This semester for the Leadership in Changing Environments course, I volunteered for the Meals on Wheels program with the Prince William Area Agency on Aging. I completed my community-based learning volunteer hours at the Prince William Area Agency on Aging's Woodbridge Senior Center located at 13850 Church Hill Drive, Woodbridge, Virginia. The mission of the Prince William Area Agency on Aging is: “To enhance independence, improve quality of life and enjoy aging by providing a support network for older adults and their families through advocacy, education, coordination and the implementation of programs and services”. for older adults in the tri-jurisdictional area (“Area Agency on Aging,” n.d.). The Prince William Area Agency on Aging provides various programs and services to accomplish its mission with the following initiatives; Meals on Wheels, personal care services, service evaluation, care registry, telephone reassurance, caregiver support groups, legal assistance, Medicare resources, Medicaid resources, adult day care, volunteer opportunities, senior centers, financial assistance, veteran assistance, housing options, Disability Services Board, Care Transitions, Home Repair and Renovation Services, Bluebird Tours, Commission on Aging are some of the assistance resources available. In terms of the challenges Woodbridge Senior is facing, there are two; parking and space within the centre. Parking has been a problem for some time now and not much has been done about it yet. Additionally, space within the center is limited and parking has somewhat impeded the expansion project. It has been said that until the parking problem is resolved, there cannot be an expansion of the centre, which is sometimes very difficult when there are many programs and activities planned and there is no place for members to meet and they have to wait for tasks to finish before others start. Finally, the thing that has stood out most from observations and interactions with staff, members and volunteers is that customer service is something that the people at Woodbridge Senior Center do particularly well. Each staff member and volunteer takes it upon themselves to ensure that members' needs are exceeded and will do their best to accommodate their request as quickly as possible. After witnessing such member treatment, I was very pleased to have completed the community-based learning volunteer hours at the Prince William Area Agency on Aging's Woodbridge Senior Center for this course. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay For the Meals on Wheels home care program, I was one of the volunteer delivery drivers. As mentioned, the Prince William Area Agency on Aging administers the home-delivered meals program. Home-delivered midday meals are delivered to adults age 60 and older who cannot leave their homes to participate in the community meals program. A midday meal is delivered to people five days a week, Monday to Friday. Others receive a week's or month's supply of frozen meals. Shelter meals are available to people to cover days when volunteers cannot deliver meals due to inclement weather (“Meals on Wheels – Prince William,” n.d.). Meals are prepared daily (Monday - Friday) at the Woodbridge Senior Center, viewed bycertified dietitian of the center (nutritionist), collected between 10.30 and 10.45 and delivered by the various volunteers according to the pre-established routes and times. organized by the Prince William Area Agency on Aging in coordination with the Woodbridge Senior Center site manager. Additionally, the Prince William Area Agency's responsibilities on aging include; maintain the independence and quality of life of adults and their families and promote, educate, coordinate, and implement programs and services for older adults. The Agency serves older adults, their families, and health care providers in tri-jurisdictional areas of the Prince William County, the City of Manassas and the City of Manassas Park. The agency is one of more than 670 agencies in the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Area residents are invited to participate in our programs. Some programs are open to people age 55 and older, others are open to residents age 60 and older (“Area Agency on Aging,” n.d.). In terms of the work I did, the Woodbridge Senior Center had few such daily key events/activities. volunteering experiences in which I participated, such as Meals on Wheels, Front Desk as Receptionist and spent time in the centre's kitchen. For Meals on Wheels, I have had a couple of opportunities to deliver meals known as “delivery routes.” My first delivery day for Meals on Wheels was 11/13/19 with a partner as there were no routes available for me to take that day. The assistant cook, Kevin, from the Woodbridge Senior Center introduced me to the assigned delivery driver and asked me (on my behalf) if I could accompany him as there are no routes available and I needed this done for a course I was attending George Mason University. To protect the identity of the people at Woodbridge Senior Center and this volunteer experience, I will not refer to any real names in this