SENIOR SEMINAR Community Service- REFLECTION- PART 2.
Reflect on the importance of an individual completing community service. How does this action help a community. State what you completed for community service. Reflect on the importance your service had to an individual or a segment of the community. Specifically, how did your service help make our world a better place?
I believe that community service is a very important part of a learning experience. Doing volunteering tasks is a great way to grow as a person, since it is simply doing work for no reason other than wanting to help someone. Community service is extremely helpful to society because without volunteers, many organizations and events would be unable to proceed. Some organizations cannot afford to pay people to work for them, which is why volunteering is effective. For my community service, I mentored at J.J. Flynn Elementary School over the summer for 4 weeks. Since it was the summer, it wasn't an actual classroom I mentored; instead, it was a summer program set up for students that have growth development faults and severe behavioral issues. Here, I was exposed to many young children that didn't know how to deal with their anger, couldn't talk consistently yet, or had difficult experiences at home that they needed help overcoming. I started out the morning playing games with them and working my hardest to make them smile. Then, we would do learning activities where I could help them try to understand topics anywhere from spelling to dealing with problems at home. I grew an extremely strong connection to every kid in my class and it was an experience that I will remember forever. I think it was important that I did it because I was the only person my age that was involved in the program. The only others that were in the classroom with me were teachers from the actual school. The kids really enjoyed that I was there because they felt that they could relate to me a lot more since I was still a student like them. I cried on my last day of mentoring and I got hugs from every kid there, and I will never forget them. I am confident that I helped each and every one of them in some way, whether it's teaching them how to spell "because", or just overall being someone to turn to when they're upset. Not only did I help them, but they helped me as well. They taught me to be thankful for what I have because many of them have been exposed to life issues that no child should ever have to experience. They also taught me to be patient and dedicated, since sometimes they had a hard time understanding things I was trying to help with them. I am very happy I chose to do this as my community service. It was an experience I will always hold with me for the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is essential for any community to thrive and is key to getting people involved within the community. It should be a fundamental part of every person’s life because it helps them grow as a person and learn more about the people who live in their same community. For my community service, I volunteered at the Burnham Memorial Library. For the past several years I have been volunteering at the local library because I enjoy helping them out. When at the library, I shelve books, shred papers, copy papers, and help with any other projects happening at the library. After I leave the library, I always feel a sense of joy because I gave back to my community and completed projects that were greatly needed. My service helped the library continue to serve Colchester residents and provide them a neat and convenient place to go to borrow books and study for upcoming tests. My service made the library more efficient and also made it neater by keeping the books in order so that people can find them correctly the next time they want to borrow those books.
ReplyDeleteI think doing community service is really important for students. It gets people out into the community they live in and teaches them to appreciate life and value helping others. Community service can be done in many forms. Finding a volunteer opportunity that allows you to use skills that you have to help others is best. After volunteering, you can feel good about what you did and know that you helped in making someone else happy.
ReplyDeleteFor community service I volunteered at the mock election at the middle school and also played music for the Ronald McDonald House’s Jingle Bell Express event. At the mock election, I was able to help kids get “registered” and direct them to a booth to vote. This made them feel really happy and excited because they were able to do something that little kids always see their parents doing and look forward to. On the Jingle Bell Express, the help that I did made the experience something really fun for the kids riding and made it possible for all the proceeds to go to the RMHC since we were not being paid for being there. In both volunteer situations I was able to better the Vermont community by putting forth a positive attitude in front of the younger kids and showing them that being and helping out in the community is a good thing to do. I set a good example for them and I am glad I was able to do that. Both experiences were fun and I would happily do either of them again.
It is really important for an individual to complete community service because it shows the community that they care about where they live. People that complete community service also get do something that they don’t do often. I volunteer at Colchester Rescue so I used that for my community service hours. I volunteer there every Thursday from 6 PM to 10 PM and then one twelve hour shift once a month on either a Saturday or Sunday. A lot of students had to find places to volunteer that might not have been very interesting to them just to get their community service hours. With volunteering with rescue, I was able to do something that I really enjoy and it is something that is very interesting to me. Volunteering with them gives me this great feeling because I am able to help people in a way that not a lot of people get to do. I am able to help people feel better when they are in pain or just aren’t feeling good. My service helped make our world a better place because it shows students that it is really important to be involved with the community by volunteering with a local fire or rescue agency. It shows students that you can be a part of rescue as a student and that you do not have to be an adult to be able to volunteer. To me being an active citizen is doing something for the community for a reason, not just doing it because you have to.
ReplyDeleteWhen an individual completes community service they are able to help the community while helping oneself. Community service benefits the community with work that would most likely not get done otherwise. It teaches the individual the importance of being an active citizen along with personal skills. For my ten hours of community service I completed five hours through CHS cares and five hours at the annual International Festival. For CHS cares I sold baked goods in an attempt to raise money for turkeys for underprivileged families in the Colchester community. Along with this I organized all of the donated goods, from CHS students, into separate baskets which I then helped deliver to families across Colchester who would not be able to afford to make a large Thanksgiving meal. My service was important to all of the families who were not fortunate enough to afford as much as food as there should be for Thanksgiving. When delivering the food I was able to tell how much it meant to these families that I was delivering them free food that would not only make them a Thanksgiving dinner, but would be enough groceries for about two weeks. While dropping these baskets off I saw how happy and thankful these families were for all of the work I had put into giving them something to look forward to for Thanksgiving. I also volunteered at the annual International Festival. Every year at the EXPO in Essex there is a festival where several cultures, religions, languages and anything else foriegn are represented in one large festival. This is very important for those who are foreign or have foreign aspects apart of their everyday lives. My work also helped the foundation who puts this festival on every year, and it was easy to see how happy the organizers were that I was there. In general I believe I touched individuals along with a community through my ten hours of community service. While delivering food to families I feel I helped individuals, and while volunteering at the festival I feel I helped a community centered around foreign and international morals and understandings. Overall volunteering was a great experience and everyone should do it more often than is done.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for individuals to do community service. A community is made up of individuals, so everyone must do their part to help it work better. By helping out, a person becomes more engaged in their community and can learn things that they did not know before. It can also just feel good to help where it’s needed. It can help the community in a variety of ways, depending on the service. For my community service, I volunteered at the Burnham Memorial Library this summer. I helped with the youth programs that took place every Wednesday. We did an array of things- from building ramps out of different items to tie-dying to-shirts. They got a grant this past year, so a lot of the programs were more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) based. My community service helped the librarians who put on the programs for kids in the summer. I helped to make the work load lighter for them so we could provide a better experience for the kids. A lot of the kids would always look forward to that Wednesday, so I helped to make that possible. Everyday I when I went home from volunteering, I would always feel great. The community at the library is wonderful and seeing the kids smile made all the hard work worth it.
