Do You Know The INDEVOURS?

What is a team? According to Dictionary.com, a team is “a number of persons associated in some joint action”. If this is all I said about INDEVOURS, I would not be doing it justice whatsoever because we are so much more than that. Yes we have a joint mission and common goals, but each member of our team is such an asset and compliment to other members that our work and unity is constantly developing. We understand each other and bounce off each other’s ideas, we develop these ideas into real ventures, and we will not stop working on them until we reach the success we desire. This group of talented, motivated, dedicated and passionate young individuals is very dear to my heart and I am inspired by each and every one of them.

INDEVOURS Are...

For those of you who do not know we are a group of 32 International Development students from the University of Waterloo. Come September, we will be travelling to 7 different countries (Malawi, Botswana, Ghana, Nepal, Peru, Burkina Faso, and Vietnam) to work with small grassroots organizations. We will use the knowledge we have acquired over the past few years to help these organizations achieve their missions and stand on their feet, all the while learning practical and hands on skill about international development. We have a goal of raising $60, 000 to fund our field placements and we think of creative ways to raise these funds, simultaneously getting our name out to the public.

Structure of the Organization

The structure of our organization revolves around four major groups – Creative, Fundraising, Events, and Project Management. Within these major groups, we have subgroups that work on specific tasks. For example, Creative is split up into three subgroups– Copy, social media, and graphics. Copy works on most of the written work for the organization such as the letters we send to potential donors, thank you notes for those who have donated, and even material for our website. Social media takes care of our Twitter page, Facebook page, and our Website; they make sure that INDEVOURS is always on the map. Graphics works on our logo, designs our posters, and other promotional material. I work within the project management group, particularly overseeing the affairs of Fundraising; project managers have further developed the structure of the organization so that there is a representative from each group and subgroup. We gather with them weekly to discuss important updates from their respective groups, to ensure that everyone is on the same page and nothing slips through the cracks.

Our Events

Back In June we hosted an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament that was really successful! Weeks before the event, all of us worked on recruiting participants, advertising, and getting necessary equipment and facilities, but it wasn’t until a few days before the tournament that everyone in INDEVOURS came together to achieve the goals we had set for the event. The night before, we stayed up late silk screening our tee shirts with the INDEVOURS logo so we matched on the day of; we really showed the public who we are. Being part of an event such as this really opened my eyes as to what a strong team is. Yes, we had a single unified goal but we did whatever we could to ensure that the micro goals for every group within the greater team were accomplished; everyone worked together. The event turned out so well and all of the participants had nothing but great things to say about INDEVOURS and our mission. This week we have another big event, the Global Gala (we will also be having a silent auction during the evening). Similarly to the last event, I see everyone working hard towards making this event successful, whether it be getting people to buy tickets, assigning tasks for the night, or collecting donations for the silent auction. I am absolutely ecstatic to see the fruits of our labour and just how well this event turns out!

INDEVOURS is my team and we will work for change! To learn more about us and our mission, visit our website at www.indevours.wordpress.com. Also, watch this video!