Personal Manifesto
Importance of
Community Service
Community service is very important and is a very important
experience that can very well be considered “life changing” for everyone
involved. When I look back on my favorite memories, without a doubt I think of
times when I volunteered with different organizations. I strongly believe these
experiences helped to mold me into who I am today, and helped opened my eyes to
the world outside my small, local community. No matter your age, background, or
interests there are always opportunities and from all the experiences my
friends and I have, these opportunities should not go unnoticed.
1.
Important
to give back. It is extremely important to give back to a community in
which we belong to. Especially in certain scenarios where people are very
fortunate for all that they are given. This does not solely apply to someone
fortunate with wealth, but anyone who is blessed with good health or safe
surroundings should choose to give back to the less fortunate.
2.
Get
out of your comfort zone. Many people would say that the reason they don’t
volunteer is because they aren’t comfortable getting out of their comfort
zones. This is important because it can make the experience so much more
valuable. If someone who is privileged travels down to an impoverished
neighborhood they may be able to have a very unique experience that they were
not expecting.
3.
Just
try it once! If you find a way to get involved in an activity or an
organization that not only interests you but is also worthwhile you will be
more inclined to participate on multiple occurrences. I think the hardest part
is taking the first step and experimenting with different programs.
4.
“Unfortunately”
there are endless opportunities. There are so many opportunities to get out
into the community. There is always, and unfortunately probably will always be
someone or a certain situation where help is needed and encouraged. There are
so many options, anywhere from volunteering in a youth sports league as a coach
or referee, participating in habitat for humanity to help build houses or even
going to children’s hospitals to visit sick kids.
5.
Don’t
just do it for the sake of volunteering, find something you like. You will
like the experience much more if you do something that you enjoy. Not only will
this make volunteering more gratifying, you are probably more likely to do it
again in the future.
6.
Learning
experience. Odds are that experience will not go as expected. Often many
volunteers will come out of it with new knowledge in areas they hadn’t thought
about, or really known a lot before. For many students and adults volunteering
is an opportunity unlike any other. Various types of community service can
often have as great of an affect if not more of an affect on the volunteer as
it does on the recipients.
7.
Well
appreciated. It is not possible to emphasize the impact surrounding giving
back, and how much it is appreciated. There are so many people that I have
heard speak, who have said that they wish someone would have gone back into
their neighborhood when they were young just to show their face and talk with
the community. This specific example applies directly to celebrities but can be
thought of equally in other circumstances.
8.
Should
not be mandated, people should want to give back from the good of their hearts.
Even though it is clearly affective in getting students to get involved in
the community the lack of desire is still alarming. It is evident by a students
body language whether they truly and legitimately want to be somewhere or if
they are just doing it for the “hours.” At my school, community service was not
mandated but it definitely was encouraged. Administration’s goals were for
students to participate in various community service activities because they
wanted to, not because they had to. This lackadaisical method wasn’t very
successfully either, which is why there needs to be a happy median between the
two approaches. Schools should constantly present students with new community
service opportunities and require them to go to at least one. Hopefully the
students will see how enjoyable it is and want to continue.
9.
Don’t
do it for attention or credit! There are many people who will just
participate in community service for the “honor” or because it looks good on
college applications. It is most honorable when someone participates but chooses
not to bring it up whenever they can. Honors and accolades are nice, but they
shouldn’t be the primary goal, and often are not as rewarding as participating
in the certain program itself.
10.
Strengthens
community. Community unity is very important and this is one of the most
affective ways. These types of various outreach programs can bring families together
from different cities with very different backgrounds. Bonds can be made which
can lead to a stronger community as a whole.
11.
Believe
what you are doing can make a positive impact; don’t decide something based on
public opinion. The biggest detail of this occurrence that comes to mind is
choosing whether to or not to give money to homeless people on the side of
streets. I often get a lot of criticism from my friends when I give someone a
dollar or two. They always tell me that I am throwing away my money and that
these people will just use the money on drugs and cigarettes. Even though how
most likely many of these people will use the money for the wrong reason, I
choose to think look at it as if there is one person out there who that dollar
can help. I am fortunate enough to be in a situation where one dollar is not
the difference between a eating for the day and not, so in my mind I would
rather risk that money, hoping it will help someone I meet.
12.
YOU
CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CHANGE SOMEONES LIFE! There is no greater award
then seeing your hard work pay off in many different capacities. One of my best friends was very
involved in Habitat for Humanity and I can only imagine the satisfaction he
received handing over the keys and watching someone walk into their new house
that he helped build. An impact can be made through something as large of a
magnitude as that or even spending an hour once a month volunteering in an old
age home. The idea of someone taking time out of their o day and giving back to
a community and people that may have nothing to do with them is so impactful to
anyone involved. I knew someone who constantly volunteered and raised money for
a center for people with mental and physical disabilities. In two years he and a few friends raised over
$27,000 for the organization but was constantly told that the money had just as
much of an impact as him bringing friends, volunteering and meeting many of the
participants who went there.
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