Commitment to the community doesn’t only manifest once you’ve reached the pinnacle of your career, according to New Windsor MD dentist, Adam Slatniske. It is something that people of all ages and all stages of their careers can and should consider through various acts of service.
Slatniske understands the importance of remaining committed to the community through acts of service and has been dedicated to helping the community since his youth. He believes that anyone can devote energy and effort to making the world better. Even while attending primary school in Carroll County, he maintained his status as an honor student and serving as captain for his football and lacrosse teams while earning hundreds of service-learning hours beyond what was required for graduation.
In college, Adam V. Slatniske’s community service continued through various acts of service, including:
- Offering rides to elderly folks who could no longer drive.
- Volunteering with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.
- Raising awareness related to domestic violence.
- Shoveling the Chestertown Hospital during the 2010 blizzard.
He achieved this while earning a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry from Washington College Cum Laude. After this, Slatniske went on to dental school in South Florida, where he continued his community service endeavors through various additional acts of service for the greater good of the community, such as:
- Donating blood and platelets.
- Organizing blood drives.
- Signing up for the bone marrow donor list.
- Providing pro-bono dental work to low-income patients with HIV/AIDS.
After dental school, Slatniske returned to his home in Maryland, where he became one of the only dentists to provide treatment to mentally and physically disabled patients.
Why does Slatniske believe this service is so valuable? While altruism is undoubtedly a worthy pursuit for those in business or who want to be, community service fills other vital purposes. The better you understand the benefits, the greater good you can learn from your community service efforts. These are just a few reasons why serving the community is an incredible opportunity for you and your business goals.
Time-Management Skills
Time is the one commodity in life that you can never regain. Money comes and goes. Material possessions can be gained, lost, then acquired again. Time, once lost, can never be recovered. You learn to manage your time more effectively when community service activities keep you busy. This ability to manage will benefit your personal and professional life long after your community service activities have ceased.
Generate Connections within the Community
Another significant benefit of giving your time to improving the community involves the connections you build. These connections can help you grow your business, expand your network, and allow you to mentor others along the way. They are gifts that will continue giving for decades to come.
Positions You as a Community Leader
Thought leaders have notable opportunities these days. When you serve your community, you are positioning yourself as a thought leader within your community and so much more. People will look to you as an example. They will seek your services and frequent your business. It’s a great way to expand your customer base without direct advertising.
Helps You Develop People Skills
One of the unintended payoffs of performing community service is that you learn to work with a large variety of people and personalities. This can help you improve your people skills so that you can relate better with your employees, customers, and others you have to work with within the course of operating your business. More importantly, you can find yourself better positioned to work with people who have different values, goals, and perspectives than you.
Boosts Your Self-Confidence
For those who are just embarking on their professional journeys, this can be instrumental. The more experience you have working with others, the greater confidence you have in your ability to tackle challenges, manage a crisis, and rise to the top of your industry. This confidence will help you at all stages of your professional journey.
Lastly, It Feels Good to Do Good
Perhaps the most crucial reason to invest your time and energy into community service projects is that you feel great by doing good deeds. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing you’ve helped someone in a small way. You don’t have to do enormous acts to have a profound impact on someone else. You never know what a difference can make on that person and the effect it can have on their life, like mowing the lawn of an elderly neighbor. You can enjoy the good feeling that goes along with your small act of service.
Adam Slatniske recommends trying small acts of community service to make a difference, and see for yourself the difference it makes in you.