Project Details
I chose to lead activities for the Canyon Creek Women's Crisis Center Kids' Group for several reasons:
1. I love kids!
2. I wanted to do something meaningful for the community.
3. I wanted a project that would help me stand out as a psychology major and help me grow as a person.
Although the project had its obstacles and hiccups, which you can read about on the blog attached to this site, it was a very rewarding experience. I was not able to implement all of the activities that I planned due to changes in the organization and how Kids' Group operates. I still developed 20 plans and led 10 of them in the group meetings.
Each Wednesday (unless I was out of town) I would go to the Kids' Group meeting location fifteen minutes before the activity started to help set up and greet the kids. Once they had finished eating pizza, we would launch into the activity, whether it was mine or one another volunteer had planned. After the activity was over and the kids were picked up by their parents, I would help clean up the room and go home. Either that night or later in the week, I would post on the blog about how the night went and the activity.
PROJECT GOALS
1, Create meaningful activities for the Kids’ Group.
2. Implement and lead the activities
3. Volunteer for 20 weeks at the Crisis Center
PROJECT OUTCOMES
1. I developed leadership skills.
2. I gained a better understanding of my career goals.Â
3. I was able to apply what I learned in classes to the real world.Â
4. I made kids feel happy and safe for a while.
DELIVERABLE
By following this link, you can see my weekly reflections on the activities.
Budget
2 Little Ceasar's pizzas Every Wednesday for 17 weeks $170
Craft Supplies $80
Loss of time $200
Total: $450
**All costs except loss of time reimbursed by the crisis center**
Key Takeaways
I learned a lot about myself from this project. I learned that, even though I am sometimes not the best leader and I still have a lot to learn, it is hard for me to take the back seat. I would definitely rather be the boss than the employee. This was a tough realization, but I think knowing this preference has enabled me to be more aware of my actions in those situations where I am the employee or the underling. I also learned that I have a very community-oriented style of leadership. I like to make my decisions based on how it affects others and get the opinions and feedback of others before making my decisions. Working with other volunteers at Canyon Creek helped me to ask those questions, but also to function without feedback sometimes.
Even though this was a leadership project, I think the core of it was about making a difference for these kids. The children that come to Kids’ Group come from very difficult situations. Growing up on the run or in homes plagued by domestic abuse can really take the childhood away from these kids. By volunteering there and planning activities for them, I was able to create a safe place where they could be creative and crazy and have fun.
This project has changed the way that I approach projects by making it more systematic. Although I have done several projects that take 40 or more hours, this has been my first time writing a proposal and creating deliverables. In the future, I think I will be more organized and intentional about my projects because doing so taught me that there is more to the project than just the end goal. There are unintended outcomes, learning experiences, and obstacles that play a role in the deliverable and my own growth.
If I were to do this project or the EDGE process again in the future, I don’t think there is anything I would not do. I would probably do something more, actually. Although I liked doing the blog, I wish I had more to show for my hard work. Unfortunately, there were constraints from working with a sensitive population. Going through the EDGE process and completing my leadership project has improved my leadership, time management, communication, and writing abilities. All these improvements will increase my capacity to do future projects.