8.3 Message From The Link - How To Choose a Project

How you choose a project depends on a lot of things.

This week I want to share some ideas and thoughts on how to choose a project via www.NLFW.org. I know that when you visit the project list and you see all that needs to be done as well as how involved some of the projects are, it can be overwhelming and cause the most ambitious person to freeze up.

Let’s start with the NeighborLink Expectations. The only expectations we have are that you select a project that will challenge you, cause you to consider the recipient’s situation and how you can assist with future needs, and honor God through your work ethic and commitment to completing the project for the recipient so they may know they are loved even in the worst of times. We’re more about you developing a relationship with the recipient than merely completing their project and moving on. Our hope is that by releasing the control of project selection back to you, you will find a more fulfilling volunteer opportunity through your choice than if you showed up for a project we were organizing for you. 

How to Choose A Project

Location
In order for you to fully integrate missional service into your life pattern, sustainability becomes a major factor. Location plays a really large part in sustainability. We encourage you to consider first how close a project is to your home and your neighborhood. The closer you live to a project, the easier it becomes to offer assistance. As you can see, the projects on the website cannot always be done in a couple hour time frame, or they require repeat attendance such as yard mowing. If we’re truly being missional, then relationship is the name of the game and relationships take time to develop.

If we’re honest, most of our efforts towards assisting those in need fall short because they aren’t easy to access and the busyness of life takes over. We end up hopping in and out of volunteer opportunities. We often feel bad because we can’t do more and they feel like they’ve done something wrong for us not to come back. So, location plays a big role to sustainable, life-changing service to someone.

Sometimes it’s not possible to choose a location close to home based on the projects on the website. That’s OK. It’s just a place to start. As you begin to serve, you’ll begin to see your neighborhood and geographic location a little differently which may show you ways to serve closer to home.

Skills & Abilities
The last thing we at NeighborLink want you to do is take a project that is beyond your abilities, which could result in injury of you or your volunteers. Unless your home community or circle of influence has the skills needed to complete the project, leave those projects for those who have those abilities.

What if you know the person or want to take on the project but need help in accessing someone who does have those skills? Please email or call me and fill me in on the project. I can email our NeighborLink database and ask around in attempt to access someone with those skills and connect them to you.

Time Commitment
Each project is going to require a different amount of time to complete the project. For instance, mowing a yard is going to take a significantly shorter amount of time than painting a house. Consider how much time you have on any given day and the following weeks to commit to a project before selecting a project. You taking on a large project and not having the time needed to complete the project will end up in failing on your commitment to the recipient.

Most of the recipients on our project list have been passed on to us because they didn’t fit the criteria for service or there are no other organizations doing the things they needed. In other words, they’ve been let down. Please don’t let them down because you didn’t consider the time required to complete the project.

Stretch yourself by taking the project, invite your friends to help, and take on a project that will require you to give up something in order to complete it. Take the challenge. We should never be too busy to help someone in need.

Recipient’s Situation
Most of our recipients are either elderly or disabled who cannot physically nor financially maintain their home regardless of their ability to continue to live independently. As you read the project descriptions you can sense the urgency and severity of the projects. Consider what you would do if that project was happening to you, your family member, or a friend. So, consider who they are and choose based on how you could connect to them.



Our projects can be overwhelming and finding time to help someone out with home maintenance and repairs is difficult when it seems we cannot find time to keep up on our own projects. I don’t have an easy answer or a solution figured out yet. I do know that we must do it together and through the power of the Holy Spirit leading us and leading the physical story of redemption in front of us.

For those who have participated on NeighborLink projects in the past, the joy in completing a project is just as big of a spiritual moment for us as it is for the recipient.

Keep up the good work Volunteers & Coaches


Andrew
Be Courageous!