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Media Day. Zohra Haidar. Why I choose this class?. I took SRVL 495 to allow me to get a glimpse into the business world. I felt through a non-profit organization, I would be able to not only help others but also the community!
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Media Day Zohra Haidar
Why I choose this class? • I took SRVL 495 to allow me to get a glimpse into the business world. I felt through a non-profit organization, I would be able to not only help others but also the community! • I believed the Ronald McDonald House Charities would be the best place for me to grow. Seeing how I have volunteered there for a period of time, I new the environment as well as the needs of the RMH.
My project • The Project that I choose to be apart of was Media Day. Media Day was on the RMH’s 18th birthday, October 10, 2008; this was the first time that this had been done. For the celebration we invited the media as well as different organizations and companies to come to the RMH and learn more about what we do. I really believed by taking part of this assignment I would be able to attain new skills and learn more about Non-Profit agencies. • My job was to contact as well as find different organizations out side of the Morgantown area that did not know much about the RMH and invite them for the birthday celebration. On top of that, I worked alongside Lisa Snyder from United Way. Lisa and I worked together to have the Youth from there Youth United campaign to create the decorations for the house.
The RMH is a home away from home, for families that have a child under the age of eighteen in the hospital. These families live about two hours away from the hospital and are unable to afford or make the commute to and from Ruby Hospital. • Therefore, the RMH was created to allow families to feel at home. Guests of the RMH are more then welcome to come take a shower, eat, do laundry and more. The only difference between a family staying at the RMH and a guest of the RMH is that they have to leave the house by 9pm.The RMH is located directly in front of Ruby Memorial Hospital and it is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with office hours from 9am-9pm.
The RMH serves any one and everyone. If a family is not able to stay here, they are direct billed to a hotel free of charge for up to two nights. • We serve families that have a child in the hospital under the age of eighteen. • For more information on the Staff as well as upcoming activates and events you can check out the website at www.rmhcmgtn.org . • I WANT THE FRONT COVER OF THE WEBSITE HERE!~
Personal Connection • By doing this service learning project I put all the skills that I have gained through my Undergraduate experience at WVU into use. • I was able to make new friendships with different organizations as well as age ranges with ease. Such as the Shack, United Way, Public News Stations and more. • I felt that I not only learned different means of communication, but I also was able to build friendships with the local community.
Education Connection • I am academically preparing myself for this assignment by researching more about the RMH. • By researching different ways of communicating with the community, it allowed me to discover different means in speaking on behalf of the RMH. • I also felt that through the research, I was gaining more insight on business and different ways to attract the community in getting more involved with the RMH.
Community & Agency • Media Day was something that helped the community to get a closer understanding of what the RMH is. I believe my project utilized the media, which is vital in ways of reaching out to others that did not know much about what we were or what we do. • Many people do not know what the RMH is unless they are referred by friends or professionals that do. So by putting ourselves in the Media, it allows others to see that we are here to help the community which in return can help us.
By donating to the RMH you are helping the community as well as families in need. • The RMH mission statement clearly explains our purpose in greater details… • “The agency’s further mission is to “help lift kids to a better tomorrow”, by making contributions and grants to charitable organizations which engage in educating children, or providing for the essential needs of children or carrying on research as to physical and mental diseases and other disorders of children, or the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment thereof.”
Journals • Through my journal entries I realized how much I have learned through this process. I learned new skills such as researching, interpersonal, nonverbal, managerial, time management and organizational skills. • All these skills assisted me in completing my assignments to the best of my ability. I not only learned a vast amount of information through researching what exactly the RMH is and does for the community, but I had to utilize my information to create a packet for organizations that were unable to attend Media Day.
I learned what Service Learning is, which to me is where you teach as well as learn new strategies to enrich the community by teaching civic responsibility. • I had to learn ways of organizing data, in which I created an excel spread sheet that contained information that I had collected. • This experience allowed me to change and think of the community differently. Instead of being a volunteer, I was in charge of ways to help more people come and volunteer. I became a spokes person for the RMH and I enjoyed that role immensely.
Lessons • I learned through this Project how difficult it is to ask for funding. I had promotions that the community knew what the RMH is, and I was wrong. • I learned rejection as well as how vital organizations is as well as patients. • And most importantly I learned how important communication is.
Learning from my mistakes • I realized when I began calling different organizations how little they new about the RMH. • When I would ask the organizations for funding I would hear flat out No! When Jeannie and myself sent out the invitations for the Media Day, very few people RSVP’d even though it was explicitly written on the card. • While on the phone I not only had to be pleasant as well as informative, I had to be able to communicate with different individuals. Such as Lisa from United way, to my Supervisor Jeannie or the kids at the Shack!
These skills and much more allowed me to not only succeed, but assisted in my growth throughout this project. • I believe skills are learned through time as well as situations. By gaining these skills, I not only have more competence but also experiences.
