Tuesday and Thursday were both soup kitchen days. Although we provided similar services both days, they were vastly different experiences for me. On Tuesday, the Mighty Ducks (my service team) went to Fraternite Notre Dame, and served a meal of chicken, rice and lentils with two French Catholic sisters, only one of whom spoke some English. Thursday brought us to B'nai Jeshurun, a Jewish synagogue, where countless volunteers served soup, sandwiches, sides, a desserts restaurant style. Neither organization pushed a religious agenda and welcomingly served anyone who entered their doors, limiting second servings to ensure everyone had enough food.
These experiences sound like they could have been similar... why weren't they? The answer lies in the organization, leadership, and honestly resources (not even referring to financial) of the different organizations. Additionally, I learned some transferable skills this week to take with me, but also realized skills I had that I used and didn't expect to use as I did.
Looking at the organization of the different soup kitchens gives a first glance at the different experiences. Fraternite Notre Dame included no initial orientation, or direction really throughout the entire experience. We all managed to get our hairnets and aprons on, but didn't know what was happening until after we finished serving the meal. Although we figured out what to do, had we not taken initiative, we could have sat there while the sisters worked 3x as hard. B'nai Jeshurun on the other hand had Carl running the show. From the moment we entered the building and found the kitchen he was spouting off directions, specifying, "I want neat. This is not a race. Don't get my peanut putter and jelly baggies messy." He joked around with us too, turning up "man in the mirror" by Michael Jackson and was essentially direct us the whole time, making sure we had enough supplies and doing the dirty work of dishes in between. After completing the tasks to make the to-go meals, Carl called it a day, passed the baton and Esther sat down with all of us. She asked to get to know us and our expectations and shared about the once a week lunch program at the synagogue, her story, and involvement. Esther then directed the show, matched us with volunteers (there were probably a dozen or so there our of a pool of 65 that rotate each week). I was extremely impressed by the leadership and organization. Different people were in charge of different components and each volunteer knew who to go to for different questions.
What can I take away from this? It is more fulfilling and productive to be organized and to give clear directions and have an understanding of expectations. It is essential that someone is directing the process, even if they personally don't work as much, to enable collective success. I know I am more of a big-picture person, so it was affirming to see the need and importance of having the person directing traffic. In my life I think it will benefit me to work in areas where I can use this strength and drive I have.
Organization is intertwined with leadership. The sisters essentially did not lead. We more or less ran the show. This isn't necessarily bad, but I feel like more could be accomplished with clearer leadership. There was a huge language barrier which made things difficult, however I feel like making picture directions for volunteers at different stations (dishes, serving line, etc) is a way I would have improved the process.
Carl and Esther and all the volunteers at the synagogue exemplified leadership as everyone knew their task and provided us with knowledge, resources, and inspiration to be successful.
I know this class can qualify for the Lead concentration, which I do not have, but completely understand. I want to be the leader. I want to step up, discuss expectations, and give direction when appropriate. That being said, I've practiced and believe it is important to step back and be an excellent follower, completing tasks to progress a cause, like spreading peanut butter for sandwiches. Everyone has their own style, I will own my style and be the best I can at it.
Resources are another point to discuss. There were probably financial differences, but I didn't dive into understanding that this week. Resources I saw include the synagogue had chef and 65 volunteers. They had the resource of people and were able to mobilize and inspire them to make change.
I learned these concepts in the setting of poverty and working with people experiencing hunger and homelessness, but these skills are so transferable. In the reverse, I've learned that as I have goals, ambition, and a story, every person I met this week does as well. I started the week thinking I was uncomfortable when working with people experiencing homelessness, but the question-asked I am, I learned quickly on ways to relate. In the end our conversations weren't all that different even though their immediate situations were different than mine. I hope to build upon these experiences as I go forth with a goal to be a pharmacist working with diverse populations. I want to be able to relate to patients and provide appropriate recommendations to people in different settings. I will do this by asking questions to understand where my patient is at and what there understanding like I would with any patients. Instead of being uncomfortable, I will ask questions to clarify and competently provide recommendations and education.
This week has been so much more than the direct service we have done. Although I'd love to share my experiences with Lincoln, the Dominican City Harvest delivery man, the 3 year olds that I danced with at a daycare for children of previously incarcerated women, or the technology savvy food pantry, this week was so much more. I learned about successful structures of organizations, how to better communicate and relate to human beings experiencing different things than myself, and I have thought of so many more questions that I look forward to continuing to try and solve like: How can I be an instrumental tool in helping people understand and treat mental health conditions? How can we show more people what the realities are of people experiencing homelessness? And how can we motivate different organizations to work together to have a larger collective impact?
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