On the morning of December 18, 2022, Luong Van Can Fund organized the introductory session “Community service project program” for the 2022-2023 academic year. The session was conducted via Zoom with a focus on the directions for and implementation of Community service project program.

1. Directions for Community service project

This year, the program started with practical sharing from the representatives of “Hieu” Project – “When the young give away” about the process of fully implementing a project and  personal lessons after completing the project. At the beginning, Mr. Phuc and Ms. Nhu Tam, representatives from “Hieu” Project – “When the young give away”, had practical sharing on the direction of community project implementation. According to them, students need to understand themselves, the organization, and the beneficiaries to participate in a community project. 

First of all, project implementers need to understand themselves. What can you give away? What are your values? What issues are you concerned with? These questions will help you choose suitable projects. Besides, you need to clearly define your expectations and capabilities in order to have a complete project journey, including but not limited to:

• Personal strengths and what you wish to learn
• Personal value system
• Volunteering purposes and issues of concern
• Commitment, timing, and roles
• Beneficiaries

Next, project implementers need to “Understand the organization” they will join by considering suitable criteria. These criteria could be:

• Expertise
• Organization’s values (need to consider whether those values are consistent with personal values)
• Impact of activities on the community (long-term or short-term)
• Organization’s mission
• Organization’s method of solving problems

Finally, the project developers need to comprehend what the beneficiaries need. For each demand, there will be a different approach. Besides, respecting the recipients and their dignity when participating in a community project is crucial. Furthermore,  to carry out      a successful project, the developers must put themself in the beneficiary’s shoes and help them with heart.

In addition, Mr. Phuc mentioned that after finishing a project, the implementers should review it to determine the overall process’ efficacy. Therefore, the project developers can look for options to optimize the implementation process.

2. Introduction of the Community Project Program, the year 2022 – 2023

Mr. Trieu Trung, a member of Luong Van Can Fund BoM, shared the second point regarding the Community Service Project program for this year with the following notes:

• This school year’s program is not limited to implementation as long as it complies with the law and upholds good customs, traditions, and culture in Vietnam.
• Students can serve any community.
• The projects implemented this year must be practical and beneficial to the beneficiaries.
• The student/project team will determine the scope and cost of implementation.

Mr. Trung also stated the goals that the Luong Van Can Fund BoM aim for the students after finishing the project:

• Skill: Teamwork, planning, organization and project implementation skills.
• Knowledge: Understanding of the communities needing support and the problems that need to be solved in Vietnam.
• Attitudes: The spirit of community service and the desire to contribute to the development of the community and society.

The process of implementing this year’s community project:

• December 19 – 25, 2022: Registration
• December 26, 2022 – January 1, 2023: Group pairing
• January 2 – 15, 2023: Ideas
• February 1 – 26, 2023: Training and Plan Completion
• March, April, and May 2023: Implementation (online/offline training sessions will be held each month)

The sharing of Mr. Phuc and Ms. Tam gave the students a clearer picture of what participating in a community project is like and criterias for choosing a suitable project. At the same time, the notes from Luong Van Can Fund’s BoM also suggested to the students about the process and spirit of implementing the Community Project in the year 2022 – 2023. Luong Van Can Fund would like to thank the “Hieu” Project – “When the young give away” for their involvement in supporting students to prepare for the volunteer journey ahead. Hopefully, through this training session, students will have a deeper perspective on volunteer work, finding the right method for conducting the Community Project for themselves.

Source: LVCF Media Team