LOOKING AHEAD ANOTHER 10 YEARS: MAKING OUR MISSION A MOVEMENT

​By: Jeff Hobbs, 2020 Generation SERVE Board President

All throughout 2019, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary of pioneering the youth volunteerism movement in Austin. Over the past decade, I’ve had the pleasure of watching what started as Little Helping Hands grow into Generation SERVE. I’ve witnessed our organization’s growth from one Family Volunteering Program into many unique opportunities for youth of all ages to serve — including Little Helpers Learn & Play where our youngest volunteers start the habit early, our Service Learning Program in which upper elementary schoolers take a deeper dive into specific community needs, and our Teen Leadership Program where teens hone their leadership skills. Beyond all of these achievements, we also set our sights even bigger in 2019 — officially launching a pilot of our Family Volunteering Program in Houston! Thank you for partnering with us to make the past decade one of success, discovery and growth.
 
Last fall, some of our staff were speaking with a like-minded, peer organization based in Ohio. Only a couple of years into their founding, they ended the call by saying, “we want to be Generation SERVE when we grow up.” While that might sound like a silly phrase made in jest, it’s how communities across the country have come to see Generation SERVE: as pioneers in the youth volunteerism movement. Thanks to YOU, Generation SERVE doesn’t just shape leaders — we are one.
 
You may have heard our leadership use the phrase “making our mission a movement” over the past couple of years. Although it may have started out as an aspirational catch phrase, we are now boldly claiming it as our responsibility. On behalf of the Generation SERVE Board and staff, we stand before you committed to MAKE OUR MISSION A MOVEMENT. As part of living out those words, I want to share three big steps we’ll be taking around inclusion, impact, and expansion over the next decade to fulfill this vision.
 
Inclusion: We believe that volunteerism is a right, not a privilege. Yet we acknowledge that we may not be reaching every young volunteer who wants to serve their community. We’ll be exploring the barriers to our programming and the communities we ARE and ARE NOT serving. We want to engage those communities in conversation, focus groups and brainstorming. We’re committed to making Generation SERVE more inclusive.
 
Impact: Next, we want to take a step back to measure the full impact of our unique “Service Pathway.” As the ONLY organization in the country engaging kids from age 3 through 17, we have a responsibility to add to the research and best practices around youth volunteerism. We’re committed to leveraging our 10 years of experience and data so that more communities can benefit from our challenges, successes and lessons learned.
 
Expansion: And finally, as we’ve started with our efforts in Houston, we want to give the gift of Generation SERVE to other communities across the country. Each new site will be ultimately supported by that community— as was the case with Houston. But thoughtful expansion requires infrastructure support here in Austin. We’re committed to maintaining the quality and integrity of our programs here in Central Texas, so we can more effectively share that with others. 
 
I’m honored to carry the leadership mantel in 2020 as your Board President, doing my part to give back to a wonderful organization that has done so much for my family, for so many other families and for our incredible community partners. The past decade is one to celebrate because of YOU. With your ongoing support and generosity, I believe the next decade will be even bigger and better.

Jeff, his daughter Lily and his son Ellis volunteering at Austin Diaper Bank.

Jeff and his son cooking King Ranch casserole for families with kids staying at Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Jeff and his family (center) with a Generation SERVE volunteer group at Austin Diaper Bank.

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Interested in helping Generation SERVE make our mission a movement?

Check out our new multi-year giving society, SERVE Society, which is focused on moving the needle around impact, inclusion and expansion! Members pledge a minimum of $250 annually over three years. Learn more about this giving opportunity and see who has already pledged their support here.

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