ReplyDeleteIt is important for individuals to complete community service. A community cannot function without the service of its members. By completing community service you become involved and engaged in the community and you can learn things you did not know before. You can become involved in the issues and create solutions for them, and voice your opinion and make sure it gets heard. For my community service in Senior Seminar I volunteered at Essex Rescue. This experience was really cool for me because I got to see the behind the scenes of a 9-1-1 call, and I was able to directly help members of the community by helping out on the ambulance during 9-1-1 calls. Without these EMS workers and volunteers, members of the community would not get the immediate health care and medical attention that they need. My service made the world a better place because it was members of the community helping other members of the community, and created trust between healthcare professionals and patients. I was able to work with a group of people who believe that giving back to the community is the most important thing in life, and it is these people who are making the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteI obviously believe that community service is important in general, for both the volunteers and the recipient of the work. When people do community service it benefits the health of the community and makes it a more enjoyable place. It also makes other people want to give back, which only improves the community as a whole. For my 10 hours of community service I volunteered for the Colchester Parks and Recreation program coaching middle and elementary age track over the summer. I think that having high school kids as role models is really important for programs like these, and that my service and that of the other high school coaches definitely did make individual impacts on the participating younger kids. I think that it could make the world a better place because track promotes a healthy lifestyle and allowed the kids to have fun while exercising. It could’ve inspired these kids to do track in the future and be more involved in extracurricular activities, and the service of the coaches definitely played a big role in that.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is something that I believe every person should take part in, not just students. It allows individuals to grow closer to the communities that are around them, and gives them the chance to help and support other people in need. Folks can learn more about each other through the acts of community service, which in turn brings communities closer together, and a tight community is definitely something that is wanted.
ReplyDeleteFor my community service, I spent all of my hours helping out for the Blood Drive that went on recently. During my lunch periods, three days before the drive, I worked to help students and staff sign up to donate blood. It was definitely a process, but it was nice to be able to help people to understand what is was that they might be going into, especially if they had never donated before. Come the day of the drive, I got to the school bright and early to help set up. I met a bunch of the folks who ran the drive, and they were more than happy to receive student help. After set up had been completed, I worked in canteen for the rest of the afternoon. It was my job to make sure that students were doing alright after they had donated, and I made sure that they got snacks and drinks to bring their blood sugar levels back up after donation.
I felt that I really helped the American Red Cross that day. It was really cool to help do something that was more than just myself, and I hope that I helped save some people's lives. I felt that my community service was eye opening to some students, and I hope that I convinced them to donate again in the future once they are ready.
Community service is something that every individual in a community should feel responsible to do. Whether that’s helping a neighbor out with their lawn all the way to putting out a fire when someone’s house catches on fire. It brings the community together because many people come together and work on something that they can agree upon, cutting the difference some people may have.
ReplyDeleteFor my community service, I volunteered at Colchester Rescue. This is something that I do every week as I am a member on the squad. I go to any emergency calls in the Town of Colchester as well as helping in mutual aid in surrounding towns. I believe that volunteering at a rescue is extremely important because without this organization, many people could potentially lose their lives. All of us are very happy to help the town and am more than willing to stop everything to go help someone in need.
Community Service is a wonderful opportunity for members of the community to band together, unconditionally, and help those in need. Whether it’s volunteering to build houses in third world countries or at the soup kitchen to give food to the homeless, or something as simple as tutoring students. Anything makes a difference. Anything helps. And anything can inspire others to contribute as well.
ReplyDeleteI completed 42 hours at Jennifer Hoenigsberg’s ELL Summer Camp as a camp counsellor and tutor for students in the Colchester School District who are learning English as second language. I watched over them, making sure they were being safe, respectful and considerate of others as well as helping them with their reading and math skills by doing fun things like reader’s theaters and math games.
I believe I was able to help many students become more comfortable with their English and Math skills. I developed many relationships with the students and I think that it inspired them to keep plugging away and striving for excellence and fluidity. Young students are the future of our community, country, and world. So, by helping them succeed in any manner can greatly affect the future of the world.
Community service allows us to make a difference in the world and help others. Scientifically, teenagers have a greater sense of ego because that center of the brain is literally enlarged during teenage years, and therefore we can become more self centered and egotistical. However, service allows us to combat that by helping others and getting the big picture.
ReplyDeleteFor community service, I volunteered on the Jingle Bell Express train to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House serves to provide a home for kids and their families while the kids are receiving treatment at the nearby hospital. It is very sad to think of so many sick children needing help, and I’ve always wished there was something I could do to ease their pain. On the Jingle Bell Express, I raised funds for the RMH, as well as provided enjoyment to some of the kids and their families as I acted out the part of one of Santa’s Christmas Elves. I sang and danced with them, and passed out cookies and read stories. It was a great experience, and I’m so glad I could do something to help these children.
I hope I provided at least one good day to these kids. I don’t pretend that I changed their lives; however, I do hope that my kind actions created a happy memory, one that the kids and their families will cherish. I think that if everyone did community service, at least a few times in their lives, the world would be a much better place.
