For Jennifer Randolph, the Chapter Advisor for Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), the chapter’s impressive recent accomplishments speak for themselves. These students made a bold commitment to making a splash this past year, and judging from the year-end wrap up offered by Randolph, they absolutely succeeded.
“The chapter worked with a local church to package meals for Kids Against Hunger in the fall of 2022 and packaged 14,676 meals and again in the Spring of 2023 and packaged 11,888 meals."
Besides providing access to food, they also lent a hand by providing access to another necessity: fun. The chapter members organized a Toys for Tots drive for TAMU-CC's Islander Lights event, which had 2,500 community members attend.
Toys for Tots is a nationally recognized nonprofit that raises money and helps families in need, especially during the holiday season. But this chapter didn't stop there.
"[We] raised $1,400 and collected 275 toys. The chapter also sent a team to participate in TAMU-CC’s Dance Marathon, which is a student-run event that raised money for Driscoll Children’s Hospital, raising $491 for the children. Finally, the chapter participated in the Corpus Christi American Heart Association Heart walk and the Ronald McDonald’s House Men Who Cook competition.”
Rolling up your sleeves, pitching in where help is most needed, and simply taking part can all go a long way towards changing lives for the better, no matter where you are in the world. It’s an essential part of the NSLS mission to build a better world through leadership and service.
When NSLS members participate in fundraising and service-oriented events and initiatives, they’re mostly motivated by a desire to make a positive difference in an underserved segment of society.
However, most chapters find that taking part also helps foster a deeper sense of community and gratitude within. Randolph observes that her chapter’s experience follows that same pattern.
“It provided the Corpus Christi community resources that were needed. It also gave our chapter members an understanding of the organization's mission, a chance to make an impact in the community, and helped build community within the chapter.”
Participation in community action events like the ones TAMU-CC undertook is a great way to build teamwork and good communication between team members. The practical process of organizing and participating in a big, complex event also gives members the opportunity to hone their negotiation and conflict-resolution skills, as well as other soft skills that employers value.
The training and educational resources the NSLS offers to members are designed in large part to convey the frameworks and concepts that help good leaders motivate themselves and others, shepherd resources, and bring diverse participants together to achieve common goals. Randolph says that this focus on setting and achieving goals was instrumental in their successes.
“To accomplish these goals, we worked with each of these organizations, learned their individual needs, worked with chapter members to set goals and an action plan to complete them. The leadership skills that were necessary were compassion, communication, goal setting, collaboration, self-awareness, and organization.”
Communication without empathy lacks a strong foundation to help support a group that’s pursuing big goals, the way the TAMU-CC chapter did. Participants generally gain the most from engaging in service-oriented events when they’re involved from the beginning and given the opportunity to lead. In that sense, emotional intelligence skills are as important as organizational and planning skills.
RELATED: MAKING MAGIC HAPPEN THROUGH COMPASSION
It’s not just student members who benefit from living out the NSLS commitment to service and compassion for others. Randolph says she’s gained a lot from her service as Chapter Advisor.
“As an advisor, it is rewarding to work with our student leaders involved with the NSLS where you get to see their personal growth and how they are making a difference on campus and in our community.”
This experience can often radically realign an individual’s perspective on leadership. Particularly for those who fully embrace servant leadership, the NSLS experience helps orient tomorrow’s leaders around the values that build compassion and a willingness to get involved to solve seemingly intractable problems.
“Speaking again from my perspective as advisor, leadership means providing our students the resources, encouragement, opportunities, and support to be successful.”
Members of the TAMU-CC chapter are committed to continuing their service activities next year and beyond.
“Our chapter goals are to increase membership involvement on campus and in Corpus Christi and continue building our impact with Toys for Tots.”
For advisors of other chapters who want to make a strong impact in their own communities, Randolph strongly recommends letting the students lead the way and serving as a source of motivation and support to help members reach their full potential.
She also acknowledges the crucial role that passion plays in keeping people engaged in a sustained service effort.
“Encourage chapter leaders to find a cause they are passionate about and decide how to support the cause. This might be volunteering, fundraising, participating in an event, or learning how to assist the movement.”
With passion, strong leadership skills, and a great team, no goal is too big.
NSLS chapters continually help to improve circumstances and solve problems, oftentimes in creative ways. Read about another chapter that made a big difference in their community thinking outside the box.