How Volunteering Inspired me to Help my Community by McKayla

How Volunteering Inspired me to Help my Community by McKayla - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

Community service should be a priority for everyone. Community service is not only something I had to do, but something I enjoyed. When I made the commitment to go out into my community and offer my time, I had no idea it would make such an impact on the lives of other individuals as well as my own. It is everyone’s responsibility to help others in their community. Community service inspired me for the following three reasons: personal benefits, benefits for others, and non-profit organizational benefits.

First, I will cover how community service can benefit you. When I volunteer, I am always meeting new people. As a result, I’ve establish strong relationships, and some of my closest friends are people I met through community service. Together my friends and I are active in the community by holding each other responsible for making a difference.

Community service enhanced my leadership ability. A leader is one who puts their dreams into action. Maybe you have a heart for teaching children, love the company of the elderly, enjoy helping the less fortunate, or want to adopt an abandoned pet. By taking the initiative to set aside time to volunteer, you can become a leader in your own community.

Next, I will cover how community service plays a role in helping others. When we take the time out of our chaotic lives to volunteer, we open doors of compassion, education, and understanding. Community service gives you an opportunity to look beyond yourself and help shape your character while shaping someone else’s. It is proven that by putting others first, community service relieves stress. For instance, by making other individuals happy, they can be healthier.

I cannot begin to express the joy I experienced when visiting a local nursing home. It is seldom the elderly have visitors, and for that reason they end up spending much of their time alone. I took my passion for music and turned it into community service by partnering with others. After playing a few songs, a lady came up to me and told me how thankful she was that we had taken the time to come and play for them. The appreciation of the residents showed me that this small act of kindness definitely goes two ways. We should want to help others in our community out of the generosity of our hearts, not because we want something in return. 

Last, I will talk about how most non-profit organizations wouldn't be able to exist without the help of volunteers. Whatever your niche may be, your community needs the support in order to thrive and become a better place to live. In Rapid City, South Dakota, there are many places to volunteer. Some places and programs that I have personally participated in are Make a Wish Foundation, Operation Christmas Child, and Upward Sports. 

As a homeschool family, this last spring my family and I organized the first annual homeschool prom and raised over $620 to donate to the Make a Wish Foundation. Like the majority of people, I have a special place in my heart for pediatric cancer patients. When I discovered the Make a Wish foundation was located in my hometown, my family and I decided it would be the perfect choice for the donation. 

For the past five years I have helped with the Operation Christmas Child program which consists of helping less fortunate families with children across seas who have never heard about Jesus. Knowing I am helping children who do not have access to the smallest necessities such as a toothbrush, bar of soap, or shoes, helps me realize how we take the littlest things for granted in America. If it weren’t for volunteers, Operation Christmas Child wouldn't be able to operate.

Since kindergarten, I have participated in the Upward Sports program at my church, Open Bible Christian Center. The Upward Sports program is a Christian sports league for kids, kindergarten through eighth grade, that helps develop their basketball skills as well as a relationship with Jesus Christ. As the program grew through the years, more volunteers were needed. Starting in seventh grade, I began volunteering my time to set up for the basketball games and help in the concession stands. Again, this program would not be possible without the community support of volunteers.

In conclusion, I have covered how community service can benefit you, others, and non-profit organizations. As I move through life, I know I will always be involved in some type of community service. Through community service I am in a position to accomplish bringing joy to others which is a desire of mine. By volunteering, I have definitely been inspired to make a difference in my community. Community service has been a very rewarding experience for me.