Health & Fitness
Volunteering in Our Community
Los Gatos is a community that has many volunteer opportunities. Here are the reasons why everyone should serve others.
This past weekend, I was in Long Beach at a conference for my community service organization, the Assisteens.
The national organization is a part of the Assistance League that provides volunteer opportunities for teenagers.
While I was there, I met many different people and heard about what they do to give back to their communities. It was interesting to hear about what other people do, and I returned home with ideas for what we could do here.
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Los Gatos has many organizations that give teenagers the opportunity to serve. Many students try to get at least 100 hours so the high school puts their community service on their transcripts. As a result of this need, our town has many different organizations that try to help young people meet this requirement. There are many community service clubs at the high school, and many more organizations (like mine) that take place outside of school.
I personally love serving in my organization. We are fairly new and are still working on expanding our projects. We clean up local parks, collect socks and toiletries for homeless shelters, and visit seniors at special care facilities and nursing homes. I enjoy activities that allow us to interact with the people we help. One of my personal favorites takes place during the holiday season, when we sing Christmas carols to the seniors. It is so rewarding to see with my own eyes how I can make someone so happy.
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Despite what many students believe, volunteering with an organization does not have to be ridiculously time-consuming. In my organization, you just have to sacrifice two hours of your Sunday afternoon at one meeting once a month. It is perfectly fine to miss the meeting if you absolutely cannot make it. Participating in at least one project is encouraged, but the group is well aware that high school students are busy and cannot be expected to drop everything for community service.
Volunteering in the community is such a rewarding experience. I think that everyone, young and old, should volunteer. Helping others in ways both large and small creates such an amazing feeling. With so many opportunities here in our community, I encourage everyone to get out and volunteer!
