The Beauty of Service Projects

I am currently serving with the Philadelphia Health Corps in my second term of service with Americorps.  I serve as a Patient Advocate with The Philadelphia Department of Public Health.  Last year I served as a corps member with City Year Greater Philadelphia as a tutor and mentor to a group of 9th grade students.  I found my service with City Year extremely rewarding.  I enjoyed my service so much that I decided to continue my term of service with a change in focus from education to healthcare.  My career goal since high school has been to go to medical school.  Therefore, the Philadelphia Health Corps offered me the opportunity to combine my passion for service with my passion for health and medicine.  While my service this year differs from City Year in its daily focus, it is similar in its objective to serve a cause greater than self. 

In addition to my responsibilities as a Patient Advocate, I also serve on the PHC service committee.  The committee plans and organizes the monthly service projects in which all members participate.  Both planning and participating in service projects is something that my two years of service have in common.  In fact, service projects are one of my favorite aspects of AmeriCorps service.  I love getting to go out into different neighborhoods, meet new people, and help on various community projects.  I also enjoy the opportunity to be a part of different initiatives  each month such as community clean-ups, and building restoration projects.  I have found something special in these events where people who have never met come together for one day to accomplish a goal for the betterment of our community.

I have even been able to use service projects as a way to connect my two years of service.  Through my connections at City Year, I have helped our organizations serve together.  PHC members have participated in two school beautification projects, painting murals, through City Year Philadelphia.  At these events, PHC members have interacted with City Year members, exchanged ideas and passions, while helping to create a better learning environment for the children of Philadelphia.  

I have enjoyed getting to stay connected with City Year through my current service.  I believe that it is important to build connections between different AmeriCorps programs  in order to best serve our community.  If we as organizations can work together to improve multiple aspects in our city, we can better serve our multi-faceted society.  Service projects offer the opportunity to not only bring different AmeriCorps programs  together but people who work in all different sectors including service, business, medicine, law, and education.  I hope to continue to build connections between different people and organizations during my last few months of service. 

Next year, I will be starting medical school.  Although this marks the start of my career, I will continue to be involved in service throughout my life and hope to build a network between my future colleagues and the service organizations that have become a part of my life.

This post was written by PHC member Zach Semenetz.
Zach serves at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health - Health Center #5 as a Patient Assistance Program Advocate.