Community service is a fulfilling task and is not only beneficial to those an individual is helping, but it is also beneficial for one’s own personal growth. Community service can help small organizations trying to make a difference grow in size and make more of an impact. Often, services that provide people with free help, such as services for the homeless, are run by volunteers. In order for their work to be successful, they need sufficient numbers and funds. Volunteers can help build numbers, and those who make donations help to make what the volunteers want to do possible. Through volunteer work, many often have new experiences and witness unfamiliar scenes that can be life-changing and eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteThe community service I completed was indeed a life-changer for me and impacted me on several levels as an individual. I learned about being mindful about my behaviors that might negatively affect wildlife on a large scale, and often had to educate others who brought injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife. It is our job as citizens of Earth to play a role in our individual ecosystems, and that does not mean just helping pick up trash on Green Up Day, or care more about saving species and wildlife on Earth Day. It is a constant task that is every generation's responsibility. Animals are often brought in due to human actions. Though that does not mean every individual should turn into a wildlife rehabilitator, there are little actions humans do daily that most do not realize has a large impact on the wildlife and nature around them. Picking up trash is important, as otherwise animals can ingest it, or get their heads stuck in plastic covers. A huge reason many animals are brought to us is because pets injured them. Cats should always be left indoors. Not only will this minimize predatory behavior, it has also been proven to benefit a cat’s health if his or her owner keeps him/her indoors. Dogs have also injured wildlife on numerous occasions, so keeping dogs on leashes when outdoors is the best way to go. Doing these little things would have large impacts on our community, and would decrease the number of injuries inflicted on wildlife, especially since injuries can often be fatal. We have had to humanely euthanize several animals because their health was so compromised they were beyond our help, and were suffering tremendously, almost always because of human influence.
This community service has had a large impact on me because it was fulfilling work. I enjoyed what I was doing, and loved saving lives and being able to hold, feed, and clean animals most people never interact with (and should not interact with unless they are injured, sick, or orphaned and thus in need of human care). Through this work I was also able to educate my friends and family members about wildlife rehabilitation so that they are more aware of its existence. It also stabilized unhealthy ecosystems since we were able to return animals back to their natural habitats. It has inspired me to strongly consider a future career in wildlife conservation. This experience was truly life-changing for me, and opened my eyes to a huge part of our world that most people ignore. If we continue to ignore the needs of wildlife, we will eventually be the cause our own extinction.
For the past four years, I have volunteered at Colchester’s English Language Learner summer program. This program is designed to acclimate ELL students to school, American culture, and the English Language. I chose to volunteer in this program because of how lost I felt when I first came to America. I wanted to make the same difference some people did when I first moved to America. Working in the summer program made me realize: No matter their ages, we all have this share value, we all know the difficulties of coming from a place where we were the majority into a place where we are a minority. I encourage them to not be caught up in the difficulties of adjusting to a new place but instead work hard in order to be successful.
ReplyDeleteThe other part of my community service hours was to plan and deliver the gingerbread houses because I wanted to bring to life the idea of community service in our school. I wanted my classmates to help me with the delivery, so they can also gain the experience of helping others. So, I started reaching out to my classmates and promoting unity in our school to help make a difference in our community together.
I didn’t stop just with the delivery. Although I am not an artist, I challenged myself to design and paint a mural in our school representing unity and togetherness. I asked some of my artist friends to help me with the design, so I can bring the true sense of unity. I opened the painting to every grade in our school to illustrate the power of working together. The purpose of my project is to show my fellow students that life is not just about receiving the education but also about what we do with the education we are daily receiving from our teachers. I want them to develop the passion to influence other people even through smaller actions. My project made my community a better place because it reminded people that “change will not come if we wait for some other person or time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek” Barack Obama.
A community where no one makes sacrifices for others is not a community, but rather a gathering of individuals in a similar geographic location. However, once these individuals begin adopting acts for the greater good of other people, society begins to grow. People helping one another is what builds a stronger connection within a group. The stronger that this intra-communal connection is, the more people within that community will benefit. For my community service, I volunteered at the Colchester Youth Football Camp. I “coached” kids with the Colchester community on different aspects of the game of football. I don’t think that my time really improved any of their skills, rather I tried to set a positive example for them. Young children can be greatly influenced by their role-models, so hopefully by being a good example I influence their future actions in a positive way. I hope that my service encouraged these kids to continue to play football and become active community members in turn when they are older.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is impactful not only to the community, but to the individual completing it. Serving one’s community can teach valuable skills such as compassion, teamwork, resourcefulness, and awareness of others. The community, of course, benefits from the service as well by getting the assistance they need to make the community a better place for all its citizens. For my community service I volunteered at a summer camp where I taught younger girls how to jump-rope. Having done this as a child myself, I knew how important it was for the girls to have thoughtful and engaged coaches who they could look up to. My service benefited the community by allowing the children to have a good time over the summer, stay active, and make friends. The children also learned skills such as teamwork, conflict resolution, and perseverance. Many of the older girls at the camp were inspired to become a coach in future years where they will learn valuable leadership skills. Overall I think summer camp is an important aspect in developing social skills at a young age and I am glad I volunteered my time so that this camp was able to run.
