Philadelphia

What about the service experiences is different than the service we do on the team?

Service work from place to place across the entire world can look completely different, require entirely different skills, and can bring together its volunteers in several different ways. With our service work in Philadelphia through an organization called Share, SC leadership students were able to witness this varying distinction of service work firsthand. Where we might have given back our time and service to overall leadership development and experiences that help students implement and practice their leadership skills back at home, the work completed at Share was slightly different…or a lot! First off, Share revolved around the fast and speedy packaging of food products to then be boxed and shipped out to those in need – for our specific purpose they were benefiting the elderly population in Philadelphia. With such an emphasis on time and mass production, the leadership roles for our SC volunteers was very limited, and in most cases quite discreet. Therefore, this is an example of a type of service work that is extremely different from the service we typically do on the leadership team. Time is not pushed so readily, and with our SC volunteer experiences you can see this difference precisely. For example, in the fall for the homecoming service project, students actually contributed their time to package boxes/bags of food as well. This time though, it was for area youth that needed additional assistance with receiving food at home over weekends and holidays. Nonetheless, both of these packaging service days contrast greatly in the time aspect. SC’s leadership service day allowed for substantial time to reflect and better the leadership skills of its volunteers, whereas the Share experience simply seemed like an exhausting adrenaline rush to get finished and then leave. Overall, it seems that the reason for this major difference in the service experiences is the amount of need for each service. When you compare Winfield to Philadelphia population-wise, there is obviously going to be a large difference, and because Philadelphia’s Share organization is providing to such a large number, their emphasis of service revolves around the quick and efficient assembly line.Läs mer