Bend transportation. They would either have to buy another vehicle that someone could drive, or have the club take place at the school.

The gallery day was a great opportunity for our team to touch base with the representatives from BGC. We had very good back and forth discussion and received helpful feedback from them. We concluded that going forward we will focus on awareness of the club and fundraising. We believe these two things will get more teens into the program at BGC. Moving forward, our team has a three fold approach. First, we will create an infomercial using media resources at Notre Dame. We received permission from Camille to interview and video record students for the commercial. It will be shared on social media by the kids and the club. In addition, we will send it to various schools. Second, we are going to work closely with Adams high school and create a survey for the students. This will ask them: “If you had transportation, would you go to BGC?” Our hope is that many will say “yes”.  We can then send the responses along to the South Bend bus company and prove to them that it is important to have transportation to BGC because kids want to go. Lastly, our team wants to put together a fundraising event. This could be a sand volleyball or corn hole tournament and the money would go to providing transportation to BGC. This way, the club can have money to get buses not only for day to day trips, but also field trips. Over break, I was able to connect with the YMCA for benchmarking, but our team still needs to hear from our contact at Kings Club. In addition, I have reached out to Patty who worked with BGC. Hopefully, she will have some ideas to offer our team regarding fundraising.

Team – all ethnography summaries and reflections should have been posted Friday.  Thank you Garrett for your reflection posted.  As you consider gaps to fill in your research, think about the full user journey.

The Gallery Day event was an excellent opportunity for our team to touch base with the staff of the Boys & Girls Club, as well as to show off the research we’ve conducted and brainstorm a few new ideas.  We know that we still need some information from transportation companies in South Bend in addition to the research we’ve already conducted; we have already sent out requests for that information to most of the relevant individuals and will reach out to the others we identified on Gallery Day as possible sources of good information as soon as we can.  We plan to continue to volunteer at the Boys & Girls Club to further cement our understanding of the issues causing the attendance problem, and to connect with the students on a deeper level.