ReplyDeleteMy community service included helping out with Smart Start and volunteering at Special Olympics Vermont. I decided to participate in Smart Start this year because I remembered how helpful the senior were to me on my first day of high school and I wanted to be that type of mentor for the incoming freshmen. Throughout the day, I was able to show people around and help them to be more comfortable with the community we have at CHS. While volunteering for Special Olympics Vermont, I assisted with softball games whether that be umpiring, announcing, or scorekeeping. This was a very rewarding experience because I was able to help the athletes participate in something that they typically cannot and the smiles on their faces were the most fulfilling part of the day. My time helping with Smart Start helped the CHS community to be a more welcoming and comfortable place. My time volunteering with Special Olympics Vermont helped the community of Vermont to be a more welcoming place and helped to give people an opportunity that they are not always able to get.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to complete community service because it benefits the people around you that helps the world be a better place. My community service was serving as the student representative on the district school board. I did my best to represent the whole student body and express my opinions on topics related to the students. I also made a video that showed the students perspective in the district that helped pass the school budget. Volunteering on the school board taught me a lot and helped my understanding of how a school district operates. By getting involved it makes the world a better place by having a voice. I was able to express my opinion on behalf of a student body and it benefited the school district by hearing what I had to say for the students. This community service has inspired me to continue to give back to my community.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is very important. Giving back to the community and helping others is one of the best feelings in life. It is important to get involved with community service because it makes you become an engaged citizen. Engaged citizens make a community stronger, safer, and create a better wellbeings for everyone living in that community. My favorite community service that I have done has been working with and helping kids. I volunteered as a recess monitor for the students at our elementary school. My job was to design and organize fun activities that the students could enjoy while I supervised them during recess. This time with them was important because it provided an opportunity for me to also mentor and establish connections with them in a way they aren't often able to. While it provided a safe environment, it also promoted a sense of community. It also seemed more enjoyable for the children to have a high school student there with them during recess and have someone they could relate to. I also worked with kids ages seven to thirteen at a football camp during one week during the summer. During this two hour a day camp I ran drills with the kids and taught them and coached them about the sport of football. Not only did we work on being better football players, but we taught them to be better people. Teaching them how to have a good work ethic and how to resolve conflicts that kids may have with each other in order for them to mature and become respectful young men. Having someone to help out and teach these kids is very important. Having positive mentors in life and knowing that asking for help is okay are strong foundations for a successful and happy outlook in life. By volunteering and doing these community service opportunities I hoped that I helped to make a world a better place by helping the youth in the community think more positively and be healthier people. Hopefully making them grow up to become active community members and good people.
ReplyDelete“Volunteers are not paid; not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.” - Sherry Anderson
ReplyDeleteOn average when someone hears the words “community service,” their minds assume ‘something we need to do before we graduate. What they don’t seem to understand is community service is much more than hours; it’s acts performed by someone with the soul purpose of helping and/or bringing benefits to his or her community. However, people frequently confused community service as a punishment since it’s used as an alternative for small-time offenders. These days people tend to forget the significance of volunteering, by exploring many opportunities individuals can make positive social contributions to their community. Volunteering is open-ended, it can take you to many different places such as a homeless shelter, a school, the humane society, the hospital, even a nursing home. The thing about community service is that there is no time limit, you can volunteer as much or as little, yet still get that sense of belonging and fulfillment. Volunteering helps you leave your mark on your local and global community and can be away to explore different areas of passion or stand up for something you believe in. I think it is crucial that you give back to the community who made you the person you are today. Volunteering can make you feel better, as well as the people you made smile, and in the end you get more friends:).
My service in my community at the local elementary school has helped me gained self love, and self respect. It makes me excited for the future and I can only hope I influence the kids I helped learn for the better.
Everyone needs to complete community service to truly understand the state of a community -- and how it can be improved. Helping out, whether that be at a local food shelf, volunteering with children, or traveling thousands of miles to help out a foreign community, all can make a difference in someone’s life.
ReplyDeleteFor my community service, I participated in a missions trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We held four days of free medical clinics in the rural mountain region of Onaville, and would stay about 8-10 hours each day. I served as a Clinician Runner, and I would lead patients to their appointments and gather whatever the clinician needed to efficiently see as many people as possible. I got to see almost every person and child that went through clinic, and was devastated that the many of the medications they needed were easily accessible in the United States. So many children were extremely malnourished -- which could be solved by taking simply vitamin supplements.
Over the years, the condition of people living in Onaville has massively improved. Even from the trip last year, babies are much healthier and we only treated minor injuries. The trips that I participated in are gradually helping out the people of Onaville, and I was extremely grateful to be a part of it. I am a more grateful, humble person because of Haiti -- but in reality, Haiti didn’t need me. I needed Haiti.
Taking time out of our lives and giving back is a simple, selfless act that improves the community that we all share, and provides a productive use of our time. There are many forms of community service, which makes the opportunities to help our local areas endless.
ReplyDeleteFor my community service, I'm going to help out with the Unified Basketball Team in the spring. My assistance, along with the other helpers, allows for the players to participate in games against other schools and play a sport they enjoy. I helped out with this team last year and it was very fun, allowing me to go through another basketball season through a different lens. I feel as though my service has helped the community by helping out the players of the Unified Team play basketball competitively, an environment that is fun for everyone involved.
Doing community service is very important to our community. This helps our own people in need who would otherwise we helpless. With community service we are also saving millions of dollars, without hiring people to do the jobs we ourselves are doing it for free. For community service I worked with the Department of Homeland Security to help get food for the needy. I would go around and collect food and such and then put them together on pallets and wrap them up to be sent out. This made the community a better place by providing people that are less fortunate to be able to get food and clothes. This helped decrease the number of homelessness and give people a second chance to change their life around. My service made the world a better place by proving those with a second chance at life and really helping the community come together as one.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is necessary in creating a sustainable society. Each member has something they can give, whether it be money, time, or effort. Completing community service is a core action in becoming an engaged citizen that cares about maintaining what is good and changing what is bad in their eyes. For my community service, I went to two places. The first event was the Burnham Library Book Sale located in the CHS cafeteria. There, I helped sorting and selling books. Giving away books to someone who can get more use out of them reduces waste and increases enjoyment to people who can buy books that interest them at a lower price. Because of the book sale, fewer books went to waste and decreased waste output, which is important in keeping recyclables out of landfills and many other environmental factors. The second place I went to was the CHS smart start in late August. There I served as a upperclassmen that guided incoming freshman around the school and answered any questions that they may have. Smart Start is a vital day for strengthening the community within CHS, something that I was glad to participate in. Getting new students used to the campus and environment alleviates stress and makes students more confident in joining the CHS community.
ReplyDeleteIt’s important for an individual to complete community service to get the idea of what it’s like to be in a helpful environment, doing something for someone or something in a helpful way. Being able to do something beneficially for an organization, community, person etc. is really great. For community service, I completed Special Olympics two different times, as well as being a ball girl at a boys soccer game.
