What exactly is community service?
Before you understand what is the need for community service, let’s find out what is community service. It is a sought of volunteering program for people of all ages to conglomerate and do things that benefit society. Community service not only teaches compassion to people but also helps build individual growth. It could be working for local communities, global communities or some sought of a voluntary event like planting trees, animal care, holding workshops, etc. There are many local clubs, national rotary clubs, NGO’s and even government agencies that incorporate people to work towards the betterment of the society. Today community service has expanded its doors in exploring individual skills and interests. People now get the opportunity to provide their volunteering service in accordance with their availability of time, choice of skillsets, and opportunity. For students, it is not only a learning experience but also fun. The add on is, it creates a great impression when mentioned in college resumes. It is something to always look back upon and have a fresh feeling about oneself.
What can you do?
Within national borders, community service is striving for independent volunteering. There various kinds of services, some are a charity based while some are independent. Community services take place as a part of social welfare, campaigns, movement, peace works, and donations.
The government has facilitated the availability of various programs like the ones run by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Health and Family Welfare, and Rural department.
However, according to the latest statistics, only 1.5% of the Indian youth population only engages in such community volunteering activities.
How does it benefit the students?
Community volunteering is actually beneficial for students on a very personal level. It motivates the students in various ways:
- 1) The students who volunteer in these kinds of services actually learn value from it. They attain a feeling of giving back something to the society they belong to. Most students are likely to develop stronger feelings of compassion and earn a certain level of mature outlook towards their surroundings.
- 2) It helps during college admissions as the officers like to see something different in the student’s profile. Community volunteering highlights the persona of an individual and makes it a strong application during the time of admissions. It brings in a platform for the students to develop and maintain further professional relationships with time. A proper community service volunteering candidate knows how to abide by the norms and commit to the work they are doing.
- 3) It also leads to the personal growth of an individual. As students learn to grow and work within a community, they learn how to interact with different people together. This way they get to learn a lot about society and their approach towards it. It not only boosts their knowledge but also their confidence. This way it shapes the young adults to become adults with idealistic values and beliefs.
- 4) It helps a student’s places of interest. As a teen, it gets difficult to find out what really interests you as an individual. However, through community service in various spheres, one gets to gain experience in various spheres and helps one realise what they actually like to do.
- 5) It also helps one achieve a variety of skillsets like learning teamwork, organizational management, problem-solving strategies, management skills, raising awareness, and fund planning activities. These skillsets have a lifelong ability to aid the work ethics and learning and developing experience of individuals.
How does community volunteering aid society?
Community service is as important as to the society as it is necessary for the students. It not only brings about individual growth but also spurs changes both within and outside the society. When students volunteer for such initiative it brings forth a wave of transformation in the way the world sees the youth. There’s much beyond the young adults roaming in malls and clicking selfies, and community service are one of the best ways to forecast it. It aids society in various ways :
- 1) As it arouses a sense of compassion, both for the people in need and the wildlife. People are taken care of and helped in ways they need it
- 2) Provides an economic development opportunity for the communities as people learn of the misbalanced society. One of the ways is when local businesses are aided towards growth and prosperity.
- 3) Creates awareness among the youth about the crisis happening both locally and globally and people surviving through it.
- 4) When individuals volunteer to teach their local community, they not only educate but also inform a vast number of people. Many learn a lot about social and personal development.
Thus, through community service, the youth can bring about a new positive impact on the society and within oneself. Their little contributions can make local and global developments and hence, help them contribute towards the idealistic future.
