How to Approach Community Service

Community service can be one of the most enjoyable things to do - I can truthfully say that I help out because it’s fun, and not just because I think it looks good on my resume (this seems to be the reason most people do anything nowadays).

When choosing what community service you want to participate in, select one that reflects what your interests are. If you want to be a doctor later on in your life, volunteer at the hospital – in doing so, you can get a little taste of what you’ll be facing in the future. However, if you don't know what your future career path will be, don't worry -simply volunteer in a field that interests you. For example, if you are passionate about Spanish, you can volunteer at a place where a lot of Spanish is spoken to get practice with the language; if you really like sports, you can volunteer as coach for a little league team. In this way, the possibilities are endless.

The key to an enjoyable community service experience is to pick a job that genuinely interests you. Don't pick something just for the sake of getting a lot of hours; for colleges and for yourself, the quality of those hours are much more important than the quantity. Thus, if done correctly, community service can truly enrich your high school experience -which is what is was intended to do in the first place.

The catch is that often these community service opportunities can be difficult to find. Sometimes you can find out about them through word-of-mouth, or on the Internet. There is a nice little link to the left side labeled ‘Community Service,’ which has a list of volunteer opportunities compiled by SAGE. In addition, http://www.volunteermatch.org is a great resource. However, if you need any help looking for community service opportunities don't hesitate to contact us either by commenting on this blog or by sending us an email at dvsageclub.com@gmail.com. Don't be afraid to use us as a resource; we're here to help you out.

-Grace