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running one on your own and seeing what
works and where you fall short.
4. Marketing. Many young people have
large ambitions. Not only do they have a
problem they want to solve, but they want
to solve that problem nationwide. They
quickly learn that the best way to engage
their peers, whether within their school or
across the country, is through marketing.
Students learn how to use social media
as an organizational and motivational
tool, and how to create videos, digital
campaigns, and written descriptions that
inspire others to get involved. They also
learn the power of storytelling to garner
support and grow their projects.
5. Tracking Impact. Measuring success is
one of the most important skills students
learn through public service, and it’s the
one they learn most naturally because
young people like knowing how much
they achieve. They track not only the
number of items or the amount of money
they collect, but also the number of lives
they impact. In turn, they learn how
to recognize when their projects need
adjusting, and whether they are attacking
the actual cause of a problem or merely an
effect of it. At JAF, we train our students
how to quantify all of their results and
how to analyze their work. This allows
them to improve their projects as they go
on to generate the greatest impact.
One of my favorite examples of how public
service has transformed young people is
Patricia Manubay, a young woman who
participated in two of our youth programs.
When we first met Patricia, she was a shy
high school student who lacked confidence
in her own abilities. To put it in her own
words, “I did not believe I had the power
to lift anyone up, especially myself. Service
changed that.”
Patricia came to us with the idea of putting
together care packages that encourage
students to pursue their dreams. But she
didn’t know how to bring it all together.
We taught her how to develop her idea,
engage her peers, and implement her idea
nationwide. With these skills, her project is
now active in all 50 states, benefitting more
than 350,000 lives. She is now a sophomore
in college who will soon enter the workforce
with project management experience gained
entirely through public service.
But young people don’t have to start their
own nationwide project to benefit from
activating public service. Simply participating
in a project offers many benefits including
teamwork, organization, and engagement
skills, as well as the knowledge that you can
make a difference.
The benefits are particularly striking
for at-risk youth. A national study by
Opportunity Nation (Connecting Youth and
Strengthening Communities) shows that
civic engagement cuts youth disengagement
by 50%. It motivates young people to stay in
school, hold onto jobs and remain on a path
beneficial to themselves and their community.
Our own faculty advisors report that learning
our curriculum and engaging in service
projects throughout the school-year yields an
enormous benefit:
• 80% of our at-risk youth participants
graduate high school
• 71% attend four-year colleges
• 83% feel better prepared for college and
workforce
• 94% feel empowered to make a difference
There is widespread support for students to
gain hands-on experience through public
service. In fact, according to a 2016 national
poll by Penn Schoen Berland (Youth Hold
the Key: Building Your Workforce Today
and in the Future), 90% of Americans believe
community engagement delivers leadership
and project management skills to young
people.
Students should have every opportunity
to receive an education that is fueled by
their skills and interests, preparing them
for the futures they, and our communities,
deserve. I’ve found that public service is
both a pathway to higher education and a
fundamental tool for training young people
to enter the workforce with the experience
they need. By training young people to
help others, we also train them to succeed
themselves. Public service is essential for
better education and career outcomes, and
that’s why I’m so committed to encouraging
it.
Hillary Schafer was one of the highest-ranking
women in the equity business but, after involvement
with Hurricane Sandy relief, Hillary left the for-profit
space and focused her energy and heart to elevating,
celebrating and generating social impact. She is the
Executive Director of the Jefferson Awards Foundation,
an organization dedicated to empowering others to have
maximum impact on the things they care about most.
Orchestration
Success
Passion to Profit
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sessions redefine leadership
as the pathway to income.
If your organization isn’t
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achieve it’s mission, then
it’s time to work on your
ability to attract results.
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