How can students get involved in community service?
Students can first get involved in community service by checking with the school they attend to see what requests have been made for volunteer help. The school counselor (in a high school) or the community advisor (in a college) will be the person to contact. Students can also look through an area phone book’s yellow pages or online for non-profit agencies, which they can contact to see what volunteer and community service opportunities they have. Choosing an agency, business, or area that the student has expertise or interest in should be a primary concern, though the student can also use the community service time to gain valuable and eye-opening experience. Students can consider working with national campaigns in their area, such as Common Cents, whose Penny Harvest collects pennies to fund programs that benefit children around the world. Contacting the local city council or Chamber of Commerce office can also give students some ideas about where community service is particularly needed.
It is important for HTHI students to be active members in their community. The first step to students developing global awareness is looking at issues in their own community and getting involved. Most of these issues, such as poverty, education, alcohol abuse, disease control, environmental issues, etc., also affect our neighbors around the world. By developing local awareness, students can compare how these issues are dealt with by different countries and bring global solutions back to their community. It is also important for students to create a well rounded college application, which should include participation in sports, clubs, music, community service, etc. To maximize their points on the UC admissions scale, students must complete a minimum of 200 hours community service within a two year period. If students would like to find out more about volunteer opportunities, they can visit http://www.volunteersandiego.org/and become a SAVVY member. After becoming a SAVVY member, student
