I chose to interview my mother/mentor Jennifer Gilbert.
1. What type of impact has Project Giving had on you?
There are probably two things that strike me each year I've sponsored Project Giving. One is the type of gifts that are often asked for by some of the children that we are helping. We ask for "pie in the sky" wish-lists, so yes, we have families where the kids ask for tablets and clothes from Abercrombie, but oftentimes we have kids who will ask for things like nail polish and socks...and that's it. So many people think all kids today are spoiled and entitled, but that's not always the case. Many would be grateful to receive very little.
The second thing that strikes me is the capabilities of the teen leaders each year of the Project (for the past two years--Jayne). The leaders truly run this project. We are at a fairly large congregation of some pretty accomplished adults, but most of these adults would shy away from organizing and running a project of this magnitude. There are a lot of moving parts and it happens at a very busy time of year. Each year, our leaders make decisions and solve problems in more efficient ways than many adults I've worked with in other projects and organizations. Jayne, especially, completely re-worked the way we communicate with our families to streamline what had been one of the most difficult aspects of the Project. She also divided up the tasks required in an organized way, so as to pull more of the youth group into the Project and to make them feel like they really had a part in it.
Between the kids who we help and the kids who participate by helping work and run Project Giving. I have such great hope and excitement for our future! We have some amazing individuals who will be positive, productive citizens of our world. That's a huge impact!
2. What surprised you most about the Project Giving event?
Not to be repetitive, but my answer would be the same two things mentioned above. I have an education background and have spent A LOT of time in various public schools. I was still shocked, however, at the capabilities and attitudes of the young people involved. Truly remarkable people!
3. What were some of the different challenges from this experience and how did you help the kids tackle them?
One of the challenges was the safety of the kids. Several years ago, our students delivered the gifts and food to the families they were helping. The sponsors of Project Giving at the time, began to recognize, that while rewarding for our kids to see the families that they were helping, they were possibly being placed into neighborhoods and situations that could potentially be unsafe. We decided to instead ask for adult members to volunteer as liaisons to be the contact person for the families we were helping. The liaisons were to collect the info from the family as well as deliver the gifts and food if the family could not come to the church building to pick it up. We often struggled getting the information in a timely manner from our liaisons, though, which is why Jayne decided to create a google doc system (or something like that--I'm actually not all that familiar with the system) so that the liaison could just send a link to the family. Once the family entered the info, Jayne automatically saw it. The new process made everything SO much faster and organized!
In an effort to eliminate divulging teen contact info between our teen leaders (minors) and adults from our families, we also established a Project Giving email. This way we have a "paper trail" of any communication. The teens truly run this project (not me), so my biggest challenge is always how to allow for that to occur without jeopardizing their safety!
4. What have you learned from this experience?
I've learned that my daughter is pretty awesome--but I guess I already knew that! :)
5. What relationships have you formed through this process?
I'm VERY involved at our church (our entire family is, really), so we organize, develop, and execute a lot of activities, projects, and committees for the congregation. We know most of the congregation pretty well, but Project Giving always introduces me to a couple new people and further strengthens the relationships I have already established--including the ones with the kids in our youth group (which includes my own children). I feel that parents who don't engage in these events are truly missing out on some great chances to really learn how amazing their kids are. I truly admire and respect my children because of the way I see them handle themselves in situations like these.