Team FEAST

The last post I made, involving my work with the organization FEAST, discussed my discourse with its leadership. It expounded upon the progression of my social media plan, and made mention of the autonomy I have undertaken with regard to this assignment. Since then, my role within the organization has shifted. I have been asked to work with an offshoot of FEAST referred to as “Team FEAST”. This subsidiary is concerned mostly with raising funds so that FEAST can strengthen its prerogative to end food deserts in western North Carolina. My specific assignment has been to write newsletters, Twitter, and Facebook posts focused on the promotion of Team FEAST’s upcoming Enka Triathlon.

I have mentioned in previous posts that working for FEAST has strengthened my abilities as a writer, especially since it has forced me to appeal to a number of different audiences, through a number of different formats. This continues to ring true. Since Team FEAST is primarily concerned with raising funds, my work places a greater premium on newsletters, and business communication. As a result, I have developed my ability to convey important factual information through writing. Honing these skills has already come in handy in an academic context. By improving my ability to correspond with others, I have become more apt to collaborate with my peers in settings involving group tasks.

This work has illuminated my ability to function in a leadership capacity. In the past my work with FEAST has placed importance on my ability to achieve social media goals with little guidance or oversight. Now, I’m being asked to collaborate with a number of different people and organizations with objectives and timelines of their own. As a result, I have had to manage competing interests, and project setbacks, in order to make sure that the correct information is published at the correct time. The stakes involved with this role ensure that I must collaborate and communicate cordially, and clearly so that everyone’s work comes together as it should.

Working with Team FEAST has given me greater insight into how non-profit operations earn, and use money. It has also given me insight into the hierarchy associated with pulling off a fiscal project as important as this one. I did not know, for example, that non-profits such as FEAST rely on think tanks comprised of members specially devoted to projects such as raising money. I also did not realize that the task of raising money requires diverse components such as social media outreach, and web design. Associating with Team FEAST has informed my appreciation of the complexity underlying large scale charitable work.

I hope that my contributions to Team FEAST, and to FEAST in general, result in the Enka Triathlon being an exceptional success. I hope that my social media posts attract attention from interested donors and athletes, and I hope that my press correspondence draws attention to the important work that FEAST will achieve with the funding it receives. If my work helps to produce these ends, I will have achieved a deeply fulfilling and meaningful impact on the community in which I live.