Community Service Initiative

COMMUNITY SERVICE INITIATIVE

Community Service is a form of service learning.

Service learning is basically using curriculum to help foster a sense of care and concern among students for their community and the world at large. This can be a village, an orphanage, socially disadvantaged individuals or a distant dying species.

In the process of student's recognizing and taking steps to meet the needs of others, student will enhance their creative, critical and reflective skills. More importantly, this module will help to develop personal and social responsibility. Students will learn through participation in a service experience and have the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge in reallife situations.

Students will be exposed to community needs and experience caring for others and learning about the resources available to them for revitalizing their communities. Finally, students will have the opportunity to develop basic knowledge and skills in community service strategies, avenues, and techniques, including the art of volunteerism.

Objectives of Project :

1) To inculcate a sense of Social Responsibility in students.

2) To promote the culture of caring and respect towards all members of society.

3) To make them responsible citizens of this country.

4) To understand the community around them.

5) To understand themselves in relation to their community

During the first lecture of this module, we were introduce to four type of project:

Sam’s Fur Kids & LassLost Animals Souls Shelter

1. Dog Adoption Campaign

2. Fund Raising Campaign

Persatuan Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Klang Selangor (PPKKCK)

1. Activity with kids

2. Fund Raising Campaign

Me and my team of 30 members chose to help the dog shelter. This is because we feel that the society today prefer to help human instead of the animals; therefore it might need more help compare to the second activity.

Workshop I - Understanding the dogs

In order to raise fund for the shelter we have to first understand what are we dealing with so that it will ease our fund raising process. Workshops were arranged on the weekend to allow us to have a close up session with the dogs.

During the first visit, me and my friends were taught on the way to interact with the dogs. Although I have two puppies at home but when I spent my time in the shelter, it is a totally different experience compare to the puppies at home. Each dog in the shelter has its own story, some are bullied and had a tough life therefore it is not easy to get close to them.

We need to spent some time with them, sit beside them and let them feel comfortable and not afraid of us. The process might be lengthy but when the dogs get near to me and rub their face against me out of a suddenly, I feel that the whole process is worth it.

Workshop II - Washing the dogs

After the first visit, I could not wait to go back again to spend more time with the dogs.

This time, we were given a more difficult task - WASHING THE DOGS!

I have never wash a larger sized dog before, and I can't wait to do it. The volunteers there patiently teach us the right way to wash the dogs, dry the dogs and marking the yellow mark on top of the dog's forehead.

I quickly volunteer to be the first to wash the dogs. In order to hold the dog in place, it requires at least two person. One to hold and the other one help to wash. Some dogs might be afraid of the water and they tend to run away when water was poured on them little by little in order to make them feel more comfortable.

Fund Raising Proposal

We started with a few ideas,

1. Selling food in campus

2. Doing Postcard

3. Making Thank you Card

4. Selling Badges

5. Making T shirt

6. Selling Tote Bags

After discussion, we finalize our proposal by selling tote bags and badges. We came out with the badges design and collaborate with Hanzhen Gallery. Hanzhen is a kid with autism who has great talent, he could play piano and draw pretty drawings. He borrowed his dog drawings to us and we printed it out on the tote bags.

Fund Raising Process

In order to sell the bags and badges, we took photos of it and posted it online to sell. Thanks to our friends and family, we manage to sell most of the products. The photo attached below shows the evidence of friends supporting this fund raising.

Thanks to social media, we also manage to raise awareness of Lost Animal Soul Shelter to many other people.

Fund Raising Process

Other than selling stuff through social media, we also sold it around campus and opening booth on other events. Through the events and walking around campus we manage to get quite an amount of donation and also people buying badges from us.

Conclusion

Overall the fund raising was a success, although we go through a lot of up and downs throughout the event, we manage to learn a lot from it. Social skills, project managing skills, accounting skills etc. I really learnt a lot and I appreciate Taylor's and my lecturers for giving me the chance to complete this community service project and also my group mates for tolerating my attitude.

Thank you Everyone!