Service Learning

Organizational Proposal

Submitted by:
Allie Shaw, Caysie Brakke, and Kaitlyn Carter

Information Technology/Business Leadership Program
Salt Lake Community College Communication 1010
March 19, 2014
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Overview

The problem is that developing countries are trapped by economic, social and
environmental hardships. As of 2014, at least 70 percent of the world lives in poverty today.
Most nonprofit originations help by giving these
people supplies like food and clothing which are
important, but what they forget to do is teach
them the skills they need so they do not have to
rely on those handouts. That is what Mentors
International does; they give people the skills so
they can get a job and not have to live from
handout to handout.
Our proposal was to plan a Hunger
Banquet that would help raise money for loans
to help struggling people in poverty obtain skills
and educate others on the issues with poverty.
We sold tickets and invited members of the
community to come. The event was laid out to
represent social classes and the majority of the people sat on the ground and ate only rice and
beans. The middle class had chairs and were served soup. The upper class only had seven
people and they were served a full course meal, including dessert. While they enjoyed their
meals, we had a singer perform. Once everyone had eaten, the CEO, Mark, came up and gave a
Caysie handing out rice and
beans to the lower class.
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in depth description on what Mentors International is all about as well as sharing the success
stories that they have brought to those in third world countries.
Our proposal solved the problem by raising enough money to supply loans to those in
third world countries and give them the funds that they need in order to support their
businesses and help them grow economically as well as mentally towards greater confidence in
their ability to support their familys needs.
The value that our recommendations give to us allow us to grow as leaders and
managers in order to perfect our future projects and enable us to work more effectively as a
group and a team. These recommendations will allow us to do better in our future projects.
Project Description

