Service project
Participation in service projects provides a valuable experience for the individual. Hence, it gives an opportunity to improve leadership skills and understand which ones require improvement. Thus, this presentation aims to narrate the passage of the service project in the Community Church donation event. While taking part in this event, I managed to gain valuable experience and awareness about how I interact with people, what leadership skills I use, and what areas I still have further opportunities to develop.
Selection of the Opportunity
When choosing a program, I set myself the goal of finding an initiative that would be aimed at helping people. Thus, I decided to take part in the Community Church donation event. Before becoming a part of this initiative, I carefully and in detail studied all the information about it and weighed all its advantages and possible disadvantages. In the end, I decided that this service program would help me become a more responsible person concerning other less well-off people. Moreover, the Community Church donation initiative could become a way for me to understand myself, my strengths, and my weaknesses when interacting with and helping other individuals.
Description of the Project
Thus, my responsibilities during the service project included several actions aimed at helping the less fortunate. I handed out special meal kits that we prepared in advance with other participants in the program. In addition, I just distributed food to those in need, which consisted of various fruits, vegetables, pastries, and meat. Our goal was to collect such kits that would be the most useful but at the same time pleasant to the taste.
Moreover, I was engaged in verifying mobile sign-up codes in the drive-thru style food pick-up, which was new to me. Despite some difficulties at the beginning, I quickly realized how to properly perform all my actions. I also helped make sure other volunteers were working efficiently to ensure smooth processing of the drive-thru line. In addition, my duties included checking that people received the correct number of items depending on family size and loading cars with donated food items. This implied strict compliance with the documentation prescribing all the necessary characteristics of the family and keeping records of the amount of food given. In general, I spent a total of 4 hours on two different days taking part in this program and gained a unique experience that will help me become even better, improve my work skills and interaction with people, and strengthen my leadership qualities.
The Greenleaf Questions
After passing the service project experience, I was given the answers that Robert K. Greenleaf gave me to assess the effectiveness and value of this participation. Research showed that the researcher believed that “caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built” (Tran & Spears, 2020, p. 117). Thus, one of the first questions is to consider how the completed program affected the growth of those whom it helped. Thus, I believe that the initiative contributed to gaining an understanding that there are kind and sympathetic people who are always ready to help. Thus, those who were given the understanding that the world is full of kind people contributed to their growth.
The following question is an evaluation of how people with the provision of help become healthier, wiser, freer, and more willing to become servants. The answer to this question also becomes the realization that individuals are ready to help each other in difficult life situations. Thus, by receiving help from others, those who were helped are motivated not only for personal development, wisdom, and health improvement but also for the possible future of becoming servants. Furthermore, it is essential to determine the influence on the people in need and examine whether they gain advantages or not further deprived. Thus, I believe that the Community Church donation makes an extraordinary contribution to a particular part of society and contributes to the improvement of not only physical condition but also mental.
Servant Leadership Skills
For me, the most critical servant leadership skill that I gained during this program is trust, and I learned to delegate responsibilities to other individuals without fear that they might do something wrong.
Appreciation becomes another skill, which consists in realizing the importance of the value of each person and his abilities. This aspect can be used to effectively influence the passage of the servant project, as awareness of the characteristics of other people contributes to the construction of strategies for working with them.
Listening becomes an equally important leadership skill for influencing individuals. It provides a valuable opportunity to realize not only the strengths and weaknesses of people but also to gain an understanding of what goals they pursue and what needs and desires they have. The application of this skill in practice contributes to a significant increase in work efficiency.
Significant Takeaways
In conclusion, despite the short period of the program, I gained a precious experience. Therefore, I realized the importance of helping people in need and what benefits I can bring to society. Moreover, I have gained unique acquaintances and obtained motivation for further participation in the servant programs.
Reference
Tran, D. Q., & Spears, L. C. (2020). Servant-leadership and community: Humanistic perspectives from Pope John XXIII and Robert K. Greenleaf. Humanistic Management Journal, 5(1), 117-131. Web.