High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2025
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Course Code
LDR
Course Number
3215
Faculty/Instructor
Brad Crawford
Faculty/Instructor Email
crawford@ucf.edu
Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement
The purpose of our project was to volunteer with HOPE Helps, a nonprofit organization that provides community support through its thrift store, food pantry, and outreach events. Our group, Project Pegasus, worked onsite to help sort donations, organize items, and assist in the operation of the thrift store. We coordinated efforts with the volunteer manager and staff, who guided us and made sure we understood expectations and procedures. One of the most meaningful activities involved working alongside staff and other volunteers as coworkers to see how teamwork and common purpose create effective service. A key thing we learned was about the idea of servant leadership-what it looks like in action: staff were patient, attentive, and respectful in their communication by listening to us, guiding us, and valuing volunteers as contributors. We also learned about clear communication and defined roles to enhance teamwork since there were moments when tasks could have been better clarified. Overall, the experience taught us the importance of compassion, humility, and community-building in service work.
Additional Resources
Transcript Speaker 1: AJ Hello, my name is Armando Ramirez, and I am part of the group Project Pegasus. We are working with lead scholars through Hope Helps. My group mates are Alan, Anant, and Yvon. The company that we're working with is Hope Helps. What they really do is that they help—they have multiple different businesses like a pantry, and they do events, but their main thing is a thrift store where they collect donations and give them out for cheaper. What we do is help with that. The volunteer coordinator who was on site to help us with everything was amazing. She assisted us, gave us videos to watch, and helped us with all different types of things, especially when we were on site and kind of confused about the rules or what we should be doing. She would just say what she would have done, so she's very kind for that. The person who made this all happen was Rachel Mann, the direct manager of Hope Helps. I reached out to her through email, and she replied. She gave us options to either do all the project events or just in person, which is what we wanted—to do it in person, on site, instead of just an event they do off-site. Thank you. Speaker 2: Yvon Well, hello, my name is Yvon. I'm also part of Project Pegasus alongside AJ, Anant, and Alan. The second speaker, the third speaker, should be Anant, and the fourth speaker will be Alan. I just want to talk briefly about the impact of the project and how it affected all of us, um, in a positive way, and how seeing the things that we talk about in class not only be enacted in person, but also lead to positive benefits. So, the Hope Helps values itself on being able to be dedicated, have collaboration and resourcefulness, and being able to see that firsthand was really important. Volunteers and staff would work side by side, demonstrating not only collaboration but showing a level of naturality in terms of how we collaborated. It didn't feel forced. Another example simply is just when it came to doing our task, there would be many times where they would pause their task to listen to what we had to say or talk to us in terms of guiding us to making better decisions. All of that is important because I was able to see what we talked about in the servant being leadership, and how listening is the first skill of a true leader. That was really important. So, not only was their dedication to patience, attentiveness, and respect enacted better, it was also really helpful to see it firsthand, how their resourcefulness would come into play in terms of getting items that we normally wouldn't accept, setting it aside so that we can set it, whether it be the library, recycling, Sun Coast Recycling, for instance. It was just all a benefit to see firsthand and truly a joy. Speaker 3: Anant Hello, my name is Anant Ajvalia, and although HOPE is strong in aligning its values with its actions, we recommend improving communication between staff and incoming volunteers because, at times, volunteers were unsure who to check in with or which tasks were priorities. In The Servant, the book we are reading, leadership is described not as giving orders, but setting clear expectations and supporting others. Better communication would allow volunteers to step into their roles more confidently and work more effectively as a supportive community. Speaker 4: Alan Hello, my name is Alan Claiman. Our time at HOPE was rewarding and community-building. Even when the tasks were physical or fast-paced, the atmosphere remained positive and encouraging. Everyone, staff and volunteers, worked with a shared sense of purpose. We experienced the servant leadership value of building community firsthand. We weren’t just performing tasks; we were contributing to a system where families shop with dignity, where volunteers feel valued, and where collaboration is real. The work teaches humility, compassion, and responsibility, three key lessons from The Servant. We left feeling like we gained just as much as we gave. HOPE doesn’t just serve the community; it teaches us how to serve the community together.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Keywords
Hope Helps, Lead Scholars
Recommended Citation
Mbenza, Yvon; Ajvalia, Anant; Ramirez, Armando; and Claiman, Alan, "Amy Zeh High-Impact: Hope Helps" (2025). High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2025. 9.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2025fall/9