Category: Service

Thoughts on Leadership from Hands On Greater Richmond Day

Several Jepson students, alums and even one Dean (thanks Dean Williams!) participated in the first Hands On Richmond Day.  Our job was to provide “back-up” for Hands On staff as they checked folks in and signed them up at the kick off.  The rally actually got me awake and alert on a Saturday morning, not an easy feat.  After the kick off, I went to volunteer at Southside Child Development Center where I got to see one of my colleagues in action as true leader.

Shelia Pleasants is the Director of Southside Child Development Center, a center providing scholarships and subsidized child care to 2-12 year olds in the Richmond area.  Southside is one of the oldest child care centers in Richmond and has a long tradition of dedicating high quality services to low-income families.  I knew Shelia because Southside participates in Success By 6’s STAR project, a comprehensive quality improvement and professional development program for child care centers. 

When I arrived at Southside on Saturday, Shelia gave me a big hug and a paintbrush.  She had three projects going simultaneously– painting a room inside, laying new mulch and painting a rusty fence to give it a new look.  As I got to work on the fence, Shelia never seemed to stop.  She had a shovel of mulch in her hand while she was problem solving for the painters inside.  As soon as we finished one section of the fence, she had another section ready to go.  There was Shelia up on a ladder sweeping cobwebs.  And a second later, back off the ladder with “goop” to clean our paint-splattered hands.  Every moment she was upbeat, focused and thankful.  Every moment she made me want to work harder on the task at hand. 

Shelia is truly a servant leader.  She dedicates her days, even her weekends, to making sure the kids of Southside have the best and most nurturing experience in their early years.  She walks the walk and talks the talk of what a caring and trustworthy leader should be.  She does all of this without fanfare– just consistent, quality care and leadership.  I think Shelia is a gem in Richmond’s nonprofit community and I hope that other Jepsonites will get to experience leadership like Shelia’s during the 150 Days of Service.    

  

Jepson alumni and students on the front lines for Hands On Greater Richmond Day of service

What a difference a day makes is the idea Saturday, Oct. 18, when hundreds of volunteers will tackle 30 community enrichment projects for the Hands On Greater Richmond Day. On the front lines for the kick-off event at the Richmond International Raceway, Jepson alumni and students will check in registrants and help get the day off to a good start.

Emily Griffey, class of 2001, organized this project as part of Jepson's 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service Campaign, an ongoing virtual service campaign that invites students, faculty, and alumni of the school to report their volunteer hours leading up to Reunion Weekend 2009.

Hands On Greater Richmond's mission is to inform, inspire and engage volunteers through meaningful service and leadership opportunities to create positive change in our community.

"I'm glad that Richmond area alumni could kick off their involvement in the 150 Days of Service Campaign by participating in this day of service,” Griffey said. “This event represents a great way to reconnect with Jepson, the Richmond community and our role as leaders by finding the time to give back."

Saturday morning, metro media celebrities Bill Bevins and Julie Bragg will emcee the event that includes corporate sponsor speakers as well as remarks by the Richmond public schools' superintendent and the head of the city parts and recreation department. Participants signed up for various projects scattered across the metro area. Tasks ranged from landscaping at Chimborazo Park, cardmarking with ElderFriends, pinting a mural at Maymont and others.

More information:
www.jepson.richmond.edu/anniversary/service
http://www.handsongreaterrichmond.org

“Why Not?” – Making the Most of Service Opportunities

Maybe the kick-off of the Jepson School's 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service campaign is just what I needed to get reengaged in service to others. Although I've had every intention to find a cause to which I could devote my time and energy in recent months, the truth is that I've fallen back on a variety of excuses not to: I just moved to a new city (Charlotte, NC) with my wife; we're looking for a house; I just started a new job in June; I'm traveling for business; I just want to relax with friends on the weekend; it's football season€¦ the list goes on.

The funny thing is that this is the first time in six years that I don't have a weekly or biweekly commitment to serving others. Like many Richmond alumni, I moved to Washington D.C. after graduation and settled into a routine of working hard, going out Thursday through Saturday nights, playing sports on the weekend, and sleeping in whenever I could. It wasn't until 2002, when my good friend Jeff Thompson (Jepson class of 2000) and his then-girlfriend-now-wife Elizabeth Hopfinger (also Jepson class of 2000) moved to D.C. that I finally found something worthwhile to do with my Tuesday nights.

