Community Service Initiative

What Is Community Service?

Community service is work done by a person or a group of people that benefits others. It is often done within the area where you live, so your own community reaps the benefits of your work. You do not get paid to perform community service, though sometimes food and small gifts, like a t-shirt, are given to volunteers.

Community service can help any group of people in need: children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, English language learners, and more. It can also help animals, such as those at a shelter, and it can be used to improve places, such as a local park, historic building, or scenic area as well. Community service is often organized through a local group, such as a place of worship, schools, university, or non - profit organization. You also can start on your own community service projects.

Some students are required to complete community service as part of a class requirement in order to graduate high school and university or to become a member of certain organizations, such as the National Honor Society. Adults also could participate in community service as a way to help others. 

What Are Examples of Community Service?

There are hundreds of ways to participate in community service, depending on your skills and interests. Some common community service examples include:

Working with schoolchildren: Tutoring children after school, collecting school supplies to donate, planting a school garden.

Working with senior citizens: Visiting residents of a retirement center, delivering meals to senior citizens, driving them to appointments.

Improving the environment: Holding a recycling contest, planting trees, creating a new trail at a nature center.

Helping low-income people: Passing out food , collecting used clothes to be donated, making first aid kits for homeless shelters.