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Students for Community Service |
Why Should You Get Involved In Community Service?Community service provides a variety of unique benefits to the students, the community and to the organizations where students volunteer. It is very common that volunteers get much more out of their service experience than they expect. Also, the community gains resources and services that would otherwise be unavailable.One of the mottos SCS uses to promote community service is "Give
a little. You'll get back so much more." This is especially true
for the personal benefits derived from volunteer service. It has been
shown that service activities have a unique way of developing an individual's
leadership skills, sense of community, self-esteem, and other personal
characteristics. In terms of career growth, many service activities
provide students with the opportunity to explore possible careers, experience
the "real-world" of their chosen career field, develop professional
skills and contacts, build their resume, and put into practice the information
they have learned in academic settings. Research has shown that student
learning, personal skills and professional development will increase
when students invest more of their out-of-class time and energy in educationally
purposeful activities such as community service.
Every community service activity or project benefits a specific individual or group. Whether it is building a home for the working poor, serving victims of chronic or terminal illness, tutoring children, or any other service activity, there is a person or group who ultimately benefits from your time! Without volunteers like yourself these services would not be provided and the lives of those people receiving the services would not be enriched. In addition, whenever you reach out and help one person, there is a ripple effect that ultimately results in benefits to the entire community. Finally, the organizations where you conduct your service work also benefit enormously. Non-profit agencies and government programs have suffered many budgetary cutbacks, yet client needs have continued to expand. Volunteers can make significant contributions to these agencies in their attempt to deal with the complex and growing needs of society. For more information, email |
