Volunteer Service Learning - Essay Example

Volunteer Service Learning. The present business environment demand graduates to have certain skills that are hard to acquire unless a person is in the job place. Business can only survive the stiff competition among them, only if the employees have the right kind of skill. The employees, from those in the lowest cadre of management to the board of directors, needs to demonstrate certain skills like leadership. The volunteer service learning project offers a great opportunity to the student a chance to develop this vital skill. The project allows the student to deepen their understanding of leadership skills and the responsibility of the business to the society. Research shows, investment in corporate social responsibility has a positive effect on business revenues (Aras and Crowther 498). Volunteer service learning is an engaged teaching and learning strategy that allows the student to participate in an organized service that target to fulfill a certain community need. The student are supposed to reflect, critically evaluate and analysis the service activity to enhance their sense of civic responsibility, help in understanding the course content and appreciate the discipline they are undertaking. One of the most engaging and interesting service activities that a person can undertake is helping the elderly. In most cases, they are unable to clean their home properly and hence are exposed to diseases. The elderly occupy a special place in our society, and they act as the link between the previous generation and the current one. They preserve knowledge and hence it is the duty of the society to take care of them. I chose this service activity for the knowledge and wisdom that the elderly share with you work in their home. The elderly has a lot of experience, and as you work with them, you can get a glimpse of the previous century. The service learning project involved visiting the homes of the elderly to help them clean their house and yard. The group met in the designated venue early in the morning, and we were a lot of people. Hence, the principal in charge of volunteering divided us into groups. Some groups were to clean the street while others were to visit the elderly homes and help them clean their house and yard. My group was to visit an old couple and clean their house and yard. We left the volunteer office and headed for the old couple home. We started by cleaning the house, where we scrubbed the floors and repainted the kitchen walls. The couple was very old and hence was unable to move furniture and hence we rearranged the house as they requested. Later on, in the afternoon, we started cleaning the yard. It was overgrown with grass, and we had to mow it amid fear of snakes and spiders. We also trimmed the flowers that were around the house. The dustbin was rather old, and we replaced it with a new one. We cleaned the pavement that was full of leaves. The service learning project aim was to deepen my understanding of leadership and business core principle. The business has a responsibility to the society, and it is ethical to give back to the society. I lead the group and the service to the elderly couple expanded our mind in the range of the business opportunity that can be exploited by serving in the community. The service enhanced my leadership skills as I oversaw the planning of different activities and their implementation. Certain core business principles like respect, trust, diligence, empathy and social responsibility were reinforced (Seperson 238). The couples trust in us improved as we performed different activities. The ability to understand their need improved as we interacted with the couple, and we were able to understand what they needed to be cleaned and where we could help. Not all we had planned was implemented, as it dawned on us that were serving people, and they had a right to allow what was to be cleaned and what was not to be cleaned. The service learning project successfully helped me understand the different role of a leader. I was to help the group plan and inspire them to implement the plan even in the face of opposition. The core business principles of understanding the customer and offering what the customer values and need instead of what I feel they need was also reinforced. The education experience in the service learning also expanded my knowledge of the volunteer organization. The volunteer organization members were very passionate and satisfied with the job they were doing. I found that these activities are not done because the organization has the money to support these projects but because they have a desire to create a good society. The thought of working for free and being satisfied with the job had never crossed my mind. The service learning project opened my eyes to the other side of the business. There is a big gap that business can fill in the society. The visit to the elderly was a socially responsible behavior that every business should require its employees to be involved. As the leader of the group, I was to lead the group and act as its representative. The service learning project availed a chance to learn about planning and inspiring other. I was also to introduce the group to the elderly couple and inform them why we were visiting them and the range of activities we were to perform. It was a satisfying experience that had a positive effect on how I handle difficult people. I had to convince and constantly remind the members of the group what was important in the service learning project and how we could effectively meet our objectives. Regrouping after each task helped us to address the various problems that were arising. It was easy to communicate with fellow students since we could understand each other. On the contrary, communicating with the non-student was more challenging. They were more experienced than us and hence could do most of the work. Hence, we agreed to subdivide the tasks and each person to stick to the task allotted to him/her. The division of the task reduced collision with each other and helped us to collaborate. The project also enhanced my interpersonal skills. The interaction with the fellow students in a job context, non-student and the elderly who were our client helped me understand how to handle people with dignity. It is surprisingly to notice people are not as bad as they appear. People are good and ready to help you if you are stuck in something. The readiness of the group members to help each other was a shock in this competitive world. The exhibited a peculiar level of understanding that surprised everyone. The non-student respected the student decisions, and the students understood and accommodated the non-student. The group respected the decision of the elderly and took care of everything that was entrusted to them. In conclusion, the service learning project was a great opportunity to fulfill a community need that was both satisfying to me and also added value to the society. The service learning project not only expanded my understanding of the social responsibility of the business but also helped me develop important business skills. The service learning project enhanced my understanding of the need for leadership in the business and the great need of effective communication skills in the business circle. It was a great opportunity to explore the role of corporate social responsibility in business and how to improve business performance. Work cited Aras, Güler, and David Crowther. A Handbook of Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility. Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2012. Print. Seperson, Susanne Bleiberg. Elder Care and Service Learning: A Handbook. IAP, 2008. Print. Read More