Serve-Receive by Katie

Serve-Receive by Katie - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Last fall, when I heard about our yearly high school volleyball team fundraising activities, as a senior, I knew this was the year I wanted to do something different, something that would make an impact on our community. Like many other high school programs, typically everyone on our team will sell a benchmark number of boxes of frozen cookie dough in an effort to collectively raise funds for our program. This is done by going door-to-door, posting on our personal social media pages or making phone calls.

When the time came to do our part, we were given the information, order forms and the incentive to each sell a couple of dozen boxes per player to meet our quota. Being a senior, this was no different than years past so preparing for and accomplishing the minimum would require little effort. But this was the opportunity to help others in a way that had not been done before in our community. A chance to give back to those who do so much for us and who serve us.

With the help of my parents and good friend of the family who could help connect me with others, I started my own non-profit organization called "Serve-Receive". A two-fold play on words; serve receive is a standard team positioning in the sport of volleyball as players prepare to field the opponents serve, and perfectly describes the intent of my organization, to serve those that we receive so much from.

I began sharing with private businesses and community supporters my idea of collecting monetary donations that would be used to purchase a large volume of the frozen cookie dough through the high school fundraiser. This of course would benefit the volleyball program greatly but my plan was to store the frozen cookie dough ingredients and bake and package them throughout the year with the intent to surprise deliver the cookies to individuals and organizations who volunteer, serve or have served us as a thank you for all they do (veterans, police officers, firefighters, the elderly, nurses, caregivers, pastors, etc.).

In the short time frame of two weeks, I raised just over $1,600 dollars from local businesses and individual donors, which covered the purchase of materials to make nearly 4,100 cookies (340 dozen). Additionally, I was also blessed with the donation of the indefinite use of a large chest freezer from a local appliance business to store the ingredients. As of January 2017, I have baked and delivered over 62 dozen cookies to our local hospitals, police stations, sheriffs department, social volunteers and other organizations that serve us without the expectation of a thank you. Over the next several months, I plan to bake and deliver the remaining 278 dozen with the hope to acquire even more donations in the future and continue this program.

I hope that my minimal efforts of thanks have had and continue to have an impact on my community but what I have discovered in this short time is the impact it has made on others and myself. I was hopeful that I would enjoy being a giver but I did not know how much joy it brings to serve others unexpectedly. I was hopeful that this idea would inspire people and become "viral" but I was surprised to learn this may become the method of fundraising for our sports programs going forward, helping others as well as ourselves. And finally, I was hopeful that this small gesture would bring a smile to those that serve us but I was touched to see how uncomfortable and gracious they all have been to accept a verbal and small material thank you for what they do. That alone is evidence to the selfless provision we are all blessed with every day.