The Marshall Christensen Vision Fund for University Centers of Servant Leadership

Support the development and growth of servant leadership centers for university students operated by our partners around the world.

"The opportunity to learn about servant leadership at university was a completely new experience that changed my life. It gave me a new understanding of the value and importance of people and people in community." - Kate, Student at BGKU (Ukraine)

"The servant leadership course has been like a light in my life for many years now. It helped me to define my values and to live with integrity, even when no one is looking. It helped me understand the importance of having the right people around you - people who support you and let you find your voice." - Aigerim, Student at KAFU (Kazakhstan)

Marshall Christensen's Vision

Marshall Christensen, Co-Serve's Founder, recognized that there is a unique opportunity to help university students to consider their life, their values, and their purpose. Marshall also noticed that many students are never given this opportunity during their time at university. For Marshall and for all of us at Co-Serve International, helping someone consider their purpose is an important part of practicing the principles of servant leadership. In all of Co-Serve's programs we actively demonstrate that each student is valuable, their life has meaning and significance, and that they exist for a purpose.

In 2016, Co-Serve's partner in Ukraine, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, created a "Center for Servant Leadership Development." The goal of the Center was to promote a culture of servant leadership at the university by sharing the principles broadly, including operating a servant leadership course in Ukrainian for every incoming student. As Marshall saw the impact of this Center, he became convinced that similar "Centers of Servant Leadership" could play a strategic role in helping many more students consider their life, their values, and their purpose during their time at university.

In 2022 Marshall spelled out his vision for the work of University Centers of Servant Leadership. This vision involved centers that were strategically using training, mentoring, and internships to help significant numbers of university students to: 1) Learn about the principles of servant leadership, 2) Consider and articulate their core values, 3) Share their life story in a safe environment, and 4) Write a clear statement of their life purpose. Centers would also promote the values of servant leadership with the university's faculty and staff, helping them to embrace and incorporate servant leadership practices in their classrooms and structures.

Co-Serve's Strategy for Pursuing Marshall's Vision

Co-Serve's Board and Leadership Team believe in Marshall's vision and we want to support the development of Servant Leadership Centers around the world. Our strategy is not to directly create and fund the operation of centers, but to support our partners as they develop Servant Leadership Centers that are sustainable in their context. This includes our continued partnership with existing Centers in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and working with our partners in Nigeria, Thailand, Afghanistan, the Philippines, and the USA to consider how servant leadership centers could be developed in their context. To support this effort, Co-Serve is creating the Marshall Christensen Vision Fund for University Centers of Servant Leadership. This fund will be carefully used to support the following objectives:

CONTRIBUTING TO MARSHALL'S VISION

Marshall Christensen’s life has touched so many students around the world. We know that many of you reading this were impacted in some way by Marshall or by the work of Co-Serve during your time as a student. Or, perhaps there was another person that played a key role in helping you think about your own purpose during your university years. By supporting Marshall's vision through this fund, you can help many more university students to have the opportunity to think about their life, their values, and their purpose. Co-Serve is actively working with our partners to help them consider how to open new Servant Leadership Centers in their context. We are already working with HALCIA, our partner in Nigeria, to open a new center in the next year.

The impact of your contribution will be to greatly increase the number of university students who are able to learn about and grapple with the principles of servant leadership, and as part of that, to consider their own purpose in life. We are setting a goal to help our partners reach and impact at least 300 more students over the next three years. In this effort, we see a need to raise $25,000 to support these centers through the objectives stated above. To contribute to this fund, please choose an option below to make your donation. Your donation will be shared with Marshall Christensen and we will keep you updated on the work of our partner Servant Leadership Centers around the world. If you have any questions, or if you would like to designate your gift to support a particular center, please send us an e-mail at info@co-serve.org.

CHECK

Mail a check, payable to "Co-Serve International," to:

Co-Serve International
P.O. Box 2099
Sandy, OR  97055

Please include a short note with your check, indicating "SL Center Fund."  A paper receipt will be mailed to you promptly.

CREDIT CARD OR BANK ACCOUNT

Click on the "Donate" button below to open Co-Serve's Credit Card and Bank Account Donation Page for our SL Center Fund.

PAYPAL

Click on the "Donate" button below to go to Co-Serve's PayPal donation page for our SL Center Fund.