The purpose for our
service learning project was to do
something out of the ordinary.
Instead of cleaning or just giving
our time, we wanted to directly
raise money for the organization.
First, we got our group
together and brainstormed ideas
on what we could do to raise money
for the organization we would
choose. We came up with the idea
Calli, Gage, Nery, Hayden, Kaitlyn and Ryan
sitting in the lower class section.
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to raise money and spread awareness about poverty in other countries.
Second, we teamed up with Mentors International which is an organization that gives
small loans to people in third world countries. These loans allow people to drastically increase
their income and permanently remove them from poverty.
Third, we found a caf that allowed us to use their space in order to hold our fundraiser.
We found Copper Rim Caf, and organized a time that worked best for them as well as covered
the food costs for the food they were donating. We set the date for Tuesday, March 18, 2014
from 6-8pm.
Fourth, we started selling tickets to raise money to donate. The Hunger Banquet was
hosted by Copper Rim Caf and Mentors
International. Tickets were $10 and $5 for
students. We successfully sold 60 tickets to
friends and family.
Lastly, once our guests arrived at the
fundraiser they were told to blindly pick a slip
of paper to decide what class they were in.
seventy percent of our guests were in the
lower class, they had to sit on the floor and
were served a small portion of rice and beans.
Twenty percent were middle class and were
allowed to sit on small couches; they were
served soup and bread. Ten percent were upper
The singer, Brooklyn Harmon,
performing.
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class and were able to order their food off of the Copper Rim Caf menu. It was a surprise to
many of us that these percentages are accurate to how the world eats.
This project was very diverse, from rearranging the caf to taking orders and serving
food. We always had
something to do. This
project was also very
successful. Our top goal
was to raise $500 and we
exceeded this goal by
raising $514. The project as
a whole was very successful
and we were able to not
only raise money for an
amazing organization, but we
were also able to spread awareness about poverty in other countries.
Group Assets
As a group, we worked very well together and were able to use all of our individual skills
in order to contribute to our project. Some assets our group portrayed were cohesiveness as a
team, teamwork, the ability to work well together, and working efficiently as a group.
The first asset we had was that we had the ability to work effectively and communicate
with a strong sense of cohesiveness. Cohesiveness can be defined as the degree to which
The kitchen where all the food was prepared.
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The volunteers taking a break and listening to the
presentation. Calli, Gage, Ryan, Nery Hayden and Kaitlyn.
members feel themselves part of a team and want to remain with that team. (Comm 1010
Communicating at Work, 1983, 205) Our project was very enjoyable and everyone had the
attitude that they really wanted to be there. The environment was overall, very relaxed and
everyone was able to contribute to make a successful and efficient contribution.
Our second asset was good teamwork. We had very little challenges and we were able
to work together to easily achieve our goal. Our team was all very focused on the end goal,
which was raising enough money to donate to Mentors International. It was clear to everybody
what our goals and norms were. Norms are informal, often rules about what behavior is
appropriate. (Comm 1010
Communicating at Work,
1983, 202)
Our final asset was
having self-directed work
teams. (Comm 1010
Communicating at Work,
1983, 195) Self-directed work
teams are responsible for
managing their own behavior
to get the task done. We were all willing to work together to meet a goal and we all kept this
goal in mind throughout our project. Everybody was very efficient and seemed to know what
they could do to help without being told. The volunteers who participated were a crucial asset
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to our group. From Mark (the CEO of Mentors International) to our volunteers from Company,
everyone brought their knowledge and skills to improve the overall outcome of our project.
Group Limitations
Though our group had many assets, we also had some things that could have used
improvement. We were able to use good teamwork and efficiency, but lacked in our
organization, collaborating as a team, and receiving feedback within our group.
Our first limitation was organization. Organization is a social entity that has a collective
goal and is linked to an external environment. (Comm 1010 Communicating at Work, 1983, 202)
Organization is vital to planning and carrying out large projects. If you lack planning and
preparation in a group environment it could lead to trouble; trouble meaning the completion of
your project could be in jeopardy.
As project managers it was
important for us to keep our
project organized to help things run
as smoothly as possible.
Unfortunately, we did face some
problems along the way. We did
not plan our project as well as we
could have at the beginning. We
should have sat down and delighted
tasks and responsibilities out to each project manager so most of the responsibility did not just
Hayden, Gage, Kaitlyn and one of the Copper
Rim Caf staff helping serve the higher class.
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fall on to one person did all of the work. In reality we did have a plan but it was very vague and
did not have all of the little details it needed and as the day of the event went on we were just
running around making sure we had everything.
Organization is the key to having a successful project. It is very important when working
with larger groups that have many tasks to do. Without it you have to keep on telling everyone
what to do every second and that is very inefficient. Organization allows you to know what
needs to get done and in what order and who will get the task done, and on the day of our
service project it would have made it a little less stressful. We were organized but we could
have done a better job delegating
out tasks and going more into
detail.
Another limitation we
faced was the groupthink
phenomenon. Groupthink is
when people strive for consensus
within a group. . (Comm 1010
Communicating at Work, 1983,
206) To avoid conflict, people in
the group will just agree on an
idea instead of thinking about it or having an opinion on it. Groupthink shows how people can
lose sight of what is best for them when they all conform to the groups thought process and
abandon their own critical reasoning skills. This is damaging to a group because things will only
Nery and Kaitlyn serving rice and beans to the lower
class.
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get done on way at one time. With projects where there are leaders the team tends to agree
with them even if they have a better idea.
The last limitation was receiving feedback from our volunteers. Feedback is the
receivers discernible response to a message or situation. (Comm 1010 Communicating at