ReplyDeleteDoing Special Olympics was a lot of fun. It made people with disabilities be a part of something fun and exciting. Getting them involved in a sport they may not be able to do at a school. It was very important for them to be able to play a sport as a team and I loved watching them and being able to provide that assistance for them to be able to do something like that. Every year they are always so excited for that one softball tournament and it makes me happy to be a part of it.
I believe my service made the world a better place by being able to provide a sport for anyone to participate, whether they have a disease or disability, and not be greedy, picky or selfish with trying to pick a team based on ability. Everyone deserves to get a chance to do something they are really interested no matter who they are. I believe this event was special for many people and I’m glad I could help them make it happen.
I think that is it so important for an individual to complete community service throughout their whole life because it allows people to gain perspective on different types of lifestyles and put others above themselves. By supporting a community in any way that is facing trouble, adversity, or just needs a helping hand, it will always benefit that community because they are receiving help from people who want to help.
ReplyDeleteAmong other things, I participated in Top Soccer for my community service. This was my favorite community service activity because it was active and it was giving joy to people who are able to play soccer in one way or another, despite their disability. The biggest thing that I took away from Top Soccer was that the majority of the kids there didn’t even care about the soccer, they cared about spending time with us and just getting to talk or run around. This made me really happy because it put in perspective that life is about more than just sports and for the people with disabilities, their happiness is able to come from other, sometimes more simple things. I think that my service helped make the world a better place because it not only gave the disabled players, a fun few hours every Sunday, but it made me smile. Community service is not only benefiting the specific community that is being helped or supported, but it is greatly affecting everyone else involved.
Community Service is a very important type of service that allows for community members to reach out and engage in a different way. I think that at some point in everyone's life it is important to do community service. From a young age my family has participated in different community works. I’ve worked at Ronald Mcdonald, elderly homes, Vermont Adaptive, Christmas for Refugees, and many more organizations.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite community service acts was with Vermont Adaptive. I got to work with amazing children and adults with both physical and mental impairments that were still eager to learn. I worked with the ski program and with the horseback riding program. So I got to share the things I loved with amazing humans that appreciated it so much.
For my assigned community service, I chose my work at Smart Start with the freshmen. I was one the top Smart Start leader, asked by Ms. LeClair to set up activities, groups, tours, and games during the summer leading up to my senior year. I had been an ambassador for the two years before and finally being able to put my own ideas into the program was really fun. I think the activities were different from anything done before and the feedback received was really positive. Freshmen students have actually come to me this year asking for help or advice throughout the year since I was one of the first few faces they saw and for me that was amazing.
I love helping others and community service is a great way to do so. I recommend doing it at some point outside of an assigned course. The reward you feel after seeing first hand what your involvement can do is unimaginable and most likely you will want to continue to help and become a better person.
It’s very important for everyone to get involved in community service. Providing your time is often more valuable than donations. There are countless ways to get involved in the community and help out with almost anything.
ReplyDeleteFor my community service, I volunteered to participate in the TOPSoccer program. TOPSoccer is a program designed to provide the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to youth athletes with disabilities by pairing them with high school soccer players. I was lucky to have the opportunity to work with a young girl named Ava. I think I had an impact on Ava during the short time we had together. She had a blast running around the field and making up games for me to play with her. I will never forget the memories I made playing soccer with Ava.
It’s important for an individual to complete community service because it teaches people how to do things without expecting a reward which is an important thing to learn. People learn to do things for other people and not just themselves. Community service teaches people to not be selfish. Community service helps the community because there are a lot of non-profit organizations that need people to volunteer their time because they don’t have the funds to pay people to work, so community service helps run those non-profit organizations. For my community service, I took part in the TopSoccer organization. Every sunday for 6 weeks I would go to the Essex Tree Farm and teach disabled children how to play soccer. Every week we would teach them new skills. If all of those high schoolers, like myself, didn’t volunteer to take part in the organization then TopSoccer wouldn’t be possible. All of those disabled children wouldn’t have a place where they felt normal or that they fit in. My community service helped make the world a better place because TopSoccer teaches people to treat everyone equally, and provides a place where children can learn to play the sport that they love.
ReplyDeleteIt can be important for an individual to complete community service because by them getting involved and helping out in their community it helps to expose them to how good it feels to give back. Completing community service also helps a community because it makes them feel that there are people in their community who care about them and want to help. For the first eight hours of my community service I volunteered at the CAPA Golf Tournament to help raise money for CHS athletics programs. Completing this community service was really important to me because the tournament raises money for programs like field hockey that I participate in. Not only did this community service help me feel more involved in my community but it helped to raise money for so many athletic programs at my school including ones’ that I participate in. For the last two hours of my community service I plan to volunteer at the shelter where I did my interview, there I will make posters and help out with the animals.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is important to take part in because it allows you to connect with those who are within your society. This action can help a community because I feel like a lot of the time people don’t want to get out of their comfort zone by being social and want to keep to themselves, but in reality is can be really beneficial because people actually do end up connecting and seeing what they have in common. It’s important to know who’s in your community and what you have in common or what you may not.
ReplyDeleteFor my community service I did Smart Start, I found this service important because I felt that as a senior at CHS I should be a role model and help my younger peers figure out what high school is going to be like. I know this because when I was a freshmen I didn’t know my way around the school or what it was going to be like, so it was super helpful for the upperclassmen to show us around and give us a feel for what our next four years would look like.
I feel like this service made the world a better place because helping others in general is an act of kindness. Smart Start is an easy thing not to sign up for, it’s completely optional and the teachers don’t really push us to do it. We don’t have to go to school a day early, but we chose to, I chose to. These small things make a difference in the world. Helping others is positive and makes others feel comfortable and safe. By doing this outside of school can make an even bigger difference. I like to look at it as a chain reaction, when one person helps another that individual is motivated to be kind to others as well. Overall, everyone should participate in some type of community service at some point in their life because it does make the world a better place.