reflection. I met Lisa who was very welcoming and stated that she was very happy to have a partner and that she had no problem with me accompanying her and completing the assigned route. The delivery took just over an hour, Lisa gave me a synopsis on what is essential when delivering for Meals on Wheels, including not leaving any meals at the door for safety reasons if the person doesn't answer or isn't at the residence. Additionally, ensuring that I am aware of and follow any special instructions on the delivery route listing in case a particular individual has requested a juice instead of a milk. For this delivery, we were able to deliver all the pre-arranged meals to all the recipients and return to the Woodbridge Senior Center with the empty bags. Before we left for the day, Lisa took some time and showed me where we keep the bags that contained both the hot and cold meals for this trail and where/how to log our volunteer hours. On the same day, I spent some time at the front desk as a receptionist where I was introduced to Tony, who briefly explained the role and what exactly I would be doing while stationed at the front desk. The main job was to answer any questions from members or anyone coming into the Woodbridge Senior Center and answer telephone questions and direct them to the appropriate parties based on the questions/requests. This primarily included individuals such as the site director, administrative assistant, chef, or nutritionist. If calls came in regarding matters outside the scope of the Woodbridge Senior Center, I was advised to transfer the calls to the appropriate department or individual listed on the call list.transfer. Finally, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time assisting in the kitchen early in the morning before delivering meals for Meals on Wheels and in the afternoon immediately after serving lunch and completing the routes. Kevin and I, after successfully completing my route, prepared meals for future routes and cleaned the kitchen for the day before I reported to the front desk. This volunteer experience helped me better understand the dynamics of leadership that I perhaps wasn't yet aware of and has had a profound impact on me especially when it comes to interacting with others in a professional setting. For example, I observed that on many occasions the leaders of the Woodbridge Senior Center were always able to stay focused on the goal and the task at hand despite distractions from phone calls, email notifications, or people. From the change and Social Innovation Plan (SIP) perspective, this opportunity to spend my time at the Woodbridge Senior Center this semester has taught me to never get comfortable and to always be ready for a change because sometimes it might be unexpected, and you have to make him be positive and respectful towards him. Although the SIP covers Title I - Education and our group's goal is to implement an advisory-type committee that means teachers have a say in how much funding is distributed to teachers for their classrooms. Currently, teachers are forced to pay for basic teaching materials out of their own pockets because the allocated budget is simply not enough. Therefore, from this volunteering experience I learned that the outcome of any suggestion or request for change may not always be granted or approved, but it is important to stay focused on the principle and one day, as time passes, you will be successful. The approach of the staff I worked with at Woodbridge Senior Center was servant leadership. The Servant Leadership approach is a philosophy in which the leader's primary goal is to serve, and was first coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in his 1970 essay, "The Servant as a Leader." – Putting Your Team First, and Yourself Second”, n.d.) This part of the reflection I will talk mostly about Kathy Ambrose, Site Manager at Woodbridge Senior Center. Kathy is truly an example of a servant leader she will be there for them. Contacts them often to see how they are doing and sincerely tries to see situations from others' points of view. Makes decisions with the team's interests in mind and ensures that everyone has the resources and knowledge necessary to achieve theirs goals As a result, his team is one of the most successful within the Prince William Area Agency on Aging, with low staff turnover and high engagement. The work of the Prince William Area Agency on Aging's Woodbridge Senior Center is doing many things that are well, it's important and it's making a lasting difference. However, in terms of implementing change related to our SIP, the focus of the SIP is different from my community-based learning experience and involves Title I - Education and our group's goal is to implement an advisory-type committee that means that teachers have a say in the amount of funding distributed to teachers for their classes. Currently, teachers are forced to pay for basic teaching materials out of their own pockets because the allocated budget is simply not enough. Currently, the Prince William Area Agency on Aging is actively providing 18 various programs and services, as mentioned in.