Ten Tips: How to Get Involved in Community Service:
1. Join a club at your school.
School community service clubs are a great way to start finding events i
n which you can participate. They usually offer a broad range of events, which may help you decide what kind of events you like to do.
2. Find a cause you are passionate about.
This is probably the most important and effective way to find community service. There are events for pretty much all causes.
3. Talk to your teachers.
Teachers tend to be a pretty charitable bunch. If you have a teacher who seems passionate about a particular subject or cause, talk to them and see if they have any ideas for you.
4. If you have a Community Service Coordinator at your school, talk to him/her.
Community Service Coordinators always have many events that you can join. Most of these events happen on the weekends, so it shouldn’t disrupt your schoolwork too much. If community service is a graduating requirement, your school may have event sources for you as well.
5. Read the newspaper and look for service-oriented articles.
Newspapers and magazines often feature articles on service organizations. If you read about an organization that you like, don’t hesitate to visit their website or give them a call. They are always looking for more volunteers!
6. Search the Internet for events or ideas.
As with most other things, the Internet is a great source to find events and community service happenings around you. Just be sure you are visiting a legitimate source. For the Los Angeles area, LA Works (http://www.laworks.com/HomePage/index.php/home.html) always has event suggestions for volunteers.
7. Organize your own event.
This may seem daunting, but even if you just get a group of friends to do a beach clean up or something it may count as an event. However, it looks better if you continuously show leadership and stuff.
8. Start your own club at school.
This is a great way to show initiative and leadership, but you have to be able to stay organized and find events for your club members.
9. Help when there is a natural disaster or other relief-effort-oriented event.
In the aftermath of any crisis or natural disaster, there are never enough volunteers. The American Red Cross is usually a great place to start helping those in need.
10. Do “Cause Runs.”
There are always 5K runs for various causes (AIDS, Breast Cancer, etc.). The one downside to a run is that you may have to pay a fee/donation of about $30.
