CHELSEA ANNE PERSON
SERVANT LEADERSHIP
Senior Project
Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world (Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership).
Columbus State University Servant Leadership Program is a four-year comprehensive program that incorporates leadership theory, practice, experiential learning, modeling and mentoring to prepare the next generation of leaders to be service-centered citizens in communities across the globe.
CHALLENGE:
Each year, the CSU Servant Leadership program seniors practice their servant leadership skills in a class project, which benefits a local nonprofit. After a year of research, discussion, and voting our class selected Truth Spring Academy, a private Christian school beginning in August 2015 to serve at-risk children in the Columbus community. To continue making an impact, Truth Spring Academy needed additional funding. Our goal was to create a business integrated, community fundraiser to help Truth Spring Academy while also serving and engaging the broader Columbus community.
STRATEGY:
Recognizing that Uptown, Columbus, the city’s growing entertainment and business district lacked an engaging holiday event, we created the Uptown Tree Trail. Uptown Tree Trail is a month-long, live display of Christmas trees in the heart of Uptown, Columbus, decorated and sponsored by local organizations.
I led a six-person PR & Marketing team. My chief responsibilities were developing sponsor materials and pitching to a local partner (Uptown Columbus, Inc.), spearheading sales efforts, leading advertising and marketing efforts through website design and creative social media strategy, creating the logo, crafting PSAs, and conceptualizing event programming.
Using my previous nonprofit experience, I helped coach our sales team by offering individualized support to team members. I also leveraged sponsor and community relations to earn media coverage.
RESULTS:
Over 50 local businesses and organizations participated in the inaugural Uptown Tree Trail, raising $19,000 for Truth Spring Academy.
What is Servant Leadership?
Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world (Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership).
Columbus State University Servant Leadership Program is a four-year comprehensive program that incorporates leadership theory, practice, experiential learning, modeling and mentoring to prepare the next generation of leaders to be service-centered citizens in communities across the globe.