Completing community service is an important act that ends up benefiting both the community as well as ourselves. It allows for the individual to gain a new perspective while also allowing the community to receive help from individuals within their own community.
ReplyDeleteI will end up finishing community service at the Burnham Memorial Library by the end of the year. I will assist them at events for other members within our communities. Being able to make the events run smoother for people within my own community is very fulfilling for me. Allowing for people to enjoy themselves is definitely one of the best parts of helping out there. It allows for the community to become stronger and closer together. It also gave me a better perspective on the large amount of work that is being done to help others have a better experience.
Community is more than the people around you. Community is us as human beings doing something more than ourselves, for the greater good of humanity. It is important for everyone to complete their community service, and maybe even go beyond the required amount. Connecting to something more is very good for our society. So often we are buried in phones and media, we do not look at the people in our communities. Participating in something bigger than yourself, has no equal. By uniting with other and working on a goal, you are helping the community grow. Not only are you working for something that can help a community, from building houses to giving out soup, you are helping the people within that community. I coached at a youth baseball program for my community service. Sports have more than just physical benefits. Being part of the program, meant you were part of a team. Our biggest concerns was the kids having fun, and working together. By teaching them baseball, you are teaching passion, persistence, and also humility. It takes setbacks to grow. A youth baseball camp is no easy thing. Having a sport where failing 7/10 times is ok, is not something we see often in society. It’s hard for the kids to admit when they mess up, or have trouble. By helping these kids through problems, and being there for them when they come back the next day, I hope I helped them in more than just baseball. A community is a team. Working together means you also fail together. Hopefully I helped shape a stronger sense of community to these boys, who will very soon grow up. People accepting failure, and being able to move past is something that will help these kids forever.
ReplyDeleteWhen reflecting on the importance of an individual completing community service, I think that everyone can benefit from completing some kind of community service. I believe that the community can also benefit from someone completing community service because when people come together to help the community for the better, it creates a much more positive atmosphere for the community as a whole. For my community service I chose to help out with the annual CABA golf tournament, which helps to benefit Colchester athletic programs, and the second thing I volunteered for was the Monster Mash at Mallet’s Bay school. Which is a halloween dance put on for the students. I think that being an athlete myself being able to volunteer in something that benefited me allowed for me to have a lot more gratitude for not only the work that the community deos to make sure I am able to sports in high school, but also shows that I appreciate what they do for us as well. I think that my community made the world (somewhat) a better place because I was able to not only show I have appreciation for the community, but also I care about the other adults and children that live in the community and all that they do for others.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s very important for people to perform community service. While it benefits whoever you’re doing it for, you also come out of it feeling good about what you did, and feeling like a better person. These actions help events and businesses function in a way that they couldn’t without the help of the community. For my community service I volunteered to help set up and take down the Ski and Skate Sale, which directly benefits some of or sports teams and our school. I think the service all the volunteers there provided was important because we helped the sale go seamlessly and the sale also brings a lot of business and visitors from other towns into the area, which can also benefit places like local restaurants with an increase of people in the area. I also plan to volunteer at the cobras wrestling tournament where I’ll help set up and take down the event, as long as work at a scoring table or in the concession stand all day during the tournament. I think at that tournament, my time will be appreciated a lot because I’m helping make the that all the wrestlers get to have a fun day and wrestle, which is something that they really enjoy.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is a way to make your community a better place. I believe strongly in helping your town. When I am older I wish to have a job helping my town, like a firefighter or police officer. When you give back to your town whether it be picking up trash, volunteering in a soup kitchen or umpiring baseball games, you are making a difference. I volunteered at a children’s baseball camp last summer. It was the third year in a row I helped at the Boys of Summer Baseball Camp. When I was young, the coaches of the camps I went to were huge role models to me. The words of older kids matter a lot when you are young. By being a good role model for the next generation, I feel like I am making a difference for my community and for the future.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is a vital part of every thriving community. It allows people to selflessly help out others and those in need. Without community service, people would never know what it feels like to give back and wouldn’t know what it is like to do work without physical compensation. The feeling that you get after doing community service is very fulfilling and also the community members who receive the service feel appreciated by others. For my community service I worked with an organization called TOPSoccer. This organization allows high school kids to coach and work with kids with disabilities. Every week I would work with the same little girl and help coach her with soccer. It was so rewarding to see her grow as a soccer player and form relationships with not only myself but the others around her. Doing this makes a small difference in these kids’ lives and allows them to feel like they are just like all the other kids there who may or may not have disabilities. Giving these kids joy every week made me so happy and helped them to feel included in something that they don’t usually get to do.
ReplyDeleteBy completing a specific service to one’s community, a person begins to see the ways in which the adult world works. Community service is an introduction to adulthood, and is vital to a healthy adult life. It allows us to benefit the people (or animals) who live around us, and builds individual morals like citizenship and loyalty.
ReplyDeleteFor my own community service project, I volunteered through my job at Ben and Jerry’s at the Intervale Garden. It is basically a community garden that runs off of volunteering that feeds those who are not fortunate enough to buy groceries. The garden acts as a free, fresh supply of good food to those in need. By harvesting spinach, weeding watermelon and picking tomatoes, I was able to contribute to my own society on my own, and boy it felt good. I felt like a real adult, a real member of the Burlington Vermont community. It helped me internally, while helping others externally. As a whole, my community service work provided those families with not only fresh, delicious food, but also imprinted the earth with a positive stamp that has the ability to encourage others to help their own communities. An individual is nothing without their community, so you might as well help those around you.
Community Service is important to local communities, It helps people in need and forms a stronger community. Community service is also a great learning experience, It helps build good characteristics and values in a person. For my community service I helped in smart start, the 8th grade open house, and i'm going to be giving blood. Smart start and the open house help students with the transition from the middle school to the high school and makes the first week just a little bit easier.
