St. Stephen’s Senior Services Tri-Fold
As of 12 hours ago, I have officially completed over 30 hours of service at St. Stephen’s Community House for the Fall 2017 semester. This semester, I enrolled in ESHESA as a component in completing my Year-of-Service Project for Mount Leadership Society Scholars. In taking the class, I was assigned to complete a minimum of thirty hours of volunteer work at this site.
Upon my arrival, I met my site supervisor, Daphne Franklin, who informed me that due to my major, I would be forming and running a Marketing sector under the Senior Services Department. We established two main goals for the remaining ten weeks: to obtain two new client bases and to increase Thanksgiving Luncheon attendance. To accomplish these goals, I determined I would monitor expansion, create printable marketing materials, and complete visits to local senior residences. By the end of my time, I had helped to increase Thanksgiving Luncheon attendance from 100 to over 150 and obtain the client bases of Hegemon and Northland Village Condos.
The attached document is the tri-fold I redesigned entirely for the resource center. I focused on making it eye-catching, emphasizing the complementary nature of the services, and providing an overview of the main resources. Soon after, I updated the pictures to add a personal aspect to the flyer. Finally, I omitted unnecessary information that would clutter the space and was not vital to the seniors’ knowledge. The new tri-fold was a huge success and received a positive appraisal from both my supervisors and the seniors; it undoubtedly helped me accomplish both of my overarching goals. However, meeting my goals was not the only rewarding part of my time.
My experience at St. Stephen’s gave me a perspective on business I had yet to experience: nonprofits. In a nonprofit, I found a place where my love for service and knack for business could harmonize and create an unrivaled symphony. With this newfound discovery, I plan to expand my business interests to nonprofits and will remember this in applying for internships. Even if I do not work for a nonprofit, this opportunity reassured me that I must be somewhere that has the passion for helping others that I possess, as this is what drives me and generates my best work and effort. Although I will only be working at St. Stephen’s monthly moving forward, I know I have a place in their family now that is unwavering; I am so grateful for the opportunities they continue to provide me to both discover by niche, foster my zeal, and improve upon my business skills.
An assignment that started as a simple requirement for a class ended up being one of the greatest learning moments of my college career; what started as a thought of “keeping an open mind” evolved into a passion and drive that I will strengthen and carry with me permanently.