You see, Elizabeth took a leadership position with a faith-based organization for teenagers with special needs in Northern Virginia. She organized bi-weekly "club nights" with games, skits, music, and inspirational talks. You'll also be proud to hear that on alternate Tuesdays she would host "Leadership Development" night for a handful of special needs teens. (I think she still owes the Jepson School some royalty fees for borrowing its curriculum!) I was living with Jeff in Arlington, Virginia at the time, and one night he and Elizabeth asked me if I wanted to come to "club" and see what it was all about.

I figured, "Why not?" and showed up at the house of a family in the community promptly at 6:30 p.m. What followed next could best be described as sheer bedlam as about 40 teens – so excited to finally have an accepting and encouraging social environment in which to interact – laughed, shrieked, clapped, bounced and howled. It was amazing to watch, and more than a little intimidating for a newcomer.

I had never worked with people with special needs before. I hadn't even been around them much. I did my best to befriend a few of the kids I met, but still felt like I was a complete outsider. Elizabeth asked me if I would be a "buddy" to Marjorie, a very sweet 16-year-old girl with special needs, for the rest of the evening.

Just as the group formed lines to begin an egg-carry relay on the lawn, I realized that Marjorie – a young woman of few words – didn't have an egg. I gave her a plastic spoon and told her to hang tight for a moment while I set out to find her an egg so she could participate. Just as soon as I found her an egg, one of the other volunteers grabbed me to assist with another teen who needed help. About ten minutes passed before I made my way back outside. There I found Marjorie, standing in the exact same spot I had asked her wait, smiling broadly, and still holding the plastic spoon in her hand with her arm bent at a right angle. It was as if we had consented to an unspoken game of Simon Sez, and I had forgotten to break the spell.

I quickly realized that Marjorie was just happy to be someplace where she could be herself and have fun with other teenagers – both typical teens and those with special needs. Any apprehension and self-consciousness I felt when I arrived had disappeared – it was all about making sure Marjorie and her friends were having a good time.

With only a few exceptions, I didn't miss a Tuesday night club for three years in the Washington D.C. area and then two more in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where I moved in 2006. The friends I made throughout those five-plus years were among the most genuine and accepting I'll ever encounter. And in the end, it began because I answered, "Why not?" when friends asked me if I wanted to help them serve others.

I'm all out of excuses here in my new community. It's time for me to find new service opportunities, to meet new people and make new friends, and to get reacquainted with the Jepson spirit. On behalf of myself and Jonathan Zur, who is co-chairing the 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service virtual community engagement campaign, I hope you'll join me and say, "Why not?"

How to get involved

Community engagement has always been a hallmark of education in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. The 150 Days in a Lifetime of Service project is a virtual community engagement campaign that marks the 15th anniversary celebration of the first graduating class of The School. Project chairs are Greg Efthimiou (class of ’99) and Jonathan Zur (’03).Collectively, we’ll recognize the contributions alumni already make in their communities across the country and around the world, and inspire others to embrace the Jepson spirit in service to their communities. Together we can make a difference and exemplify what it means to be servant leaders in our communities.Jepson School alumni, students, staff and faculty will come together online to report hours of service given Oct. 2, 2008 through Feb. 28, 2009.

How to get involved: 

  • Do what you normally do or take on a special project.
  • Service can be hands-on or more strategic or talent-based. Examples
  • We provide three ways to report in.
    1. Report hours on a simple electronic form,
    2. Post a note to the Jepson Service Project group.
    3. Email your information to jepson@richmond.edu.
  • Fill out as many forms as you like during the 150-day reporting period.
  • Read the Jepson blog where various voices will be posting.
  • Post responses to the blog or start or join in discussions at the group
  • Questions? Email Sue Robinson at jepson@richmond.edu or call 804-287-6627.

About the Jepson Service Project group:
The Jepson Service Project "group" is part of an online network housed on the University Web site. This is a secure, private group open only to Jepson graduates, faculty, staff, students and close friends of the Jepson School. It operates like Facebook.  

Joining takes two steps: First, go to http://groups.richmond.edu and join the University of Richmond group. Set up a short personal profile. Then, search for “Jepson” and join the Jepson Service Project group or request an invitation to join. You can then post notes, photos and information about yourself . The Community Programs Office will post alerts to the Group when new Blog postings go up or when there's other project news to share.