ReplyDeleteCommunity Service is important for not only the community but also individuals. By doing good to help others, it creates a feel-good attitude in that person. But besides that, it allows for community benefit and allows for growth. I participate in many community service activities, from math mentoring, life-guarding, blood donation, a music group, weekend camp instructor, helping at food shelves/soup kitchens, and being a BSA leader for one of the first female troops. By being a leader in Troop 3752, I am able to have an effect on each girl apart of it. I am able to help them learn valuable life skills, explore, and grow in their confidence. But in addition to all of that, it’s also allows for a fun and safe environment for myself and all of the youth. I hope that in helping each of the girls through my volunteering that they will, in turn, be enabled to go out and help themselves and others in the future.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is a great way to make your community a better place and bring people together. I always believe in helping people and making a change in the world for the better. Whenever you can help someone or someplace positively it always makes an individual feel good about themselves. It's always good to make a difference. By making a difference you are a role model to the younger generation and are someone that people can look up to and it impacts them positively. For community service, I plan to donate blood, and volunteer at a senior center. I believe, that you can learn so much from different people especially the older generation. They are smart, and have been through a lot before you, and seen more of the world than you have. Looking in their view and perspective can dramatically change an individual. There is a lot that they can teach you, and that you can pass on to the younger generation. I believe passing on stuff you learned to others is a good way for people to share their stories, and follow in their footsteps in order to make a change or difference in the world or community. People will continue to make a change in the community because they have seen others in the past doing it and will positively impact the society and world.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is an essential part of building relationships among community members. It not only allows you to meet different people, but also provides a unique satisfaction by helping others. For part of my community service, I baked cookies and bread for the St. Patrick’s Day dinner and brunch at the VFW in Essex Junction. Veterans have made tremendous sacrifices for the safety of our country, so I was more than happy to be able to thank them in some small way. It felt so nice to be able to give someone something that I had made by hand. I hope to continue to volunteer wherever I find myself in the future.
ReplyDeleteCompleting community service may not seem like that big of a deal to most people, they just think that it is something that doesn't really matter and that doesn’t affect the community in anyway. Doing community service may help make someone’s life a whole lot easier or might help a community improve in good ways. What I did for community service was Math Mentoring in Mrs. Rutz’s algebra one class, it was basically me being there and helping Mrs. Rutz’s with anything she needed, like being a group leader in small work groups or helping individual students with their homework or classwork. The importance of this community service is that it makes Mrs. Rutz’s life easier with her students and allowing students to connect with a fellow student and get help from them rather than just asking the teacher for help or not doing their homework at all. Completing math mentoring allowed me to realize that helping other students understand things they might not fully get if explained by a teacher is really important and even though there is no reward for completing this, it makes you feel better within yourself and allow you to change the way you look at certain things.
ReplyDeleteIt’s important for an individual to take part in completing community service because it gives them a chance and experience in given back to their own community. This can help a community by making it a better or safer place to live. For example, Green Up Day is a great part of a community service because it helps make where we live safer and cleaner. I have not completed my community service yet but I plan on volunteering for the blood drive at school and also doing Green Up Day with my old 4-H group.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is super important for people to give back to your community. From a young age my mom has always showed me the values of helping the community it allows kids to do things that they wouldn’t be able to or even save lives. The students running to summer track program help kids to stay active and keep out of trouble and giving blood can help to save a life. I spent my time helping project grad, caba, and I am going to give blood. Giving blood has the potential to save a life, helping caba will allow sports without there own boosters to continue in our school and helping project grad to allow the senior class to spend one last night together. It may not be a lot but if more people do these small things they will make the world a better place.
ReplyDeletecommunity service is important because it gives students a chance to interact with their community before they go out into the world by themselves. it is also important for schools to make community service a requirement so that groups that need workers can have students that need to help. I haven't completed my community service yet but, I plan to work as many hours as I can at the Vermont city marathon. This will help the community by helping set up and work at a marathon.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is important to do community service because it allows you to help people in your community or improve the quality of life for people in your community. You can also learn a lot and experience new things by doing community service, so it is beneficial to everyone involved. I have not yet completed my community service but I plan to do the blood drive and volunteer at the senior center. This is beneficial because giving blood could eventually save someone's life. Volunteering at the senior center is beneficial because senior citizens are important members of our community and anything we can do to improve their lives is important and beneficial.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is very important and everyone should participate. This helps the community because it is giving back. It could help kids, adults, parents, the homeless, etc. For my community service project I’m running on Colchester Rescue. Colchester Rescue has impacted many lives. We have saved people's lives and we have done everything we could to save a person. It impacts the community because we are there to make sure everyone is safe, but we are there for individuals to make sure they are safe. Having EMS in a community allows people to be in a safer environment. My service made the world a better place because I was helping ill patients and keeping people alive. I was making sure all patients were getting the best care in order to get better.
ReplyDeleteI think that is important for individuals to help out in their community because their small actions can mean a lot to someone. By performing an act of community service you learn more about others in your community and gain perspective on all of the important people and aspects that make it up. For community service, I have helped out a lot at the Vermont Army National Guard. My dad works there, so I have helped set up family events and, more specifically, organized a donation at this school for items to include in care packages. As a military child, I know how much this job can impact the families of the soldiers, as well as the soldiers themselves. When I was younger, I loved going to the family events that were held at the hangar. It makes me feel good knowing that I’m contributing to something that will make all of the younger children smile. I wanted to organize a donation for care packages because soldiers can’t bring a lot with them overseas, and care packages can mean a lot for them. I helped out, not just because I know how it impacts the soldiers and their families, but because I believe that it is important to give back to those who give up so much to serve your community.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is important not only to help the community, but to also give hope to individual people. I took place in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, in which the community came together and walked and raised awareness and money to help people with Alzheimer’s and potentially find a cure. Recently, I also helped set up for The Big Chill, which is an event to raise awareness for epilepsy. Not only did I help raise awareness for these very important causes, but I grew as an individual myself. I learned the importance of helping others and the rewarding pride you get when you know you are making a difference. It’s important to take into consideration that when you perform community service, in the moment you are helping the community, but in the long run there, depending on how you volunteer, there are individual people that you are helping. My service for Alzheimer’s and epilepsy made the world a better place by allowing people to become more aware of the situation, helping the people around you while you’re volunteering, and overall, giving hope to all those that need it.
