Civic Identity

WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?

Civic Identity: you will gain a greater sense of how your personal skills, abilities, and interests may aide in community development and leadership

Abilities

Learned how to problem solve:

Working at the Denver Rescue Mission, we had to split up into two groups and plan out meals for other organizations. We had to figure out how to incorporate all of the necessary food groups (and quantities of each group) into a well balanced meal that could be served to people. This required us to problem solve because there were a limited amount of items that we could choose from, and needed to make sure that there was enough of each item to serve either a group of 200 or 500 individuals. Similarly, at the Food Bank of the Rockies, we needed to figure out what items to put in each respective box (snack, main dishes, condiments, etc...) to send out. This required us to choose a variety of items that could fit in a specified sized box and had to way a certain amount. We needed to mix and match items to make sure that each box fit the requirements.

Learned how to effectively communicate with a team:

The Denver Rescue Mission also required us to communicate within our own group to figure out our meal plan AND communicate with the other group so that we made sure we weren't creating the same meal plan/had enough ingredients for each meal. We also had to use communication skills throughout the remainder of the service locations in order to make sure that all of our assigned tasks got done.

Strengthened our teamwork skills (i.e listening, communicating, etc...):

In addition to having to communicate well and listen to each other in order to create a well-oiled machine at our service locations, we also had to build relationships with each other throughout the trip. During the class portion of ASB, our group rarely talked and were very awkward around each other. After spending 12 hours in the car with one another, you could already see that a strong bond was being formed. We were able to blend together a group of 14 people, all with different interests and backgrounds, in order to form one cohesive group.

Learned how to use our resources to help out the community:

This ability was most apparent at the Denver Rescue Mission. At home, it is common to go into a grocery store and have everything that you could possibly need for a meal at your fingertips; however, at the Denver Rescue Mission, we had to work with a limited and varied supply of food to create a well-balanced meal.