This week was our seventh meeting, and we were welcomed with a Non-Profit Panel. Representatives from The Kitchen Inc, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Drew Lewis Foundation, and Be Civil Be Heard took time out of their day to come speak on the topic of Homelessness in Springfield. Each organization contributes in a different way to help with the issue at hand.
Two main ideas were conveyed that I took away from the panel: civility and legacy.
Our discussion on civility focused on how important it is to listen and to smile. Many people approach the homeless and look down on them. We forget how they are people too and deserve support. We will blame them for their mistakes when in reality they are doing everything they can to provide for their family and themselves at the moment. Also, it is a big deal to actually make eye contact and smile with the homeless. It is degrading to be ignored or not be looked at fondly. Smiles are contagious and sometimes that’s all someone needs to make their day. Next time when roaming around Springfield, be sure to share a smile and not to just ignore the people around you.
The other topic that I never noticed the importance of was leaving a legacy in community service. Many of us serve for multiple organizations, but we also have ones we connect with and prefer more than the rest. In our time at school, the best thing we can do is volunteer for these organizations and build a relationship. These organizations are usually the ones with a cause we stand behind the most and perform in a method we prefer. If you’re able to build this connection, just remember when you go into life after college to donate to them. They don’t prefer your service hours anymore but instead would benefit from financial contributions. With Missouri State’s public affairs mission, they are never short on volunteers and enjoy us students serving. When we graduate, they always need financial support over anything and would benefit the most from it.
So when you do graduate, remember that the relationship you built with your favorite non-profit organization(s) is not over. They still serve as you preferred when you were here and can benefit from financial support.
For our planning for next spring, we’re looking forward to next week when we meet potential graduate assistants for our trips and find out our student volunteers. We’re excited to announce to them their service opportunities and plans for next year!