Grace /grâs/ (n): a disposition to be giving or helpful; goodwill.

Igniting Women’s Confidence: What this means to ME?

Grace /grâs/ (n): a disposition to be giving or helpful; goodwill.
By. Grace McCullough: Publications Coordinator

I believe we are all called to serve. Our blessings in life have come to us so that we may share them with others. And being that my name is defined as ‘goodwill,’ I figured it’s about time I embrace my namesake and share some with others.

As a sorority woman, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to grow in my leadership, friendships, and maturity. However, the biggest growth I’ve noticed throughout my years of Greek life, has been in my self-confidence, and without that change none of my other wonderful blessings could have happened.

And although I’ve seen some improvements, my time learning and growing is not done yet! I thought I would use my final year as an active sorority member to take advantage of the one aspect of Greek life I’ve always seemed to overlook, yet have always wished to get involved in: philanthropy. What better way to live out this year’s SEPC motto of “Igniting Woman’s Confidence” than by using my confidence to inspire confidence in others? Although my goals for giving will continue throughout this final year of college, I’ve outlined my philanthropic plan for you on the SEPC blog.

Step 1: Find a need.

            I’ve never felt much of a connection to my philanthropic work before, which has led my busy body self to only achieving the minimum service hours required each semester (mainly through mandatory sorority service events, I might add).  In hopes of changing this, I thought I would find a community that needed volunteers, but that I could also actually identify with. Where to start? How about where my sorority has already called me to serve: Gerontology and Alzheimer’s research.  I thought serving at a home that helps individuals suffering from the disease I’ve sought to raise money to fight would provide a meaningful home for me as well. Welp, wanting to volunteer somewhere is not as simple as I believed. I filled out online applications with my qualifications and good intentions, but being selected as a volunteer and attending orientations and training can be a lengthy process. SOO, my attempt to connect to my sorority philanthropy is still under construction, return later for (hopefully) more progress.

      

Even this level of excitement 

didn't get me excited to volunteer.

                                                    

Step 2: Find ways to meet need.

            There are ALWAYS organizations that are seeking financial support to meet their needs of serving others. Although donating money may seem like a shortcut out of doing hard labor service, it is desperately needed and beneficial to many. Problem: I’m a broke college student. How to fix this bump in the road?   Sell, sacrifice, and save.  Sell: I went through my closet and finally purged those clothing items I haven’t worn in years, and took them to a secondhand clothing shop to earn back a few dollars. Sacrifice: I love my Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks as much as the next sorority girl, but skimping on those coffee visits can really add up! Save: Setting a couple dollars aside every paycheck can eventually snowball into a mini savings account. Where did I decide to donate my new wads of cash? I thought I would make two donations, to both a global need and a local need. As a member of the Southeastern Panhellenic Association, I figured it was only fitting to make a contribution to Circle of Sisterhood, so girls across the world could be ignited with confidence through the charitable acts of this great philanthropic organization. I also make a donation to my local Dare to Care, to aid in feeding young women in my own community that are struggling to afford nutritious meals for themselves and their families.

        Saying goodbye to my

 precious Starbucks

was quite difficult.

Step 3: Find ways to encourage others.

            Although serving others can be rewarding all on it’s own, it can be so much more fun when you can share in the experience with others. My favorite way to give back to the community is with my bimonthly visits to the American Red Cross with my best friend Allie. By acting as each other’s blood giving buddies, we are sure to never miss an appointment, and tend to make the experience 100 times more enjoyable. This past visit, Allie wasn’t feeling well, yet she still came to entertain me in my blood donation. I’ve given many times, but this was the first visit where I didn’t have to (embarrassingly) have an American Red Cross worker wipe my neck and fan me in hopes of maintaining my consciousness. I attribute this minor success to Allie’s brilliantly distracting conversation skills, as only a true best friend could achieve. I saved 3 lives in just that visit, and who knows, that blood could go to help another SEPA woman across the country!

My most recent donation!

  

My first blood donation!

                                       

P.S. The best part of donating blood are the snacks you get afterwards.  :) 

                                                         

 

Here is a big THANK YOU to my bestie Allie for being my cheerleader this past donation. (Confession: I may be wearing a sticker that reads “Be nice to me, I gave blood today”, but last time it got me free sushi samples! Giving really does pay off) 

As I mentioned, my philanthropic project is not finished and most definitely not without flaws, but fingers crossed these small beginnings will lead me to more successes throughout this final year in college. Igniting confidence in others has encouraged more confidence in my plans for service. I’ll plan on sharing my future stories with you at the conference in March! What does Igniting Women’s Confidence mean to you?!