《声音》启明星专刊 VOICES for Daystar Academy VOICES Spring/Summer Edition 2019 | Page 29

MHS CORNER Felix Wang What was your service project? My service project was to raise money for educational items for orphans in Beijing. At the beginning of my project, I did some research regarding the topic and contacted several orphanages. Then, I held a donation drive and visited the chosen orphanage (365chenguangbaobeizhijia) to do some activities. How did you prepare for your service project? I contacted orphanage workers dozens of times, making little progress every time. I also went to different shopping malls looking for educational items for the orphans. What were some of the obstacles along the way? Communication was one of the major obstacles along the way. Workers don’t have a lot of time to talk with you. Most of things were only confirmed a few days before I visited, which messed up my original plan. The original plan differed from my later plan, so lots of good ideas I had before were not used at all. What do you wish you had done differently? I wish I would have had a meeting with the orphanage workers, so that things could have been done/confirmed faster and there wouldn’t have been too many changes when I implementd the service project. What have you learned from this experience? Communication is very important. I should start the project when everything is confirmed. I also learnt how to deal with changes, and always have backup plans. Things don’t always work out like how you expect or anticipate, you need to get used to changes. How has this experience changed you? I now start to make more detailed plans, including backup plans and in case of any obstacles I may face in the process. Recommendations for 6th/7th graders? Spend more effort in the planning and brainstorming stages. Have a unique topic for the community project would have be a head start. Also remember to have a plan with deadlines and set reminders to keep you on track. 27