What Happens If I Don't Do Community Service

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Community service is a cracking mode to help others, as well requite you valuable skills and experiences. There are a lot of ways to become involved in community service, and choosing the best identify to volunteer your time can be difficult.

Our guide gives examples of some of the top places to practise community service, likewise as steps to assistance you decide which place is best for you.

What Is Community Service and Why Should You Participate in It?

Customs service is work done by a person or group of people that benefits others. It is oft done nearly the area where you live, so your own community reaps the benefits of your work. Yous do non get paid to do customs service, only y'all can include your experience on your resume and college applications.

At that place are many benefits to participating in community service; some of the most mutual are listed below:

Gives you an opportunity to assistance others
Helps you gain experience and new skills
Helps improve your community
Chance to make new friends
Can cause personal growth

How Can You Decide Where to Do Community Service?

There is no community service location or action that is "best" for anybody. You should determine where to perform community service based on your interests and skills, as well every bit your customs's need for volunteers. Ask yourself the following questions:

What Exercise I Enjoy Doing?

Do you like working with kids? You lot may want to consider volunteering at a school. Are yous an animal lover? Maybe a local shelter is the best place for your community service. Doing something you like volition brand your customs service more enjoyable, and arrive more likely for you lot to keep volunteering.

What Kind of Career Do I Want?

It'southward not a requirement, but if your community service helps yous get skills needed for future jobs, that's an added bonus that volition give yous extra motivation as you lot volunteer. For example, if yous want to be a doctor, you may consider doing community service at a hospital or nursing home.

Which Problems Do I Desire to Help Solve?

Are you concerned well-nigh the surround? Fauna cruelty? Education standards? Chances are you'll exist able to notice a customs service project related to an consequence you care nigh.

Which Places in My Customs Are Important to Me?

When I was a teenager, I chose to do community service at my local library because I had spent many afternoons in that location while growing upwards. Participating in the library's summer reading program as a child had led to my dearest of reading, so when I got older, I felt good about volunteering for the program and helping other kids larn to honey books. If there is a particular place in your community that's of import to yous, whether information technology's a park you played at as a child or the nursing home where your grandad lives, performing community service at that place lets y'all bear witness your gratitude and appreciation.

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Where Can You lot Find Means to Participate in Community Service?

Your School

If you are a pupil, see if your school has whatever clubs for people interested in performing customs service; many highs schools take a volunteering organization or something similar.

Your Community Center

This is wherever your community posts notices and information. It could be at a town hall, customs meeting place, or on your town'south website. In add-on to other information about your community, people and places looking for volunteers will often post notices hither.

Places Where You lot'd Like to Volunteer

If you have a specific place where yous'd like to perform community service, such every bit a nursing home or animal shelter, contact them and ask if they accept volunteers.

Online

Sometimes a unproblematic internet search can go you numerous volunteer opportunities. Search "community service ideas near [your boondocks]" and come across what comes up.

The ix All-time Places to Practise Community Service

Below is a listing of the most common places to perform community service. Each place has a cursory description, examples of work you might perform as a volunteer and suggestions for the types of people who might be well-nigh interested in performing customs service there.

Hospitals

Hospitals are often in need of volunteers for a multifariousness of activities, and while you probably won't start off with a lot of responsibility, if you volunteer at the same hospital for an extended menstruum of time, y'all will likely exist given more duties that you may be able to tailor to your interests.

Examples of work: Delivering gifts to patients, interacting and playing with immature patients, stocking medical supplies, and transporting patients to different rooms.

Expert for people who: are considering a career in the medical field, savor fast-paced work, and aren't squeamish around illness.

Schools

Schools are one of the most popular places to perform community service, and many are in frequent demand of volunteers. You can volunteer at your own school, a schoolhouse yous used to attend, or a different school.

Examples of piece of work: Tutoring students, chaperoning events, creating schoolhouse murals, and supervising afterwards-school programs.

Good for people who: like working with children or teenagers, are creative, savour teaching, or are considering a career in education.

Fauna Shelters

Animate being shelters often take pocket-size budgets and a large number of animals who need to observe homes, requiring many of them to need volunteers then that they can maximize the number of pets they treat.

Examples of work: Feeding animals, cleaning cages, providing basic veterinary care, walking dogs, and interviewing potential owners.

Good for people who: enjoy spending time with animals or are because a career in animal intendance.

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Nursing Homes

Many nursing homes and retirement communities rely on volunteers to go on residents agile and organize fun events.

Examples of work: Reading to or interacting with residents, hosting events like dances and bingo nights, and assisting residents with daily activities.

Good for people who: relish spending time with senior citizens, are considering a career in wellness care, or have an approachable personality.

Food Banks

Food banks, likewise known as soup kitchens or food depositories, are places where people tin donate food that is and then given to homeless or low-income people. Food banks provide several billion meals a year, and they rely on volunteers to continue their piece of work reducing hunger. Some also grow their ain food and serve meals on-site.

Examples of work: Sorting nutrient donations, organizing nutrient drives, and delivering meals.

Skillful for people who: enjoy cooking or gardening, don't need a lot of interaction with their beneficiaries or enjoy helping the poor every bit a social issue.

Places of Worship

Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship regularly accept opportunities for community service. These activities can be related to the religion and spreading its message, but other times they are completely secular.

Examples of work: Participating in mission trips, edifice houses, collecting donations, and teaching a religion class for children.

Good for people who: bask their identify of worship's sense of community or are interested in spreading their religion's message.

Libraries

Your local library probably has multiple options for customs service. Need tends to be particularly high in the summer when more families visit and participate in library programs.

Examples of work: Helping with a summer reading program, organizing donated books, helping with office work, and greeting and assisting patrons.

Practiced for people who: enjoy reading, like working with children, or are practiced at organizing things.

Museums

Museums oft need volunteers, and they tin can be a keen identify to exercise community service considering y'all can choose a museum that focuses on your interests, whether that's art, history, or something else.

Examples of piece of work: Cataloging specimens, leading tours, greeting guests, and assisting at special events.

Good for people who: enjoy instruction, are interested in the museum's exhibits, or are considering a career in the museum's focus, such as natural history or fine art.

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Parks or Natural Areas

Many natural areas are in need of volunteers as well. These places can range from a famous national park to the small playground downwardly the street.

Examples of work: Planting trees, collecting trash, designing gardens, creating new walking paths, and collecting data on wild animals.

Good for people who: are interested in the environment or bask beingness outdoors.

Annotation that these ideas are simply starting points—definitely think virtually your own interests, inquiry the options, and and so co-operative out to find a actually skilful fit!

What's Next?

Thinking almost doing community service in a foreign land? Read our guide on whether yous should participate in a volunteer away program.

Do you want to know more about community service in full general? Read our guide on what customs service is, how it benefits you, and how to start getting involved.

Wondering how your community service tin help you lot apply to higher? We accept a guide that explains how to write about your extracurriculars on higher applications.

One of the single most important parts of your higher awarding is what classes you cull to have in high school (in conjunction with how well yous exercise in those classes). Our team of PrepScholar admissions experts have compiled their knowledge into this single guide to planning out your loftier school course schedule. Nosotros'll advise y'all on how to balance your schedule between regular and honors/AP/IB courses, how to choose your extracurriculars, and what classes you can't afford not to have.

Plan Your Course Schedule

Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this commodity!

About the Author

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Ecology Biology and Geography and received her Master'southward from Knuckles University. In loftier schoolhouse she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.