Serving the Greater Good

My coworkers and I after our service project.

I was fortunate this past week to be a part of a large group service project. This has not always been a priority for me, but has taken a much greater significance of the past several years. Being the recipient of some of the worlds most kind hearted people "paying it forward" has certainly helped to mold my priorities into what they are today.

I attended a conference in Las Vegas this summer. During this conference, which had about 3,000 in attendance, there was a break in the scheduling and only one session was scheduled. The focus of the session was a large group service project that built hands for those in need in third world countries. All total about 1/3 of meeting attendees, or 1,000 people, attended that session. It was a huge success and the largest project of it's kind for the company that was leading the session. It was great to work with a table full of people that I have never met, and will likely never see again, on a project that will have an impact around the world. There was something about begin surrounded by that many people working to serve something other than themselves that was truly exhilarating.

When I returned from that conference I wondered how I could convince my clients (or sponsors as we call them) to do something similar. The first opportunity I had to suggest this concept was with my coworkers as I assisted in the planning of our division retreat. The planning committee was receptive to the idea, but not everyone was sold on it. I thought back to my time at the summer conference when over 1,000 people attended the service project and was quickly reminded that 2/3 of the people chose not to go to this session. As the leader of the service project reminded us, that 2/3 are not necessarily apathetic, they are "normal". The fact that 1/3 of attendees showed up was awesome and they were thrilled to have that number. For our staff, it wasn't going to be an option, so we needed to provide options that would suit the needs of everyone. We had about 60 people in attendance at our retreat and about 95% of them spent their afternoon working on one of the service projects offered.

In the planning phase, we spent many weeks talking about options and searching for the perfect fit that would allow all of us to participate in the same project. After coming up empty, we eventually narrowed the list down to five options that all employees could choose from. The options were working at the Flinthills Breadbasket, the Community Gardens, Sunset Zoo, UFM, and a card making project to be distributed to multiple groups after they were completed. As expected, there were some that weren't in love with the idea of doing a service project. We all have full plates of work that needs done and deadlines to be met. But, we all met the call of serving the greater good.

The pitchfork crew

 After the projects were finished the whole met together again for an ice cream social to end the day. Many people were exhausted, some like myself were pretty sweaty and stinky, but everyone had a smile on their face at the end of the day. For many, this was one of many times they were spend their time helping others. For others, this may be the only time. In the end, either one is okay with me. I enjoyed getting to see some of my coworkers in a different light and enjoyed the opportunity to do something outside of the norm for my usual business day. I would say it was a successful day no matter what. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people will benefit from the generosity that my coworkers gave on that day. Two short hours of their time will benefit so many. As someone who has been the recipient of the kindness of others, I can assure them that it will not go unnoticed.