Salvation Seasonal Service

(2) Kouzes and Posner suggest exemplary leaders should “treat every job as an adventure.” What have you learned about how to do this on this trip?
While at the Salvation Army, we unpacked trash bags of toys for Philadelphian children to open at Christmas. Though this job was very physical and lengthy, our team did not slow down when we got tired; we were determined to empty the warehouse room of trash bags. As we progressed through the job, we had a sort of system: I would get a trash bag, Karrie would rip it open, and I would pull the toys out while Madi and Karrie sorted them. We were able to meet our goal as a team, because we didn’t view the job as a job – we viewed it as an adventure.
The same thing happened when we were at Share Food, working in an assembly line to box food for elderly Philadelphians. Everyone had their own jobs, and one person could hold the whole line up. This job was stressful due to its high pace and constantly having to get more resources for the boxes; however, when I felt overwhelmed, Carly was always willing to jump in and help me with my cereal boxes. Had it not been for her being willing to help me out, the experience would not have been very enjoyable.
In both of these instances, our team could have acted as if we were doing a chore, just working to get the job finished. Instead, we had teammates step up to help us, to work with us, and keep us positive. After watching how we all worked together on the trip, I have decided that the key to treating a job as an adventure is staying positive – not allowing yourself to think of the service work as labor, and instead an opportunity to better yourself and others. You can get the job done, and you can enjoy it at the same time.

The Ships just finished their first service project! We unpacked boxes of toys to be handed out to Philly kids this Christmas season.Read more