ReplyDeleteI feel like it's very important for people to help out in their community. It gets students to interact with the community they live in, and makes the community stronger. I believe that everyone should help out in the community they live in. The tasks we do as students for community service can mean a lot to someone. I've helped out with a coin drop so far for the Colchester girls lacrosse team. Without this coin drop we wouldn’t have been able to pay off some things.
ReplyDeleteOwen Chamberlain,
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is important not only because it helps the organization/people you are helping but it is also important for the person helping. It is a reflective experience that teaches you perspective on just how small the community really is and how easy it is to make a difference. I think making us do community service is an important thing because for those of us who actually enjoy it community service can become an enjoyable ritual for the rest of your life. I haven't done my community service yet but in the past I have done work volunteering at raffles, volunteering at marathons, and volunteering at the church. This is likely what I will do for community service this year as well as donating blood.
I think that community service is extremely important for everyone to participate in. It benefits the community and everyone that is involved. For my act of community service, I participated in the Top Soccer Program in the fall. For this program, each soccer player is paired with a younger child with disabilities to help them try to learn how to play soccer. Throughout the six weeks of the program, you get to see your buddy start to learn more and more and grow as person and a soccer player. It was honestly the most rewarding experience in my life to see everyone’s smiling faces each Sunday afternoon and have my buddy becoming more excited to see me and improve at soccer as the weeks progressed. Not only did this program benefit the special needs community and make them feel confident in the sports skills they had, I think it benefit me as well. I came to really love that program and wish I had the opportunity to do it again. I really think I bettered the community and myself by participating in community service.
ReplyDeleteI think that community service is very important. I think this because everyone belongs to a community and it is important to give back for what you are given. For my community service I spent over two months assisting my high schools girls soccer program. I spent hours everyday supporting the players, aiding game-time injuries, setting up drills for practice, and making sure every girl was ready for game day. It felt really good to help and brought me closer to not only the team, but the Colchester community that attended games and supported the team.
ReplyDeleteJackie Palaza - Community service is critical for not only creating active community members, but for creating a positive impact for society at large. It is through community service in which one can learn more about other community members, community struggles, successes, and modalities in which one’s input can be influential. Regardless of the specific action, community service creates a bond between people and their environment. For my community service, I’ve served as a mentor for multiple students among various subjects. This form of service was one I connected closely with, for I quickly had a great concern for the success of my peers. Taking the time to ask how a test went or congratulating someone on an improvement helped grow my perspective. Through my service as a mentor, students have improved their studies, developed better habits, and have gained more confidence in themselves. I feel as if my position as a mentor has helped encourage students to believe in themselves and feel as if they have peer support.
ReplyDeleteAbby Palaza
ReplyDeleteThe importance of community service lies in its definition of selfless service and taking action to promote change. Completing community service teaches the individual to value acts of kindness, communities coming together, and one's ultimate capability to use their talents and abilities to help others. Through volunteering time and ability, one is able take action to further improve the community as a whole and simultaneously learn the power in small acts that can make a difference. For my community service hours, I served as a peer mentor. I was able to use my knowledge and ability to help my peer succeed and do their best. As a mentor I strived to provide positive encouragement in a peer environment. I helped my students target areas they struggled with as well as find strategies to improve and study. Minimizing stress often meant teaching students about organization and how to prioritize time. As a peer mentor I could positively impact students lives to make school more relatable and accessible on the basis of a peer relationship rather than a teacher relationship. Through my service as a peer mentor I was able to pass on wisdom I have learned throughout my school years to help another in a powerful way. Even though I only mentored a small group of students when they learned can spread to influence the larger community. Even if they never improved or learned more about a particular subject, they witnessed how another peer and student took the time to pay attention to them and to take action to make a difference.
I think that community service is important because we're giving back to our community. Our community has provided us with so much as we've grown up and we've used many of their resources. We are not only able to give back, but help the generations below us get the same benefits we did. Much of my services has been from peer mentoring and smart start. The beginning of high school was a really confusing and stressful time for me. I'm glad that I've gotten to be there for the younger students and help them with areas that they don't feel confident in and seriously struggle with. I had a peer mentor when I was a freshman so I decided to give back and do the same thing because the mentor was so helpful to me. As long as we continue giving back to our community, we will continue to be able to improve the world because in order to take, you have to give.
ReplyDeleteCommunity service is a really important thing because it helps members give back to the place that has supported them. When community members get involved in community service, they are able to gain a sense of pride and accomplishment for helping others. For senior seminar, I chose to volunteer at Smart Start in the beginning of this year. I have a brother who is a freshman this year, and he was really anxious and nervous about entering the high school. I remember that I had these same feelings about entering the high school, and the upperclassmen that volunteered at Smart Start were really helpful in making this transition easier. Therefore, I decided to do the same thing. My community service hopefully made the transition of these freshmen a bit easier, because it is nice to have peers closer to your age helping you out rather than solely adults. I hope to do more community service like this in the future, perhaps in my later years of college.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone in their life should contribute some community service at least once. I helped out with Smart Start at the beginning of senior year because I remembered how nervous I was going into High School, and how helpful it was to have some other students their to guide me. However, my favorite volunteering service this year was donating blood. It was my first time donating blood and it most certainly won't be the last. It was a very fulfilling experience and it was very pleasant as well, I had no complications. Every blood donation saves three lives, and is super easy to do. The American Red Cross volunteers were very nice and I hope to donate again soon. However, I learned that my blood type is best for donating platelets, which I will most likely do more often as well. It is a great and safe way to contribute to the community and save lives as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that community service is very fulfilling and that everybody should do it in their life. This year I did a fundraiser for Camp Takumta on St. Patrick's Day. Me and a few friends drove around to different bars all day and ended up raising several hundred dollars in cash donations. Camp Takumta is a non profit summer camp for children with cancer so doing the community service was not only fun but made me feel very good about myself. I hope to participate in more community service in the future.
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