Service Learning

I partook in the event day group of the project, where I was the referee for one of the courts.

The pros of our service learning project were that we were able to all work in areas that we could preform well and enjoy doing, whereas a giant day devoted to one activity or chore would maybe not suit every class member as well as this project could. There was a flexibility to the project that benefitted us personally to allow us to work in matters we'd prefer. Utilizing skills such as leadership on the day of the event, organization and networking for the planners or the creativity of pumping out flyers and posters.

In terms of the product of our service, we did well to raise money for our cause. For the Kids will be happy to have the proceeds of our event, I'm sure. Our hard work did pay off. The money will go to an organization we all support and, in the case of some students, are active members of.

As for the cons, I only have one.

The experience was not as first hand as it could have been. We did work really hard, about as hard as we would have for any other activity, but our efforts did not go directly to serving the community, rather we held an event to raise money to give the community. I'm not suggesting our work was any less important than, say, working in a soup kitchen or building houses, but there is a rewarding, somehow tangible sense of accomplishment that comes from physically being able to judge or weigh one's action. For example, the ability to gauge one's impact on the community by working first hand is more rewarding, in a sense, than raising money, where there is no definitive correlation between hours working and money raised.

However the feeling instilled in the volunteer isn't nearly as important as the product of his/her work. But the experience is a learning one, and I would have maybe liked to work in that more first-hand environment.

What I learned about poverty, sickness, and hunger? Not much. Like I said, we worked in a different, second handed kind of way where our skills were concentrated more on organizing or managing the event as opposed to working first hand with such issues.

Generosity was a theme of our event for sure. We did need donations and aid for some areas like to buy the food. Generosity actually had a lot to do with our project. As a fund raising event, it was necessary for people to give money, whether they had it or not. It was going to a cause in which money is always necessary. I learned that money is better spent on others, especially when the need is much more dire than mine own.

Raising awareness is what FTK does, and working for them, we helped raise awareness for FTK and for their cause. To raise awareness you need a lot of advertising and reaching out to those around you. Something as simple as letting people know of the problems and issues they might be bling to can bring the world closer to an understanding and towards possibly becoming involved in the cause for FTK or for donating money.

The main thing I learned about NGO's are the hoops one must jump through to get any action done or anything completed. Simply finding the right people to talk to proved challenging in some areas, as with HEB. It's a complicated legal process, and can be disheartening. But in the end jumping through the loopholes is necessary and worth the ends.

I personally am rather pessimistic about the public's concern for these things. That is, I believe most people are content in their own personal sphere and space, and are not bothered to venture out and extend a hand to those who need it. Most well off people are unconcerned with poverty or hunger, for they themselves are not hungry. It is viewed for some as inconvenient to become involved in such matters.

Working together is always beneficial. Seeing your peers concerned about and working towards the same causes and goals is always encouraging. I learned about myself that I should spend more time volunteering, and that the efforts I give so far are not to my full capability. I am capable of lending much more time to helping the community, and I aspire to do so now.

The class could have improved to recruit more people to come play at our dodgeball tournament. More participants could have contributed more money to our cause.

World issues can be put in the spotlight at the local level. Every cause needs to begin somewhere, and can be acted on anywhere. There are impoverished families in every city, and working to help at least one is an effort worth while. Working outwards and upwards towards a national cause or at the national level could be done too. With the right amount of organization and determination we could achieve anything.