group 4b- Go Green

  Our group, B4, is made up of members Jin Woo, Taylor, Xheni, Amanda and Ilana. For our community service, we collaborated with UAlbany Green Scene, meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays to catch people ‘green handed.’ Our task was to seek out students in the Campus Center and on the academic podium using reusable bags or mugs. We would then approach them and enter them into a raffle to win a Kindle HD.  We would thank them for using environmentally friendly products and encouraged them to keep it up. Our group usually met up with the Green Scene student leaders in front of the 518 Market at 12:30 p.m. We have managed to meet four times during this semester, performing an hour and a half of community service each time.

Our group members shared feelings of practicing good environmentally friendly behaviors, which is why we decided to volunteer our time with the Green Scene. We also liked that the raffle offered an incentive for students to start using reusable items. Because this community service took place on campus, it was accessible for all members and allowed everyone to be present at the same time.

Doing this type of community service as a group has had a great impact on the way we all communicate with each other, but also on the way we set goals on completing specific tasks. Walking around campus talking to random students could get a bit overwhelming, so as a whole we decided to split into two teams, the boys and the girls. We then decided that it would be helpful if we had one specific person, who felt more comfortable approaching random people, to explain the mission of the Green Scene and offer the raffle ticket. The rest of us spoke to the students about the benefits of entering the raffle. Splitting everyone’s tasks was completed with ease because we all have diverse and unique skillsets. We have all learned that it is important to split the work between everyone in the team, and then continually communicate with each other to have the best outcome possible. The Green Scene community service has also given everyone a boost of self-pride because we were helping reinforce positive behavior and giving back to our college community. Finally we have all learned and practiced skills such as organization, leadership and responsibility throughout the course of this project.