"As a whole, the English 296: Traditions of Giving and Serving in America class wanted to craft a mission statement that we felt accurately described our purpose in the class, which is to learn about and support non-profit organizations. We also wanted the mission statement to encompass the values and issues that we decided are most important to us when looking at non-profit organizations. The mission committee created a statement that met these goals, outlining our value of empathy and highlighting our goal as a class, which is to promote healing and community for people battling substance abuse, mental health issues and homelessness.
Then, the mission committee presented their creation and the class worked together to make changes to it. In class, we use a democratic process, making motions and then voting before making any decisions. I find that this is a great method for making sure that everyone’s opinion is heard and considered. As a class, we focused on specific wording in the mission statement, like the difference between “through” instead of “and,” and we debated the meaning of our use of “community” in the mission statement. Ultimately, we took a final vote and all came to agreement that the mission statement perfectly reflected our mission in this class. In the process of editing the mission statement together, our class not only created an accurate representation of our desire to help others, but we worked cohesively and bonded over our shared goal. The exercise helped us form relationships as a group and create an identity for our shared mission!"
Madison M. - Hebron, IN - Senior English major
