Volunteering In College

Many schools require students to participate in community service, but I think this is a good idea. Many schools do not require students to volunteer in community service. I agree that students should have to volunteer to graduate. I think that students should be forced to volunteer for community service sometime in their high school career as it makes people work and shows them what work really is. It also gets people off there lazy tail.

Forcing students to volunteer can make their community service hours falsified. This is because it was not necessarily their choice to go out and help the community. Yet, since the students are required to do so they will more than likely record their required community service on their resume, as if it was something that they chose to do. This can be a

Wouldn’t it be great if in high school we kept ourselves healthy and maybe even increased our lifetime by performing a simple and even fun task? “In a fortunate twist, some research has found that volunteering actually helps people live longer and stay healthy, and those who volunteer are generally more satisfied with life and are less likely to be depressed” (Finley). High school is not only a great time in our lives to begin making healthy choices, but to begin impacting our community in a positive way as well. Even though many students don’t have a lot of extra time, high school students should have to complete community service in order to graduate.

Although community service is a great way to give back to the community, it has been tainted by its use as a requirement for high school graduates. Forcing volunteer work should be recognized for more than just a bare minimum, is unfair to those who have other obligations and provides no lasting benefit to the students. Many people and schools believe that making community service not optional for receiving a diploma could only benefit the students it’s required of but in a way it’s more harmful than helpful.

Some people believe that requiring students to volunteer in order to receive their high school diploma defeats the purpose of volunteering. They believe that it would cheapen the work that the students are doing. They believe that the students would not put the required effort into the volunteer work. However, once the students start volunteering, they will forget that they are required to. The students will be proud and have a feeling of accomplishment in the work they are doing and put effort into volunteering in the community. Therefore, students should have to do volunteer work to receive their

The United States is a country of volunteers. In 2002-2003, 64 million Americans (28.8 percent of those 16 and older) donated 52 hours a year, the equivalent of more than one full work week, to building shelters, coaching Little League, caring for the elderly, teaching literacy, and countless other community-minded pursuits. Statistics show in Source F that “groups mandatory and nonvolunteers – were less likely to volunteer 8 years after high school than persons who strongly encouraged to volunteer or did it for strictly voluntary reason (43 percent).”

He pointed out that there are even programs done by colleges and high schools in order to gain more than two million volunteer hours a year. Owning a lot of time, Being mature and able to handle wide range of tasks, and receiving the opportunity to discover a potential career, make Eggers believes that college students are uniquely suited to do volunteer work. Eggers admits that a service requirement will not work everywhere, therefore colleges could give credit for services instead of forcing students to finish a graduation requirement. Moreover, he thinks colleges could provide the service requirement in their junior year, because the students are settled and have more hours and stability in their schedules. Eggers emphasizes that volunteering is by nature transformative, even they are forced to serve, their sympathy will be shown once they meet those who need their help. In addition, there is no reason for colleges to ignore how students may contribute to the world.

On average on 26% of Americans volunteer, this surprised me on how low this number truly was. I now understand why community service is required for most classes, because without us kids out volunteering the numbers would be substantially lower. This proves to be true by a study done by Debra Blum shows that hot spots for volunteer work is in college towns, such as Provo, Madison, Wisconsin and Iowa City, Iowa. To me this is pointing out that people that have higher education are more likely to give back to their communities. This can be explained with certain theories that will be broken down later in the essay along with other materials.

“Serve of Fail” by Eggers brings up many interesting points as to why volunteering should be a requirement for college students. “Colleges should create in their students a lifelong commitment to volunteering,” he said while pointing out that college students are uniquely suited to volunteering. He stated that America would gain millions of volunteer hours and it would help colleges bridge the gap between the academic world and the world beyond it. I agree that colleges should make volunteering a requirements for students and I support Eggers argument, but have a different opinion on some of his points.

Many schools need to push students to participate in volunteering services to receive their high school diploma. By students being part of an active role in the community, they are capable of becoming responsible leaders, learning new things, and helping those in need in their community. Volunteering is beneficial to students because it helps them become more mature and it helps them get ready for the real world. Students need to help the community whether it is forced or not.

Why as high school students should we be required to volunteer in our community to receive a high school diploma? No, we as high school students should not be required to participate in a volunteer program in our community because there’s no transportation, no places to volunteer and no time to commit.

Imagine immigrating to a foreign country where uncertainty and unfamiliarity awaits. That was my family in October 2008 when we arrived in America as refugees, deprived of basic necessities such as food and clothing. We faced difficulties adjusting to the culture and meeting our needs. However, volunteers of all ages from different charities delivered and donated foods, clothing, and presents, and warmly welcomed us with comfort during a time of major adjustment in our lives. They guided my family in our transition as we apply for schools and jobs. Volunteering was also a rare and uncommon practice in my birth country, so the number of volunteers helping us in America made a good impression of the country to my family. As I grew up and attend high school in America, I realized the amazing and endless opportunities for young people to make a difference in other’s lives by feeding the homeless, responding to natural disasters, caring for the elderlies, cleaning the community, saving the lives of animals, and much more. Community service should be required to graduate high school because it provides essential skills, builds character, and promotes higher education for a successful life.

Discussing about volunteering to teenagers should be the first step for a better life, since teenagers are the future of tomorrow and they will leave a mark from yesterday. Volunteering has been such an important matter, that schools in many countries around the world established that 12th grade students will need certain hours of community service in order to graduate. But the frequent answers all the schools are getting are “Why do I need to volunteer? I have better things to do!” What people are forgetting is that each one of them is part of a community, a community that is not perfect and that the government sometimes forgets about their problems or needs, because obviously the government needs to take care of other things that require more attention. People are not only helping others, they are also helping themselves (Volunteering).

Most colleges look for extracurricular activities such as students who have participated in their share of volunteerism as it helps recognize students apart from the large number of applicants who have applied as well. So if schools automatically had kids volunteer then there would be a better chance (with their GPA’s) to be accepted into the college they prefer. As well, the schools that support the students would have a proud reputation and strong educational ratings. It also helps students develop civic and social responsibility skills and become more responsible in the long run. Therefore these actions allow students to take what they've comprehended and use it apart from the classroom, learning that what they have learned can be used in

Nowadays, it is very difficult to get a job without a College Diploma. Our ever-increasing demands on student’s academic performances have insured well-educated adults, but what we have failed to focus on is the vital component of volunteerism as an integral part of rearing well-rounded adults. College students should be required to complete a year of community service/volunteer work before they can graduate, in order to create mature and caring adults and versatile future leaders. By mandating all College students across the United States of America to add another year to their studies and use this year for community service/volunteer work only, we will be able to increase their knowledge of community need, civic responsibility, and allow