Service Action Proposal

As an Eagle Scout, I believe that it’s safe to say that I’ve already established some quality experience behind developing service proposals. To obtain the rank of Eagle, one must completely plan, organize, and carry out a service project all the way from inception to completion. The main thing that I gained from this experience was an understanding of the time and commitment required to command a smooth, process-oriented service project. As such, I expect the planning portion of the ILV service project to be the most arduous part of the process. This was confirmed by the difficulty that I faced while looking to interview my non-profit organization. I called several local animal shelters such as the SPCA to request some time to interview them over the phone. None of the organizations responded to my voicemails, this is understandable as many of them are likely understaffed and time is often one of their most valuable assets. Luckily, Destiny, one of our ILV community leaders, happens to run her own animal shelter called Shooting Star Animal Rescue. I was able to interview her to share my service proposal, a Toys for Tots styled drive to collect animal toy donations while raising awareness for the animal adoption process.

From my failures to contact these larger organizations, I realized that perhaps the best way to make strides in domestic animal welfare could be donating time rather than money (or toys). Recognizing this as the root problem for shelter animals, I decided to somewhat reformat my service proposal, placing a larger emphasis on the raising awareness aspect as a piggyback on the toy drive. Through my discussion with Destiny, I realized that there are many different ways in which a person can help enrich the lives of shelter animals (this increased the inclusivity aspect of the service proposal). Destiny serves as a foster for animals waiting to be adopted from two different animal shelters. This is something that anyone who is dedicated enough can do. Destiny takes yet another step forward by working to advertise the animals she has taken in on social media to help find them quality homes quicker. For the less committed, people can still volunteer there time at many shelters such as the SPCA (where I’ve personally volunteered in the past).

Communication and adaptability are two of my most prominent strengths and both were challenged by the service action proposal. Firstly communication, being unable to contact larger animal shelters, I looked to Anna Patton, my ILV community director, for assistance. She reminded me that Destiny ran her own non-profit animal shelter and helped break a major barrier impeding the progress of my service proposal. I messaged Destiny and was able to meet with her. She informed me that she worked with two larger organizations which she could help me collaborate with to carry out my service proposal. My ability to quickly transcend a complicated chain of communication allowed me to overcome adversity. Secondly adaptability, in talking to Destiny, I quickly recognized ways in which I could improve my proposal. I was able to adapt my proposal to better benefit the lives of shelter animals by planning to integrate aspects beyond the toy drive such as the marketing of various service opportunities which individuals can participate in such as fostering programs.

As I’ve mentioned, having already driven a full service project to completion, I did not expect to learn much more from this experience. I was wrong. In addition to learning more about the adversity being faced on the path to further animal welfare, I learned that I must never expect things to go as planned. A plan must always be adaptable, as a member of the Village I will work to encourage my fellow villagers to think fluidly but still be driven by their own motivation. I will make it a goal to encourage others to always be open to suggestion but forever closed to persuasion. Although our core beliefs are to remain the our primary motivators, projects and ideas can only be improved by allowing the diverse perspectives of others to enrich them.

The Relational Leadership Model is grounded in five core principles: inclusivity, empowerment, purposefulness, ethicality, and being process-oriented. These principles provide leaders with a structure with which to model their leadership methods around. Obviously, leaders should not be cookie-cutter copies of one another, and the model in no form advocates for this. Rather, the model aims to serve as a strong foundation for which to construct leadership skills upon through experience (for which there is no true substitute), implementation, and even a little bit of trial and error.

I am truly grateful for the experience that the service action plan has provided me thus far. I look forward to possibly implementing the proposal in the near future and surely struggling through a few instances of trial and error along the way. Although I have served as a leader in the past and even carried out a service project fully from inception to completion along the road to becoming an Eagle Scout, this project was the first one where I used the guidance of the Relational Leadership Model. Above all, I believe that the model made me more process-oriented. Throughout the process, I thought more about the interconnectedness of the project as a whole and how every component and individual involved could work in harmony. Although I found myself frequently looking back to the model, I view it as a compass rather than a crutch. The model helped me ensure that I was sticking to good leadership principles and I was able to catch myself a few times when I started to go astray.

I believe that I am on track to develop enough as a leader to be able to carry out this project by Spring. Although there will be times of failure, even the most experienced leader in the world still experiences failure. I believe that the best leaders are able to recognize oncoming issues and quickly adapt to failure, and the best way to do this is by building a strong portfolio of experience (and yes, that even means experiencing failure). So am I nervous of failure? Yes, of course! But my leadership experience has made me cognizant of its inevitability and left me battle-hardened and more alert than ever. In addition to building my weakest traits, the service action proposal challenged my honed strengths. Most notably, the project called upon my ability to adapt to change. Unable to contact any of the larger animal rescue organizations I intended to recruit for my proposal, I acquired knowledge that one of our Community Leaders, Destiny, ran her own small animal shelter. I contacted Density and was able to meet with her. She informed me that she worked with two larger organizations which she could help me collaborate with to carry out my service proposal. Furthermore, in speaking with Destiny, I recognized ways to improve aspects of my proposal. I adapted my proposal to better benefit the lives of shelter animals by integrating components besides the toy drive into my project. This included the marketing of various service opportunities which individuals can participate in such as fostering programs, looking back at the leadership model, these adjustments heightened the inclusivity, empowerment, and the purpose of the project. The proposal allows more people to participate and feel like they are part of something greater than themselves, all while providing more to the animals in need.

I believe that the Village and SLC has done a tremendous job at building my leadership skills. Learning my strengths and familiarizing myself with the Relational Leadership Model has allowed me to obtain a more complete comprehension of myself while exercising my leadership skills through practices such as the service plan has furthered my leadership experience, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think that the best way for the village to continue to advance my leadership skills is by continuing to present me with opportunities for which I can practice my skills and develop my leadership philosophy. To implement my service action proposal next semester, I am setting goals for myself to one: involve myself in more opportunities to further evolve my leadership skills. This should prove to be simple as the Village offers many opportunities to practice leadership and teambuilding and I’d like to become a more active villager next semester. Two: I will aim to continually to learn more about myself. This is a goal that I must stay on top of since I won’t be taking a course like SLC next semester. SLC allowed me to learn SO MUCH about myself by pushing me outside of my comfort zone to explore and reflect on aspects of my own personality and mindset, I believe that this has helped me tremendously in learning more about my leadership skills.

As a leader I am quick to reacting and adapting to adversity. I believe that I have a more risky leadership style than many. I like to proceed with haste while still trying to best emphasize thorough planning, remaining keen throughout the process to react to any difficulties that may arise. I believe that, like any leadership strategy, pros and cons are present, this is simply just the strategy I prefer to command as it highlights my strengths which I learned through the Strengths Talent Themes. As mentioned previously, I faced a few challenges along the road to developing my service action proposal, but I was able to come up with quick and effective resolutions. Although I believe that my leadership style has remained consistent throughout the project, I have become more cognizant of the weaknesses to my leadership style. I find this incredibly beneficial, I am better able to predict oncoming pitfalls and collaborate with individuals who counter my weaknesses.