THE PERKS OF VOLUNTEERISM

By Ruth Hoffman

Kansas University junior Kristina Clement knows that volunteering is both a good way to meet new people and a good addition to college applications. By the time she graduated from high school, Kristina had volunteered for five organizations, two being long-term commitments. She now has a competitive spot working as a KU Honors ambassador. She thinks volunteering in high school helped her get the position.

In our rapidly globalizing world, it’s easy to look beyond the boundaries of our hometowns and cities to dream of the unknown. It’s easy to focus on the big experiences and jobs that will catapult you into financial freedom and personal independence.

Volunteering provides a great way to slow down and stay aware of the needs in your community, while getting involved and making friends.

Margaret Perkins-McGuinness, manager at Roger Hill Volunteer Center in Lawrence, Kan., thinks youth volunteering is about being active. She says volunteering has the potential to become addicting because of the positive and empowering feelings that come from being able to take action toward change. Margaret works closely with Roger Hill’s Youth Volunteer Council, which was started in 2002. The Council holds two environmental projects a month, and it has a quarterly homeless birthday party. The youth volunteers work at soup kitchens, help with the Special Olympics and have pie bakes. They also have the opportunity to work with a variety of organizations through the center.

As a member of the National Honor Society, Kristina was required to volunteer a certain number of hours per year while in high school. She enjoyed and benefited from her volunteer work at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where she escorted patients around the hospital and helped in human resources, coordinating events such as the Christmas party and the annual poinsettia sale. "I learned how to interact with people on all kinds of levels, something I have found useful in my job and at school," she says. "More and more scholarships, internships and post-undergraduate activities are requiring volunteer experience."

Youth volunteerism appears to be on the rise across the nation. In December 2005, Laura Bush issued the report, "Youth Helping America—Building Active Citizens: the Role of Social Institutions in Teen Volunteering," which summarizes the benefits and percentages of youth volunteering. A brief on the report, found on the Corporation for National and Community Service Web site, states that, "an estimated 15.5 million teenagers, or 55 percent of young Americans, volunteered last year through religious organizations, youth-leadership groups, schools or other organizations."

With the high numbers of volunteers and the expanding opportunities to be involved in local communities, what are making youths volunteer? Margaret thinks it's a combination of three things. Volunteers receive positive feedback from the organization they work with. Volunteering allows for one-on-one interaction with people in need. It also provides safe, fun environments for peer-to-peer cooperation and relationships. "As youth head into college, volunteering is something that demonstrates their commitment to community," Margaret says. Even if you don’t stay close to home for college, volunteer work opens avenues for action in other communities.

So get out and volunteer. Expand your group of friends, get to know your community, see and combat need firsthand and spiff up your college applications and future opportunities in the process. I bet you’ll find yourself addicted to the empowering nature of volunteer work.