Scholarships & Community Service in High School
Make a Plan to Start Volunteering Freshman Year
Feb 9, 2009
Students need to be thinking about community service items for scholarship applications their freshman year. Many colleges ask for an essay about a student’s community service experiences. In addition, completing volunteer work helps develop leadership skills. And, helping someone else always makes a person feel great.
Making a Community Service Plan
Students need to plan to complete at least one community service activity each year of high school. Fitting in community service in one's busy schedule takes good time management. During the freshman year of high school, a student needs to put together a community service plan, because a student may become involved in clubs, sports and have a job. And, students who carry a difficult course load spend a great deal of time studying.
Find Activities and Volunteer
There are many ways to get involved in volunteer work. One place to start is in the school guidance office. The clubs that focus on service learning and the volunteer activities are usually listed there.
Students should choose community service projects that center on their interests. If one enjoys sports, help with the Special Olympics, or if one enjoys cooking, help at the local homeless shelter or food pantry.
The Red Cross always needs volunteers, as does Habitat for Humanity. In addition, local churches are always in need of help with the elderly by visiting shut-ins, stocking a food pantry or watching children in the nursery during a church service or function.
Key Club and 4-H
Some clubs specifically focus on service learning. These clubs have many volunteer opportunities, and they work all year to help others.
One such club is Key Club. Key Club is led by students and teaches how to lead by helping others.This club generally leads many service projects in the school, such as food and coat drives, organizing relief efforts, helping with fund raisers for groups in need, etc. There are volunteer opportunities through the club in the school, in the local community, around the United States and abroad.
Another club that fosters volunteer work is 4-H. For 70 years, young people have been learning by doing. Members complete service projects that meet the community needs and are driven by the young people involved. Teaching leadership is a key component of this organization.
Being involved in community service should be a life long endeavor to help others. However, in high school, becoming involved in volunteer work is crucial to getting into the right colleges and landing many scholarships. Remember, it is good to help others, and in turn it helps one's future.
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