To serve your community means you have helped or contributed to it in some way. You are trying to help others anyway you can and you ultimately help progress society to a better future. Community service is something that you can do locally at a small volunteer center in your neighborhood, but it can also be done globally with huge organizations. One is more hands on than the other one.
As a Baruch Scholar, I am required to do community service every year. This was the first time I ever heard that community service was mandatory, except maybe for National Honor Society in high school. The 15 hours of service seems difficult, but by living and going to school in New York City, we have so many opportunities to serve the community in some way. I was lucky enough to have a free education at Baruch so I want to help give back to the school that helped me and I want to help those who are less fortunate than I am. I think our role at Baruch and in the community is to help others, but I think we should be making impacts. It does feel nice to help, but we should also think about it in the long run. I volunteer for a charity group called The Optimists where we collect donation to help finance a child’s education. I don’t really do any hands on work, I mainly work with donations. But every year at our annual Sponsor dinner, we sometimes video chat with the children and hear their stories. At times like this, I know that trying to persuade people and help getting everyone’s donation has helped a child in some way.
I think by mandating community service, the Honors Program might actually try to get us into involved into a specific organization. I know we can do how many we want to fulfill the requirement, but the questionnaire makes me think that. We should be able to find that one organization that we can commit to and actually like working with. The more you enjoy what you do, the more likely you are to make an impact with it.
Hey Shamira, I think it is fantastic that you are already giving back to the community by volunteering for The Optimists. I hope that we all find a good organization to give back to the community, and enjoy our work,
Hey Shamira, I completely agree, living in New York makes the possibilities and opportunities for service endless. Everyone has the opportunity to find something that interests them. I also think it is great that you are already helping out in the Optimists (by the way a great name for a charity group). I would love to learn more about this program and what you do there. (:
I found it interesting that you wrote that not only is our roles here “at Baruch and in the community is to help others, but…we should be making impacts.” This is very true and I couldn’t agree more with your statement.
Hi Shamira,
I liked how you opened up about a personal story of meeting the kids you were helping. I’m sure it was gratifying to see tangible results of your work. I also like how you think about what you’re accomplishing in the long run, and I will keep that in mind for when I do service.