A 2016 Service Challenge
By: Marisa Strothenke, CPDC ServiceWorks
A while back the ServiceWorks team sat down to do some major strategic planning.
We divided our program into key roles: Partner Development, Volunteer Recruitment, Volunteer Training, Service Project Coordinator, and Marketing/Communications and spent a lot of time figuring out the details of each of these positions and the specifics of how everything would work together.
We also each picked a role that we felt skilled in, or were interested in gaining more experience with. I chose Volunteer Recruitment.
Since then, I have been connecting with local universities in online forums, talking with interested individuals, and doing everything I can to push out our various volunteer opportunities.
After struggling to figure out what I wanted to talk about in this week’s blog post… it finally hit me: why not continue to spread the word about the volunteer opportunities available through ServiceWorks!!
With the New Year just two days away, it’s time to reflect back on the previous year and look ahead to our goals and hopes for the future. Everyone hopes to say that the next year will be better than the last, but how do we make this distinction? By the places we’ve been? By the things we’ve bought? How about by the positive impact we have had on our community.
Take this start of a New Year to make a commitment to your community- and the people in it.
Choose an issue that you are passionate about and choose to make a difference. If you are looking to become more involved in the lives of youth in your community- then ServiceWorks is for you. ServiceWorks is a nationally funded program that uses volunteer service as a strategy to equip 16-24 year old Service Scholars with college and career readiness skills.
Become a Skills Trainer and teach the importance of volunteer service by helping young adults create and implement their own community service projects; or, become a Personal Mentor and help young adults gain the skills of resume writing, application essays, interview techniques, and various other professional development skills.
Start your New Year by giving back and sharing your skills with others.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
For more information about how to get involved with ServiceWorks please visit our website at www.cpdc.org/serviceworks or email us at serviceworks@cpdc.org.
About Marisa Strothenke:
Marisa Strothenke, born and raised in Wauwatosa, WI, is optimistic, nature-loving, and a recent graduate of St. Norbert College with a BA in Psychology. On campus, Marisa held leadership roles in many student organizations, coordinated campus events, planned service opportunities for students, led and participated in various alternative break trips, and worked as a Project and Marketing Coordinator in her college’s Community Service and Learning office. She is excited to be serving with CPDC as an AmeriCorps VISTA member and aims to gain skills and confidence to take the next step in her professional career. Marisa hopes to work in the non-profit field and have the opportunity to continue to create positive change within her community.