Highlights
This week started with meeting my supervisor, Bernadene, to discuss the project vision and deliverables over the next five weeks. It was exciting to get the ball rolling with the LiA project properly, and I found discussing goals in person with a deepened understanding of the organisation rewarding.
On Wednesday, I also had the opportunity to visit Big Group Hug’s (BGH) smaller sites elsewhere in Melbourne, away from the central warehouse that I am mainly based at. Visiting these external sites gave me a much deeper appreciation of the way in which, despite being 15km and 45km respectively away from the main site, the sense of shared community and purpose was still maintained. Meeting different volunteers at these sites, alongside the opportunity to see more areas of Melbourne which BGH helps to support, was highly rewarding and furthered my understanding of BGH as a truly community-focussed organisation with outreach across the city.
I also had the opportunity to help other interns (at BGH through a different internship programme) with their projects as they near the completion of their time in Australia. I enjoyed this opportunity for collaboration, particularly in one intern’s project involving creating a music video showcasing the volunteer team!
Finally, I enjoyed becoming more familiar with the request processing system at BGH. This final stage in the process of request management, in which the specific items requested by individual families are collated, is currently a slight ‘pinch point’ as fewer volunteers are trained to use it due to its reliance on a relatively complex computer system. I valued the opportunity to be trained on this computer system and contribute to the final stages of BGH’s donation organisation process. This provides the opportunity to apply my skills in a way that most usefully supports BGH’s operations, alongside my project.
Challenges
One of the main challenges on a personal level this week was the emotional difficulties associated with beginning to independently work on request processing. In this role, reading case notes explaining a family’s reason for referral to Big Group Hug, as well as sometimes being unable to fulfil all items they have requested due to low stock, was difficult. However, I felt well supported by the team around me and reassured by the thought that any aid provided comes as a huge help to the vulnerable families that BGH supports, even if there are some items that are unfortunately unable to be provided. Going forward, I will continue to use resilience, as well as open communication, to ensure I manage this as effectively as possible.
Furthermore, juggling the various time commitments of my project, learning a new system, meetings with staff members and assisting other interns has required my self-leadership and reflection. I have reflected on a core theme of the Oxford Character Project and Laidlaw Leadership trainings that leading begins with yourself, and I am pleased with how I have distributed my time to best effect this week.
Using the 3Cs: Applying character, values and leadership capacities.
This week, I feel I have both applied and evolved my character. I feel I have utilised collaboration and temperance, trying to remain calm and patient as I have learnt new things, supported by developing relationships with colleagues. I also feel my character has evolved, particularly through deepening my understanding of systems, and increasing my self-confidence through habituation of new systems such as request processing. This process of development I feel has been supported by continually reflecting on my values of open-mindedness and the essentiality of ethical engagement, allowing me to engage in a way that feels genuinely beneficial to BGH’s operation.
Looking forward: goals for the coming week.
In the coming week, I look forward to continuing to work on developing a robust questionnaire for the 1400+ caseworkers that BGH interacts with. I look forward to using my leadership skills to lead a project of this scale, including managing phone, email and in person follow ups. I also look forward to the opportunity to continue collaborating and learning from the amazing leadership team at BGH, further deepening my insight into how not-for-profits operate. Outside of work, I am excited to continue to explore the Melbourne area. A highlight of last week was visiting an Australian wildlife sanctuary, seeing koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and penguins!