What type of community service should I do or volunteering?(good on college resume)?

Question

I am in 8th grade and in august I will be a freshman in high school.I want to start thinking about college and community service is important. Please help me with ideas of how I can help my community and volunteer...(what I can volunteer for, what type of community service)

I have been thinking:senior center, daycare

Also, when I make my college resume do I just write what I did on there or do I need to provide evidence or such.like a letter or certificate of proof for doing community service??

Please please please give me ideas! thank you!

Answer 1

It's great that you are thinking of this early.  It's important not only to be volunteering, but to also seek leadership or some other type of position...this could be to train other people after you've been there, to plan events, or to do training related to the field.  There should also be a tie-in with your interests.  

Any certificates of appreciation are great!  You should also think about getting involved in school activities--same thing, where can you show leadership, teamwork, etc.  Be selective, though and don't overextend yourself.  Grades are still your most important "job" in high school.

Congrats on graduating 8th grade and I hope you have a great HS experience.

Answer 2

Talk to the guidance counsellor at your high school.

Go to the community centre/ town hall/ library etc.

Find out who co-ordinates volunteers in your town.

Speak to your pastor or youth minister at your church.

Try anything they offer you, find out what you can do best.

You'll need to keep a good log-book of each service done.

If they don't supply it, make your own, get reports/signatures.

Answer 3

Volunteer opportunities are all over the place, but often times they're tough to think of when you "have to." Best bet: think about things you like to do. Here are some ideas:

Animal shelters - usually coordinated through your local ASPCA (Jason Taylor and Sarah McLachlan both support the ASPCA) or via a branch of the local government. That includes dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, you name it - and the ASPCA also lobbies Congress on behalf of animals, too.

Local libraries - help put books away (which, I'd like to add, introduces you to all sorts of cool things that you might never know about) or serve as a "kids librarian" and help other kids find things they need at the library.

Homeless shelters - while many places might not let you help cook food because of training or safety limitations, most will probably let you help serve it, or help guide people (especially those that have a difficult time getting things themselves.)

Local parks & recreation services - how about building park benches or picnic tables (total cost in wood/bolts: about $30), or lining a park trail with old railroad ties (contact Amtrak or Conrail to arrange donation of them, total cost is zilch) - or if you're a little older, you might be able to officiate (referee) soccer or other types of sports - or, if you're really into it - you can help coach.

Local elementary schools - how about cleaning (and repainting?) the playground, repainting the basketball court, maybe a mural?

Nature center or museum - serve as a guide, or become "the expert" in a specific part that really interests you. Trees? Leaves? Birds? Dinosaurs? What about a place that rehabilitates hawks that have been injured, or ducks caught in oil slicks?

Tutor other kids in things you know well; if you enjoy reading, try "reading to the blind", where you read books out loud to a recorder (or even to a group of people, live!)

Or combine the best of two worlds: "borrow" a puppy from the animal shelter and take it to a homeless shelter or a senior citizen's home!

Worst case scenario: turn back to the web. The USA Freedom Corps athttp://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/for_volun...

will help you find things based on things you like. You just enter in a few key words, select some categories, and give it your ZIP code.

*****

Now, as for your college admissions "resume" - right now, don't worry about it.  You're in 8th grade, and you've got at least 3 years before you need to put something together.  That "something" varies, depending on the school - some want essays, some do personal interviews with alums, some just want you to list items on the application form.  You don't need "documentation" - community service isn't a "make or break" type of thing - but as a previous writer noted, letters of appreciation are very good...BUT if you're going to do that, then it shouldn't be for a one-time event, it should be for "2 years of continuous service" or somesuch.  Anybody can go do community service for a day and get a letter.

Answer 4

read to children at the library or volunteer at a church.

Answer 5

Volunteer with The Humane Society.  I worked there and enjoyed it. Ask for a letter of recommendation.

Answer 6

the YMCA helps out communities in many ways and volunteering for them would be recognized across the board plus they would probably give you a lot of choices so you could choose something that interests you

Answer 7

Go for the gusto!  Nursing home bed pan cleaner upper!  lol

Answer 8

student teach at your church/temple

thats what i do and  i get 2 hours every week

Answer 9

i volunteer not because it looks good on the resume... it's because it's actually a nice thing to help people... if you really want to do some community service, volunteer for the "home for the aged"

Answer 10

Colleges want to see you doing community service that is interesting to you. Think about what you enjoy doing and see if there is anything you can do.