What Volunteer Work Can Do For You | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

What Volunteer Work Can Do For You

It's more than just hours.

23
What Volunteer Work Can Do For You
Clean Jordan Lake

When some people think of community service, they don't view it as positively as they should. Many think of it as some type of forced action in order to obtain hours for a certain gain, whether it's a college application or for the law. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that community service could be viewed this way until I participated in a class discussion around the beginning of my senior year in high school.

The teacher asked the class this one question: If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be? After a bit of thought, I decided to open up to the class about my passion and proceeded to state that I would encourage the world to participate in more volunteer work. I was surprised to see the class respond with an audible laugh. Why was this so funny? My teacher backed up my opinion by explaining the importance of altruism, but it became evident that most of my fellow peers didn't appreciate community service the way I did. From there on, I decided that people needed to know how I see things; and I see community service as a benefit not only to the community but to the volunteers as well.

Yes, it's pretty obvious that community service is beneficial for the community. Whether you're cleaning up your local park, building houses, or feeding the homeless, you're voluntarily giving up your time to help others in need. However, it's more than just that; by volunteering, your actions will come back to you in one way or another.

By participating in community service, your mind is opened to the problems that your community faces. You become more involved in bettering your community, and you start to understand more about your local area. You know how to make your community a better place to live, and you know the impact of your actions. The power is in your hands!

Volunteering also gives you a sense of empathy for the people around you. You start to become less judgmental and more giving. Instead of seeing a homeless person on a street and thinking why they can't just get a job, you think about the ways you can help. You see a piece of trash on the street and instead of just leaving it there, you pick it up and put it in the trash. Your mentality changes because you know the consequences of just being a bystander. By understanding the problems of the community, your lifestyle and way of thinking revolve more around action than just watching on the sidelines.

Lastly, community service gives you a sense of connection with the people and environment around you. It could be the people you're volunteering with or the people you're volunteering for. You start to care more about your community, and this becomes the reason why you volunteer more as time goes by. Volunteering within your community helps you bond with your local area and truly tells you what it really means to be a citizen in your community.

Volunteer work has helped me grow in more ways than I could imagine. I initially wanted to be more involved in community service because I simply wanted to help the people around me, but what I didn't know is that they would help me in return. Throughout my many years of community service, I've made so many friends along the way. I learned more about myself and grew to be more open-minded and caring. I can still vividly remember each service project I've worked on because I knew the impact it would make on the people around me. But most of all, I loved volunteering because I knew that my actions can mean so much to another person.

What people don't realize is that they can literally do anything they wanted if they set their mind to it. You are capable of changing the world; so why not start in your own community?

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

222
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

1561
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less
Christmas tree
Librarian Lavender

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my personal favorite holidays because of the Christmas traditions my family upholds generation after generation. After talking to a few of my friends at college, I realized that a lot of them don't really have "Christmas traditions" in their family, and I want to help change that. Here's a list of Christmas traditions that my family does, and anyone can incorporate into their family as well!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Phases Of Finals

May the odds be ever in your favor.

2362
Does anybody know how to study
Gurl.com

It’s here; that time of year when college students turn into preschoolers again. We cry for our mothers, eat everything in sight, and whine when we don’t get our way. It’s finals, the dreaded time of the semester when we all realize we should have been paying attention in class instead of literally doing anything else but that. Everyone has to take them, and yes, unfortunately, they are inevitable. But just because they are here and inevitable does not mean they’re peaches and cream and full of rainbows. Surviving them is a must, and the following five phases are a reality for all majors from business to art, nursing to history.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments