104 Service Learning Project

My service project for United States Government was about texting and driving.This service project was meaningful to the community because it brought awareness about an important issue to the people it affects most. My project was also valuable to the community because it may have prevented an accident and motivated at least one person to not text and drive.It's a project that can be kept alive!


My friend and I after speaking to a class wearing thumb socks!

Reflect

Your Name Elicia Brewster
Name of Community You Will Serve Jefferson County
Issue or Problem Texting and Driving

Use this chart to reflect on your service experience. Include your responses in the space provided.

Questions and Reflections
Question	Reflection
What did you do for your service action? When did you do it? What were your specific role and action steps?	-For my service action I spoke to different classes at my school about texting and driving. I did this during the first week in October until about mid-November. My specific role was a “speaker” mostly and my action steps were to talk to my teachers and administrators about speaking to their classes. As well as getting my classmates directly involved through social media.
What did you learn about the issue or problem you chose?	-I learned that it is a prevalent issue among adults and not just teens. I’ve also learned that in 2011 23% of car crashes involved cell phones.
Did you meet new people? How are these people important to your community?	-I didn’t meet many new people other than teachers and administrators I didn’t know. But, these people are still important to my community because they educate and are involved in the lives of our youth.
Did the actual service turn out as you expected? Explain.	-No the actual service didn’t turn out as expected because I wanted to do more involving everyone in the community. But I still did get my message out!
Do you feel your action was valuable to the community? Explain why or why not.	-I do feel that my action was valuable to the community because we have a lot of youth that do indeed drive and practice bad habits like texting and driving.
Was this service project a true example of fulfilling citizen responsibilities to the community and civic participation? Discuss.	-This service project wasn’t a true example of fulfilling citizen responsibility to the community but it is an example of civic participation. Because I still became involved in my community in my own way and spoke with real people about a pressing issue. I could’ve done more to fulfill my citizen responsibility about texting and driving.
What could you do differently in the future to make the service better?	-In the future I could talk to local authority and political leaders such as city council.
What do other people, like trusted adults and classmates, think about your project? What have they said to you about it?	-Other people appreciate the awareness that I’ve tried to achieve. My classmates were very supportive and wanted to get involved instantly. One comment from a teacher was: “I wish that this message could be posted everywhere because teens don’t understand how serious it is until they’re affected.”
What can you do to help this service project grow and continue?	-What I can do to help this service project grow and continue is to schedule to speak to more people and keep the issue alive on social media.
In what ways has this service project affected you? Explain your responses.	-This service project has affected me mentally because I’m starting to drive as well. So this project has opened my eyes to how careful you should really be.
Will you continue with this service experience? Explain why or why not.	- I don’t think that I will continue this service experiment because I would like to do some other different service projects too.
What tips would you give to classmates just starting their service projects?	-Tips I would give to classmates just starting their service projects are to start early and plan thoroughly as well as have a back up plan just in case you fulfill your original project. Not to mention spread the word!

My Response:

For my service project I spoke to different classes at my local school regarding texting and driving. This is a big issue among teen drivers and I felt it needed to be spoken about at my school. I spoke to about 30 or 40 different classes regarding this message. My friends and I also gave away thumb socks that we got from DoSomething.org to help spread the message. Next time I think I will start a fundraiser to take the project to the next level.

Nathalie-I love your simple yet powerful service project. There are a lot of good children in need of blankets. I hope you continue your service project good job!