Mission statements are an essential part of all organizations
Mission statements are an essential part of all organizations so that they can establish their goals and present them to shareholders and the public. Without a focused goal, companies will not be able to make a large impact on any one thing. More specifically in philanthropic work, you should think about what you want to achieve.
Our COMMERCE 4MG3 class chose for our mission statement to be “increasing youth mental wellness in the Greater Hamilton Area.” This is because after reading the Vital Signs report for Hamilton we realized that mental wellness is a large concern in the area and we would like to see improvements in our community. Additionally, we can relate to youth and the stresses associated with this age group because we fit in the same age category. We also chose to use the phrasing “improve mental wellness,” since mental wellness is a wide spectrum and we agreed that we would be happy to support any organization whose goals involved helping the mental wellness of local youth.
My Journey with Mental Health Education
Each semester, Learning by Giving asks students to write about their experiences in the classroom. An important part in any Learning by Giving class is an assessment of the needs facing their community. Students review reports, speak to locals experts, and draw upon their own experiences to better understand the needs and issues around their campus.
Our winning blog post is from Jillian Jones, who examines what she has learned about youth and mental health in her class. Jillian is an upper-level student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
We will continue to post reflections from our students all year long in hopes of bringing their voices and experiences to the entire Learning by Giving community.
Why I enrolled in a Learning by Giving course
Each semester, Learning by Giving asks students to write about their experiences in the classroom. This fall we decided to provide additional grant funds to students for their reflections on specific aspects related to the grant making process -- a blog contest! For our first blog contest, we asked students, “Why this course?” in hopes to learn more about why they were interested in participating in an experiential philanthropy class. We had many wonderful entries. Our winning blog post is from Chris Zhou.
Chris is an upper-level student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Professor Lynn Fergusson leads this Learning by Giving course entitled ‘Strategic Philanthropy and Leadership’.
We will continue to post reflections from our students all year long in hopes of bringing their voices and experiences to the entire Learning by Giving community.