Megan Davison: Reaching the Common Goal: Development as Service

According to the Millennial Impact Report of 2012, forty-two percent of people said they would give to whatever inspired them at the moment. This report measures how effective non-profits are at interacting with donors and young people who have the potential to donate. As Lasallian Volunteers, I believe we are already predispositioned to give more than just a donation. We have committed ourselves to a year of service, living intentionally within a community, and setting examples as young people who carry out the mission of faith, service, and community. What if there was a way to combine aspects of giving with faith, service, and community? Wait…this describes how I intend to carry out my year of service as a Lasallian Volunteer! See what I did there?

My year of service will involve working in the Midwest District Office as a Development Assistant. As a Development Assistant, I will be able to engage directly with the heart of the mission, in the heart of the operation. To date, I have contributed towards the District Magazine, an annual event for alumni, and met some amazing people that work in different Lasallian ministries across the Midwest. Despite the fact that I do not directly work in a classroom, or in other educational ministries, I get to hear about and talk about all of God’s work that Lasallian educators and ministers are carrying out. In fact, sometimes I get to Tweet about it.

If working in development has taught me anything thus far, it is that one needs to build relationships with others in order to reach the common goal. In our case, we are working towards promoting the Lasallian mission of touching hearts and minds. In these tough economic times, that mission, that action of actively serving youth in economically depressed areas of the country is what sets us apart from other groups of educators and ministers. We know the road is not always easy and requires constant devotion on our part.

Something that the Lasallian mission is grounded in is described as the spirit of association. Through development, I have seen how the spirit of association comes alive in a new and multi-faceted way. All of us, teachers, administrators, Brothers, volunteers, students, benefactors-we comprise a group of individuals that range from every demographic imaginable. From Lasallians who prefer to hear about news and ideas in print, Lasallians who carry out activism through Facebook and other types of social media, and Lasallians who create relationships in their day to day interactions, we are spread across a strata of communication. This group cannot be quantified under one specific demographic, messages cannot be spread through one specific medium, and we are definitely not located within one geographic region.

Through this understanding of how the spirit of association transcends physical space and in some cases, time zones, we are on the verge of something huge. We have the ability to build more relationships, serve more communities, and create lifelong traditions that exude the very nature of what it means to be Lasallian.

For years to come, I say we up the ante. I say that we carry out the mission fervently, always looking for new ways to reach out, through new mediums, and we can inspire others to give in varying capacities for more than a moment.

Megan Davison, 12-13, Midwest District, Burr Ridge, IL