It's week 8 here at Ohio University and you can see the stress levels rising, and the students' heads hanging in pure exhaustion. This is even true with our team members in Project C. Last week our meeting was uncharacteristically unfocused as we were all just too tired to stay on one subject. There is just so much still to do.
As one of the two web developers on the team, we are beginning to feel the heat as our countdown page shows the launch date is just under 2 weeks away. To the untrained eye it would seem like a miracle would have to happen for us to get it all done, and to have all the pieces come together. From where I stand though, there is no miracle, only passion. It's about the passion of our team members that are busting their butts to tell the stories of these organizations, while still being full-time students. Its about the passion these organizations have for helping the homeless, the sick, the hungry, and the young of their community.
This has been such a great lesson in life for all of us involved. We are no longer just the people behind the viewfinder, we are truly becoming a piece of this community by simply going out and attempting to learn more about it and helping in anyway we can.
It is a great feeling to look around the living room of my house every Thursday to see the faces of these tired companions still smiling back, because they know they are making a difference. It was amazing to watch as designers became audio experts for a day in order to lend a helping hand on a shoot -- a single shoot that took 6 hours out of their gorgeous Friday afternoon. I appreciate the work of our team as I repeatedly see them setting aside their school work in order to do something for Project C. And if you would ask any one them how they could put so much time into a project like this? They would all reply (after the serious joking about never sleeping):
"It's what we do... It's what we have to do because the end result is worth the sacrifice."
So what is the state of our project? All I know is that in two weeks time we will be raising our glasses to a job well done, and one week after that the organizations will be receiving the funds from Project C.
Tony Guglielmi
Co-Director of Project C
