Please describe how your LEAD Project went in 300-500 words.
Please share:
1. What happened
2. Who was involved and how they enjoyed the experience
3. What challenges you experienced, and how you navigated around them
4. What you learned from the experience. Specifically, please share what you learned about yourself as a leader.
Example:
On Sunday afternoon, April 10, I and 3 teens and 6 adults from my synagogue carpooled to the Pilsen Food Pantry. I was worried that not everyone would come, but I made sure to send a text to everyone the night before and the morning of, and everyone arrived at the parking lot on time. When we arrived, a guy named Jason greeted us and gave us a tour of the pantry. He showed us how to fill grocery carts with requests from families. Everyone had a lot of fun shopping for families. We were all really impressed with the space and all the food options available—there were a lot of vegetables and fruit and even flowers. Two of the younger teens didn't listen very well when Jason talked so I was worried there might be problems, but I asked them to pay attention and they changed their behavior. After a few hours, everyone was really tired, so I was glad I had some gatorade and water to give to everyone.
The food pantry looked a lot different than what I expected, and I learned a lot from Jason about how the food pantry gets items from grocery stores and farms. I was nervous about asking people to join the volunteer trip but I learned that people were interested in supporting my project and in volunteering at the food pantry. Some people already had plans though, so they said they wished I had asked them a month or two beforehand. I learned that as a leader, it's hard to have answers to all the questions. But I also learned that if I explain why I care about a project, people are happy to be supportive. As a leader, if I care, I can help make others care. After the project ended, everyone thanked me for the opportunity and it felt really good. We prayed together in the parking lot, and I felt a lot closer to this group of people. I learned that as a leader, I can help bring people closer to each other in the synagogue community, in the larger community, and also maybe closer to God.
