Project Description  

Our team successfully hosted an open donation drive for The Salvation Army in Roselle, IL to collect essential items for those in need. The event focused on gathering items such as clothing, blankets, canned foods, school supplies, hygiene products and digital monetary donations. Community members dropped off their contributions on Saturday, February 22nd from 1:00 to 03:00 PM at the approved local business. By collaborating with The Salvation Army, we aimed to maximize the impact of the donations, ensuring they reached individuals and families in need. This initiative not only provided essential goods but also fostered community involvement and support, which created a meaningful way for people to make a difference locally. 

 Brief Description of Charity  

The Salvation Army is an international organization which was founded in 1865 to provide social services to those in need. This organization operates in over 130 countries worldwide and is involved in programs such as: 

• Homeless Shelters 

• Addiction Recovery 

• Disaster Relief 

• Food Assistance 

In the United States, it is best known for its red kettle campaigns during the holidays. The Salvation Army is committed to the enhancement and betterment of the lives of people who are in need in local communities through the act of providing livelihood, emergency assistance, and long-term support. 

 

Factual Analysis of Success 

The team collected a total of 305 items, exceeding its best-case projection. This includes $50 in donations, 65 accessories, 20 non-perishable food items, 20 school supplies and hygiene products, and 200 clothes and blankets. 

Lessons Learned  

Communicate:  

When everyone knows their job and communicates well, there is less confusion and efficiencies with collaboration, which also minimizes risk. Don’t hesitate to ask each other questions if you are unsure how to do some things, use each other to bounce ideas off, and get feedback from the team to improve the project outcome. 

Flexible & Adaptable:  

Things are always changing and when you work with a group, it is important as a project manager to be proactive, along with supporting your team and having fun to keep the teams engaged. For example, our team had to completely pivot the location of our event on a last minute’s notice due to being unable to book a table at DePaul University’s Student Center. We were able to secure a venue with a local business that sponsored our event.  

 Using Resources

Our group may have saved some time if we started off by listing our resources early in the project. We all assumed that since we are students at DePaul, it would have been easier to conduct the event there. However, we came to the realization that we all lived somewhat close by in the suburbs, and most of our contacts who were willing to donate were also in the suburbs. Once we pivoted our location the rest of the project started to come together much quicker. 

 Advice for Future Teams  

Always have a risk plan in place, especially on the day of the event by practicing scenario analysis. There are many things going on the day of the event, that having a plan in place allows flexibility in an efficient manner. Having a risk plan will also help during the planning of the event so if you are unable to communicate with a charity, a sponsor, or other parties involved in the event, the risk plan can help guide the group to take the next steps.  

Frequent communication is also helpful when planning and executing the project. While it may be difficult for everyone to attend every meeting, try to meet once a week or once every other week to get updates and complete project-oriented documentation. It is also helpful to message each other quick updates such as notices from the charity or getting the venue secured.  

Start marketing your event as early as possible. One of the challenges our group faced was having difficulty promoting our event until we were able to secure the venue. If we had been able to start marketing earlier, we would have been able to reach a wider number of people in our networks to donate items for our event.