Work, 1983, 10) During our project it was a bit frustrating at times because we would try to
receive feedback from our group asked them their ideas on how we should set up and they only
agreed with us. In a way it might have limited the project because there could have been better
ways to get things done and some people held back. Anything the three of us did as leaders,
our group members would go along with. This was beneficial, except when we would be
discussing things with the Mentors International Managers, our group seemed to stop working
and wait until we were done talking with them and gave them a new assignment.
Recommendations
Throughout the planning
as well as execution of our project,
we discovered there were a
couple things we could have
improved on as the project
managers. Some of these things
include: procrastination,
communicating, organization and
advertisement.
Nery serving rice and beans to the lower class.
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Listening to the CEO, Mark, speak, while
watching a video.
Procrastination
One of the main things that we could have improved on our project was procrastination.
We began researching possible organizations to volunteer at only a couple weeks before our
Pre Service Meeting. We planned out a fundraiser and had it all ready to go, but did not do
enough research into it. We had to change our project completely. Unfortunately, we had put
so much time into one idea that we had not thought of an alternative. One way that we could
have prevented this was by planning further in advance as well as researching our ideas to
make sure they were legal.
Communication
Another problem that we faced
was communicating as partners.
Throughout the majority of planning the
project, we failed to communicate
effectively. We werent all able to
attend meetings at the same time which
also affected our ability to organize
efficiently. We all had specific jobs, but
were not acting as a team and reviewing
our assignments once finished. We
would assume we had all done our part,
which was not the case every time. One
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way that we could have improved this was by not procrastinating and staying organized from
the start. We could have avoided a lot of communication problems by planning further in
advance by organizing our project in as a group and having regular meetings. We could have
worked better as a work group, (A small interdependent collection of people with a common
identity who interact with one another, usually face-to-face over time, to reach a goal).
Incorporating interaction over time would have enabled our group to act more as a whole
rather than individually. Interdependence as group members is also an important asset we
could have improved on. Depending on one another, and knowing the other was doing their
part is a crucial part in any team project.
Organization
During the project itself, we struggled with organization. We had all of our volunteers
show up, but we had
trouble assigning each of
them jobs. At a certain
point, there was a lot left
to be done, and volunteers
were just standing around.
This was not due to them
not wanting to work, but
because we had failed to
assign them specific tasks.
Kaitlyn, Allie and Caysie assigning tasks to the
volunteers.
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We soon assigned everyone a task, and the problem was resolved. We could have saved a lot of
time if we had had a set plan of what to set up and where before the day of the project. One
thing that we could have done to avoid this from the beginning, was assigning the members
specific tasks before we arrived at the site. Working in teams can allow you to combine your
knowledge as well as organizational skills. If we would have discussed ways to organize the
project as a team, we would not have had so many complications during the planning and
organizing of it all.
Advertisement
Though we sold all of our tickets,
we struggled to advertise outside of our
family and friend circles. We placed a
few flyers within our schools but did not
advertise much outside of that. Though
we ended up planning and organizing our
fundraiser, failing to advertise affected
the amount of people that showed up as
well as the people who knew of the
event. By restricting our advertising
through only one area, we did not have
nearly as many people as we had
anticipated. One way that we could have
Mark, the CEO of Mentors International,
gives a speech about Mentors role in
poverty today.
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The pamphlets that were handed out during and after
the fundraiser.
improved this was by advertising throughout our city, as well as through all of our social
networking sites. Advertising is a crucial part of any event or project. Promoting awareness of
our fundraiser would have increased the amount of money we raised as well as the attendance
of our project.
Conclusion
Overall, the project was successful. Through completing this project we learned that our
assets as a group was the ability to find solutions to problems quickly, as well as learning to
work together as a group. Though there were some things that we could improve on, we were
able to work well together and listen to ideas without holding judgment. We were able to raise
more money than anticipated for the organization and work very well together in the process.
Our team work and shared purpose helped us see the goal of the project and achieve it. We
accomplished a substantial
amount in a very short time
period. We had synergy and were
able to work past our limitations
such as organization and
communication and build a good
team environment. By
establishing good norms, we
worked together well as a group.
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After reviewing our limitations we realized that as good as we did, there is always room
for improvement. When we are assigned to do another project similar to this we will take the
proper precautions in ensuring that we work together and establish a good work group.
Communicate effectively, have a plan for the project as well as how to execute it and research
our ideas in order to check their validity. Rather than just focusing on our individual tasks we
will work together and use interdependence to ensure we are all doing our part.
This project overall taught us as a group a very valuable lesson. It taught us that working
in a group requires does not necessarily mean less work, but requires much more
communication between partners as well as the others involved. It was an amazing experience,
and through the organization that we raised money for, we were able to learn a substantial
amount about poverty as well as the impact that serving others has on you as well as those you
are serving.








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Works Cited

Alder, Ronald B. Part Three: Working in Groups. Comm 1010 Salt Lake Community College
Communicating at Work. N.p.: McGraw-Hill, 1983.

The Poverty Problem. Mentors International. Mentors International, 2013. Web. 19 Mar.
2014. <http://www.mentorsinternational.org/how-we-help/the-poverty-problem/>.

Project Planning Study Guides and Strategies. Study Guides and Strategies, n.d. Web. 19 Mar.
2014. <http://www.studygs.net/orgstr1.htm>.