Theories • The 4 P's of Marketing also known as the Marketing Mix, which stand for product, price, place and promotion. This theory related to my service learning project immensely. The 4 P's allowed me to see how important it is for me to utilize all four of these categories. • The main purpose of this theory is to center decision making around the 4 P's. And not only through this project did I utilize this method but also for my job. When I work, I make sure to promote anything that I think will assist me in getting my job done the most efficient and quickest way possible.
Another theory that I believe relates to the RMH is Organizational Transformation Begins at the Top. This theory explains how important organization is for success to occur. • This theory clarifies that know matter what position you have an in agency or job you first have to modify your self for the greater good of the company. I truly believe that if coworkers work together, the outcome will be positive.
Knowledge • The academic articles that I read, allowed me to gain better insight on Non-Profit organizations, as well as the difficulties of creating a Non-Profit organization. • By reading different written materials, it allowed me to get different view points as well as perspectives of organizations that strive to help the community. • Most importantly, I was able to read the positives and negatives of working for a Non-Profit agency but also the difficulties in creating one.
By reading these articles, it allowed me to get different view points during my reflections. • The reflections that I made not only utilized my experiences through the project, but also my readings. I believe the readings helped to explain Non-Profit agencies and the different types. • By writing my reflections down, it allowed me to see the different skills I was attaining as well the different view points I had from one reflection to the next.
Academics • For my service learning project, I would have had an easier time if I had taken computer and business courses. • By taking computer classes it would have allowed me to have a better understanding of Excel and any other types of programs that I could have utilized for the contact lists that I created. • As for the Business classes, if I had more education on management as well as finance, I would have been able to assist Jeannie much more.
For my project, I had to do a number of things in order to have Media Day run smoothly. I had to find and contact Businesses as well as Organizations to see if they would donate to the RMH. Than I had to create a database of every contact that I had spoken with. From there, I had to create another excel spread sheet of just organizations that the RMH could use for Media purposes.
Than I had to create invites for the contacts to join us for the Media Day. • It was my responsibility to contact Lisa Snyder from United Way to allow us to utilize Youth day. • After this, I went to speak with the kids at the Shack to help us in decorating the RMH for the Birthday celebration. • It was also my responsibility to get the cake, appetizers and decorations and set it up as well as make sure the RMH was clean outside and inside. • Than I had to call organizations that did not rsvp and organizations that did to remind them of Media Day.
During the Media Day, it was my responsibility to welcome guests and give them a tour of the house. • After the guests had left, I was in charge of putting everything away and making sure the house was spot less . • Jeannie and myself during the time of all this work were working on the packets that we had created to send out to organizations that were not able to make it. • We sent out folders as well as thank you letters to the Shack and United way for their hospitality and generosity. • Finally, I had to recheck my spread sheets for both contacts as well as media to make sure everything was accurate.
Outcome • All the hard work and dedication that I put into my service learning project showed on Media Day. I truly believe that not only Jeannie was proud of my accomplishments but as was Kim George the Executive Director. • She was so surprised of the amount of work that I did, and yet proud of me that she even wrote me a Thank you card for my efforts, which really meant a lot to me. • I believe I proved not only to Jeannie and the RMH staff that I was able to uphold an enormous amount of responsibility on my own but also to myself.
Hours • To make it easier for Jeannie, I made an Excel spread sheet of the event, day and time I worked on my SRVL project. That way both Jeannie and I new what was discussed on which day!
Changes • I believe through this experience I have grown immensely. This project has allowed me to gain new skills as well as learn in more depth about Non-Profit agencies. I also gained more self confidence in myself when it comes to problem solving and managing time. I never thought that I would be able to accomplish the amount of tasks that were assigned to me, but thankfully I was able to.
I feel that academically I have been able to gain a better prospective into the business world. I learnt a lot about financing, budgeting, money and management. All of these are key strategies to creating a successful organization. • I also gained a new respect for Jeannie and the amount of time and effort she puts into each project she does for the RMH.
Positives • This experience allowed me to gain experience on raising money. • I learned how to balance classes, work and this project as well as attain new skills along the way. • I was able to work on a project that had never been done before and do an outstanding job at it. I really felt that I proved my self to Jeannie and creating what she wanted for Media Day. • Most importantly, I was able to complete what was asked of me in an organized fashion and create a very close bond with Jeannie.
Negatives • It was difficult at times to balance my Service Learning Project during the month of Ramadan, because I had obligations at the Mosque, home and with my family. • I lacked in certain computer skills as well as business skills that would have helped me achieve my goals much faster. • I had a difficult time finding information on organizations and media contacts that the RMH did not already have. • Lastly, I was disappointed In the organizations that did not bother to RSVP back to us, even though it was written on the card or did RSVP and choose not to attend.
This project helped the RMH have an organized list of contacts with all there information at there discretion. Also, by creating Media Day, the RMH was able to get the word out to the community about what the RMH is and explain in better details what the RMH does for the community. Also, by creating folders, organizations were able to read and see first hand not only how organized the RMH is but also the donations that are given the house go to as well as who are they helping and for what purpose. Media Day I believe has allowed the RMH do get publicity in areas that we do not have.
