While reading chapter two of Forces for Good, I was won over by the success stories of the featured organizations. It seems that an organization does have the best chance of creating major, far-reaching change by combining both service and advocacy. As Crutchfield and Grant write, the organizations are "focused on creating solutions rather than on simply drawing attention to problems" (47). Using both advocacy tactics and implementing service programs that seek to solve the issue move toward completing the agencies ultimate vision much more quickly and effectively than using just one tactic could.
This led me to consider organizations such as Meals on Wheels, which I was researching over the weekend. Meals on Wheels has set a distinct goal to be completed in the next ten years; according to their national website, the organization's vision is to "end senior hunger by 2020," and its mission is to "provide national leadership to end senior hunger." (Meals on Wheels Association of America) While this in itself is a lofty goal, the organization's use of both advocacy and service do make ending senior hunger a possible success in the future.
Hypothetically, I wonder what it would mean for an organization to have actually fulfilled its mission and vision? Would an organization such as Meals on Wheels alter its mission to advocate for other senior needs? Or would it continue to provide its current services to seniors who still rely on them, while having less "impact" on policies involving senior hunger? It is interesting to think about.
I'd wonder what it would take for Meals on Wheels to accomplish that goal. Is the goal a vision (aspirational) statement? Is it realistic? I'm not sure. What it does say to me is that this vision does require an adjustment in strategy, one that balances advocacy with service. One question I'd wonder is how the organization would make resource allocation decisions. That is, how would the organization decide how much of its resources to use for advocacy and how much to use for service?
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