By Haley King
Dressed up in costumes for DSOSN (Down Syndrome, 16th annual buddy walk) freshmen Vanessa Vance, Sage Tippie, and Rayne Hayes walked around, danced, and met kids with Down Syndrome. Photo courtesy of Rayne Hayes
With busy lives, volunteering can seem like an impossible thing to do during the school year, but there are many organizations and benefits to help with the crazy schedules that make up our lives, and summer is the perfect time to help out.
Volunteering is a great way to strengthen connections to the community and introduces volunteers to people with common interests.
“I have volunteered before, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the feeling of knowing that I was able to help someone. I also met a lot of new people, and I thought it was a great experience,” Bailey Allen, freshman, said.
According to helpguide.org, studies show that helping others promotes happiness. In 2013, researchers from the London School of Economics observed the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults. They found that the more people volunteered, the happier they were. The researchers compared them with people who never volunteered. The odds of being “very happy” rose 7% for those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks. Among weekly volunteers, 16% feIt much happier.
“I like to do community service because it makes me happy to give back to my community,” Blakeleigh Loughery, sophomore, said.
Just because volunteer work is unpaid does not mean the work is easy. Not only does volunteering increase happiness and promote social skills, but it can help prepare for “real-world” jobs. In fact, many volunteer opportunities provide extensive training that gives beneficial and key skills to be a great employee. Effort, compassion, an open mind, a willingness to do whatever is needed, and a positive attitude are essential for any type of volunteer work.
Finding the right volunteer opportunity can be tricky if someone is new to community service. However, there are numerous volunteer organizations to fit everyone’s interests. Organizations such as Red Cross or Volunteers of America can show students the many aspects of volunteering.
Community service is also often required as a high school diploma requirement and critical to the college application process. Universities often look for “above and beyond” students who are involved with their school, help in their communities, and of course get good grades. It is a crucial part and shows dedication and integrity. Volunteering shows colleges students are apart of their community.
“I volunteered for community service to help cook food for kids at a church camp. I realized that community service translates to college scholarships so I felt that it was payment enough, in addition to being able to help out the kids at my church,” Austin Cassel, sophomore, said.
Although it may seem difficult to find the time to volunteer, summer is a perfect time to do so. The benefits drawn from the experience may end up being worth more than anyone realizes. Summer is here, and it’s not too late to start volunteering.
