Author Archives: evelyn_le

Quiet Time

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By Evelyn Le. BS ’16

“It’s so quiet! We have never been this quiet in class before.” Sitting next to me on my left, Grace was busily jotting her thoughts down as if that was the moment she had been waiting for so long. Looking across the room, I saw many pens were moving constantly as if the thinkers were hunting for reflection and did not want to leave any thoughts behind. Some friends gazed at their paper for too long that they seemed to be lost in their own world of contemplation. I thought to myself “today (Thursday 4/21/16), we have a lot of serious work to do” just like how Dr. Hogue usually began the class. But that day was different from any other day. It was a thoughtful discussion class time when we each reflected and collectively contributed to the discussion about what we have learned about the organizations, a vibrant community and a capability as well as an incapability of philanthropy.

Waco has become more and more of a vibrant community because of countless of needs, activities, ministries and leaderships that many servant leaders willingly pour out their heart and passion to serve the community. This Philanthropy Lab has opened my eyes about the needs in Waco. How to prioritize those needs is a challenging question that we as a class tried to decipher. Even though our limited resources only allowed us to support 9 organizations, every organization is very important to Waco. Their existence and availability allow people in need to find help. From community development to culture, arts and the environment, from health and wellness to hunger and homelessness, from children, youth, and education, to human services and civil rights, these organizations enrich Waco in a way that they collaborate and potentially attract the young professionals, opening up more opportunities to move the whole community forward together.

Understanding that philanthropy has its limitations, it can change life and enhance an awareness in order to restore many virtues of humanity. Philanthropy cannot solve the problem of war, natural disasters, addiction, etc. However, its goal is not to fix, but to improve the wellbeing of humankind. Some people may argue that they support the rehab center but people keep having relapse, so what is the purpose of giving. That is not wrong, but not correct either. The power of one over many applies to this instance. If we can change one’s life with commitment, care and diligence, the fruit would multiply to his or her family and to the community. Like the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:7, Jesus said “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

This class has taught me so much in the way of wisdom and skills by doing. I am very hopeful when seeing many young people in the class step up and advocate as a spokesperson for what they believe in the mission and vision of the organization. One day, I will miss this quiet time.

25- A Precious Number

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By: Evelyn Le, BS 2016

Evelyn: “Stop showing favoritism.”

Kevin: “No, I am not. This organization is promising because they have shown us their evidence based research. They would be very active once we help them starting.”

Grace: “But our funding would be too small for a full time position salary.”

I have never been this critical and invested in the decision making process in any other class before. The conversation above took place last week, when my team of Health and Wellness program officers faced difficult decisions.

One month ago, I was so excited and happy when receiving the names of our 12 organizations, including their executive directors’ contact information. I was looking forward to learning from many Waco’s experienced experts because I truly wish to be like them one day. Scheduling a 30-minute conference call with each organization was challenging since everyone’s schedule worked differently. However, through the hassle, we learned perseverance and making decision together as a team.

Communication was the key.  We kept reminding ourselves that even though we are just undergraduate students, everything we do in this process, big or small, does impact the life of an individual in the Waco community. Sometimes, we found ourselves overwhelmed and waded through the flood of information and facts from each organization.

All organizations had very good ideas and proved themselves to be significantly valuable to the Waco community. What should we choose? Thankfully, our teammates always kept us accountable and reliable by asking awakening questions that guide us to the right path in our attempt to narrow down to 5 organizations in our program area.

Instead of “Ah-hah” moment, we found a lot of “Oh-uh” moments. The excitement one month ago now transitioned to a bittersweet and hesitating experience when we let an organization go. We have been told by Dr. Hogue that the decision making process will get harder and harder each time. Now I realize that even though some organizations will not receive funds from us, every one of them is worthy of support and recognition.

The world is always changing, and relying on finite resources stimulates us to generate innovative and sustainable ideas and to take action in order to build a better community.

Now, our class has narrowed down the number of organizations to 25. The number will continue to get smaller as time goes by. The important thing is that this journey has transformed us to become very knowledgeable about the needs in Waco. I have never learned so much about Waco before. As a student, a resident in Waco, and a citizen, I realize the full intentional responsibility to choose well and to take action.

Thank you donors and Dr. Hogue for setting a foundation for us to explore, to work as a team, and to appreciate your gifts so now we can freely give to the community.

 

About the author: Evelyn Le is a senior Biochemistry major and Medical Humanity minor from Houston, TX. She hopes to intern at North Boston University as an ambassador for international students in the Summer 2016 and work with the City Year program in Seattle, WA next year.