A Guide to Successful Community Service
While some argue that charity work is ineffective since it does not create the proper change for the issues the community faces, good service expressed through active dedication is responsive to people’s needs.
Some may ask, what does active community service look like? Oftentimes community members are mandated to do community service for a class requirement, college applications, or other club organizations. Students who are doing community service to fulfill these requirements often do not understand the value and impact their service can have on a community, usually this stems from a lack of education. Being present and undistracted from friends during service work can create better outcomes for the community you are serving. This is especially true when doing your service work by tutoring. It is important that students feel that you care about helping them, for them to be able to open up and express their needs. This attitude can be shown by staying focused on the student, staying engaged by asking questions, giving suggestions, feedback, and not being overly critical when doing so. When tutoring for college essay writing, some students opt to write about obstacles they have faced. These topics can leave students feeling vulnerable to judgment and embarrassment. Therefore, it is vital for the tutor to nurture an environment where their students can express themselves and their hardships. It is best to limit reactions and keep a professional attitude, especially during the disclosement of sensitive topics.
When helping someone with essay writing for college applications, lending your knowledge to help them create a stronger paper can improve the trajectory of their life. As most know going into the college writing process, essays produced are extremely important. With colleges dropping SAT/ACT requirements and affirmative action being overturned by the Supreme Court last year, college essays are being weighed more heavily than they ever have before. These added pressures are causing students additional anxiety and stress when tasked to tackle this process. In “Writing a College Essay that Stands Out” Janelle Milanes states “The dismal student-to-counselor ratio in American high schools is another challenge. Counselors can be instrumental in guiding students through brainstorming topics, honing their writing abilities and refining their essays. They also play a crucial role in delivering in-depth, constructive feedback to students on their college essays.” Students across the country need guidance and reassurance while writing their college essays so that they are certain they are taking the right steps in producing a unique and engaging essay. It is important that the student is given all the help they can get. Sharing your knowledge based on prior experiences with essay writing can make all the difference. It is important that the student essay is polished, concise, and answers the prompt. These essays have all the power to change a student’s acceptance at a college or university. Depending on the students interests, each school is different and will have better opportunities to offer students depending on those interests. Ivy leagues and top universities in the country give students a better chance at employment after college, especially because of the opportunities, networking, and validity of the degree. Writing a college essay that reflects the students’ hard work and experiences is one major component to reaching these goals.
Participating in service while being actively engaged creates a cycle where both sides receive mutual benefits and feel empowered to live more enriched lives and continue charity work. Community service comes in all different forms. Whether you are cleaning up a local beach, tutoring children, or helping the homeless; you are giving back to the community. For most, this can be a rewarding feeling. Additionally, you are given the opportunity to practice fundamental skills in leadership, learning how to be better at active listening, networking, and so much more. When tutoring students or doing community service with younger audiences, students learn the importance of community service. Not only is it a rewarding feeling, but they learn the importance of contributing towards creating positive societal changes; a fundamental asset to maintaining a well rounded democracy. In the article, “Why is Community Engagement Important,” the author writes “Through feedback, community engagement enables government and public decision-making organizations to listen and, in turn, demonstrate the impact of community contribution. Community engagement, then, builds deeper, stronger and more trusting relationships between public organizations and communities.” The author highlights that community engagement also benefits relationships between public organizations and their local government. This is important because it gives the public an opportunity to have a greater impact on the changes that can be made to their community. Young adults and teenagers exposed to the benefits and importance to community engagement will encourage them to give back when they are older creating a cyclical effect.
Unlike other forms of giving back to less privileged communities, like philanthropy, anyone can participate in meaningful acts of service — regardless of their age, status, or background. Community service does not have any prerequisites. Anyone is welcome to take part in this rewarding experience. Some examples of this include beautification and mentoring. Beautification sustains the community from severe destruction and creates a more welcoming environment for its community members. Mentoring is another form of service work that can be practiced by anyone. Using your skills and knowledge to help others is beneficial to the outcome of a student’s work and their knowledge.
Oftentimes, people feel service work is pointless and wrong. Their main argument is that service work does not solve the root cause of the overarching issue. Despite this being true, through service work you do have the ability to make small changes to communities that help maintain and better the lives of many. Service work is also not limited to tackling the root issue of problems communities face, being a part of large movements are steps in the right direction to making societal changes and getting support from governments and legislatures. Another argument is that philanthropy is pointless. In “Why Giving Your Money Away Won’t Change the World,” the author Morgan Simon writes “There are three main reasons charity simply can’t be the main driver of progressive change, which point at one fundamental problem — we can’t expect to solve social problems with philanthropy, if the majority of our wealth is locked up in investments that harm the planet. Until all of our resources are working for social change, we’ll continue to run around in circles.” The author goes into greater detail about how large corporations in America have large power over the acts of our government. There are trillions of dollars being circulated through the global economy, the author argues that there is only 46 billion donated by US Foundations annually. These corporations exploit workers in other countries and deplete their resources. Solving worldwide issues like child labor is something that is not feasible through service work or charity. This is true, however, raising awareness to these issues can encourage governments to regulate the power over large corporations. Although it is difficult for our government to tackle worldwide issues, we can aim to fight for positive change nationwide.
It is wrong to have the mindset that service work is pointless because more issues will arise for neglected communities that already need support. Charity and service work bring us all closer to having a utopian society. There have been plenty of positive changes done to help underrepresented communities and communities facing hardships. It is important to recognize all of these changes created because of service work to remind the people that they can have a greater impact than they think. In “Why Give to Charity,” the author writes “Often the people in society who are in need are the most overlooked. Society and governments aren’t set up to protect everyone who needs it. That’s why charities are here to fill the gaps and provide dedicated resources to help the most vulnerable. For children, they rely on their parents or carers to give them safety, guidance, and access to life’s necessities. Sadly for many children, this isn’t the case. This is why we’re here for every child and young person to listen and protect them from abuse.” The author raises awareness to one of many communities that relies on charity and service work to limit further hardship. Although the issue is not solved overall, it is important to remember that service work and charity can change the lives of many for the better. Without any help from community organizations for these less privileged communities, children would be left hungry, unprotected, and abused.
To conclude, service work can be achieved in many different ways and is open to anyone. As members of a democracy, it is important for citizens to engage in such acts to create a better environment and livelihood for all. Engaging in service work is a rewarding experience that comes along with many other benefits.
