Comunity Service

When I was asked to speak about service, the first thing I had to ponder was what exactly is service. In the world we live in today, there is so many different ways to serve those around you. Whether it is giving back to your school, local community, or even across borders the goal is always the same. Give a little piece of yourself for a greater good while expecting nothing in return.

Service is simply an act of helpful activity and the transferable skills that are gained from service illustrate the importance of being involved. By volunteering in my community and taking part in organizations that are centered on service, I am able to strengthen my understanding of my surroundings, and I am taught more compassion for others. Being involved presents unlimited opportunities to give back to others, and with the skills instilled by service, I am able to make a difference in the lives around me. Experience gained with service creates characteristics in a person that can shape the direction of my life, and I will value that in the future.

I think that citizenship and service are linked in a way. I think that to be a good citizen and properly fulfill your role, you have to help out in the community. I do my part at school by doing what teachers ask of me, always being respectful, and by taking the time to do things the right way such as putting things in the right bins at the end of lunch. I also serve my community by doing community service hours and by picking up litter. I do community service hours by organizing food drives, volunteering at a food bank, and by helping out in a community garden. I help out in this garden by watering it, and I also take the food from it to Friendship Trays.

The acts of community service I have participated in FBLA has taught and strengthen my belief that charity is the most important gestures any person can due to have a beneficial impact in the world; is to help a person in need. For instances, our organization has collected Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in the Henry County community each year and the act of giving a child without access to toys for the holidays something as simple as a toy car has brought the greatest

In this regard, the most important part of service to me personally is giving back to the community. Volunteering is my way of providing service to others, it is not only effective, but it’s a good way to meet people, to learn, and to develop social skills. By helping or supporting others, I learned and used new skills in communicating with people and I have gained confidence in myself through different interactions. Providing aid to a family in need or helping out an elementary teacher is necessary, because as people it should be our natural tendencies to support one another, and bring aid when aid is due. For example, at Seven Lakes High school I created the Girls for Krause Club. It was given the name the Girls for Krause club after the Krause Center; a center in Katy that fosters girls who have been taken out of their homes due to sexual harassment, parental mistreatment or mental issues. My first visit to the Krause Center was with my youth group at church. I was so touched by all the girls at the center, and how open they were about their situation. I remember one of the girls telling me thank you, for treating her like “a regular person.” This interaction gave me the incentive to create the Krause club, because I wanted to allow other girls my age to interact with these girls and bring attention to a center that wasn’t well known in my community. Moreover, creating the Krause club has been rewarding and a way to showcase

I believe in a broad definition of community service, one that includes not only charitable and service

Community is built of two main elements. First, community requires communal caring. Members need to put themselves in positions where they are able to relate to other members and does everything “within reasonable limits of self-sacrifice” (65). The second is communal reciprocity. Individuals will serve other members of the community, not for exchange of goods, but to provide generosity and support. These elements of community appear in the lives of all individuals, even the most capitalist ones. Humans are entirely capable of these.

People may think of service as being in a war or being part of our government. While these are very high positions of service there are also many small ways service can make an impact. Some of the service activities I have been included in are: Singing at a senior center, participating in Girl Scouts, adopting and caring for a humane society dog, donating clothes or toys to goodwill, and biking/walking places to save gas. Service is very important to me because it really helps me visualize the difference you can make by doing several small acts of kindness.

I understand the strength of a community is measured by what people put into it. I will actively volunteer my time and talents for the common good.

As a whole were limited as of what we can do to give back to our community. With every bit of help we can have a significant impact on the rate of poverty in America. There are many ways to get citizens off the streets and into stable homes. Working with a variety of organizations can have a major impact on children, adults and veterans on rebuilding their lives over again.

Hurricane Katrina in many cases was an unfortunate learning experience for emergency management and preparedness. Concentrating on the larger mitigation issues may prove to be the priority opposed to the smaller issues, along with focusing upon risk assessment (Averill, 2005). Risk assessment in emergency management is key to identifying those potential hazards that a particular threat may be likely to impact the area. For example, I reside on the east coast by the beach where the area has a higher threat for hurricanes compares to a community in Iowa. A higher risk assessment for specific threats require a plan and, or mitigation steps.

Having mandatory national service implies that every young person between ages 18 through 25 will be required to give back to the country through some type of national service. This includes the Military, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and other nonprofit organizations. It does not necessarily involve preparing for combat, nor risking a life, but helping those in need, making the world a better place by taking care of the environment. Everyone should have the obligation to serve. John F. Kennedy ones said, “A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrows hard-core unemployed.” Meaning that national service is something every citizen should be a part of. After all, it provides young adults with strength and pride of their country, as well as training in the career they are leaning towards. (Kennedy)

Acts of service always created a desire in me to help make people’s lives better. People often put forth their best when

“Community Service is important for many reasons. Taking part and volunteering teaches compassion and understanding. You can volunteer for something you really believe and have an interest in, and can volunteer as much or as little as you'd like or have time for.” Community service is really easy to get into. I mean, it is not like you have to put out an application and have an interview in order to do it. It is really easy to get into, and is really fun. It is things you wouldn’t even think are considered, like:

The second person I interviewed was Rosa. Rose just moved into the neighborhood about three months ago. She is 25-year-old and her ethnic background is black. Rose also lives on Richardson avenue. The way she describes where she lives is there is good people, and you have bad people that do not live there. Rosa has just one child, a little girl. I ask her does she see any crime, and she said yes. She said that she is a little bit scared because she wakes up at six to get her daughter ready for school. She goes up the little hill and she see two prostitutes there. I ask her to describe what were the prostitutes wearing she said they had on a bright shirt, with a short skit, and fishnet stockings. She said that it bothers her because her little