MOST OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE/INVOLVEMENT NOMINEE
University of Southern Mississippi Vietnamese Student Association
Wesley Manor Retirement Home
Provide a detailed description of the event and the population it served. Details MUST include: date of event, number of participants, program purpose (goals, objectives, etc.) and use of resources (finances, community support, etc.).
On October 23, 2020, the USMVSA community volunteered at Wesley Manor. Wesley Manor is a retirement home that provide living and caretaking services for the community in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The goal for the employees and volunteers at Wesley is to provide a safe, loving environment to their patients, while being able to implement some form of social interaction and fun entertainment for their patients. USMVSA was able to get in contact with Wesley Manor through personal connections and introductions. With a open heart and goal to give back to the community, especially the elderly that helped shaped it, a total of seventeen dedicated USMVSA members volunteered to help at the retirement home.
What efforts were used to motivate and involve the organization's members?
Since a lot of the elderly living in the retirement home were abandoned by their families, the USMVSA community were able to provide a personal comfort and build a human connection in which the elderly individuals had yearned for. Throughout the day, our members provided fun activities such as playing bingo, giving out prizes, and offering genuine interactions. All in all, our members welcomed the elderly and took in their amazing, wonderful stories and experiences. As a form of motivation for the USMVSA community, the incentive to fill their hearts with the elderly and spent quality time with them had been enough. There was also a member point system involved. The point system was used to give points to the members and offer prizes to them.
The main challenge for this event derived from the concern of whether or not our members would make an appearance to help out with the community service event. To overcome that challenge, the USMVSA Executive Board heavily promoted the once in a life time opportunity to create a loving and passionate connection with with elderly community as they spent time with them. By doing so, we had an amazing turnout. the USMVSA members left with their hearts fuller than ever.
Additional Comments
https://www.facebook.com/pg/USMVSA/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1767287680068901&ref=page_internal