High school years are considered the best time for students to prepare for their future. You may have considered this time for internships, jobs, or maybe nothing specific at all. However, many students don’t volunteer or take it too lightly.

While many students don’t take part in volunteer work, especially when it’s not school related, they’re missing out on valuable use of time. Community service is extremely beneficial due to its physiological, social, and educational perks.

In a competitive educational environment, service hours give an edge; active engagement and dedication is your community looks good on resumes. They demonstrates the applicant’s selflessness, dedication, and cooperation. Since volunteering involves working with strangers to achieve a common goal, it is valuable experience to have for projects and the work environment.

As a bonus, volunteering provides educational experience, whether it’s in a certain field, or general skills like teamwork, management, responsibility etc. Such assets earned serve as crucial mental assets for life and sharpen one’s strengths.

It’s no secret that helping others makes people feel good. Volunteering raises one’s overall happiness and gives a sense of productivity, and boosts mental health. The Corporation for National and Community Service, CNCS, supports the evidential relationship between volunteering and mental health: stress and depression are eased as well as greater functionality.

Community service strengthens connections, raises awareness, and changes the lives of volunteers and those helped. Such closeness was demonstrated following the events of Hurricane Harvey, when Houstonians lent a hand to others everywhere and anywhere. One can appreciate the experience of meeting new people, including people being served, fellow volunteers, friends, and officials. She emphasizes that the connections made can become long-lasting and valuable, especially post-graduation when seeking opportunities in academics or work.

However, some peers may find difficulty in trying to volunteer due to personal priorities at work or home. Others don’t volunteer since it’s usually not a requirement for most colleges and universities, rather, it is seen as excessive labor. Instead, they choose to focus more time on  interests, clubs, and the like.

However, that’d be only undervalue the benefits of community service. Volunteers hours serve as an advantage over the other millions of students applying to college, and should be done whenever possible. Students are also encouraged to follow their interests while committing to work or organization supporting that direction. For example, a HOSA student can get a head start by helping out in a clinic, or a strength in math, English, or any other subject can be practiced in tutoring. Either way, volunteering provides unlimited benefits too valuable to miss.

While some students may worry about juggling service hours along with club or sports activity, Loeb recommends finding club- related volunteer work as a solution. NAHS, HOSA, and other major clubs require service hours anyway, thus students hit two birds with one stone.  Hours don’t need to be overwhelming for a student, since thinly spread work adds up annually.

Students should take part in helping our community regularly to enrich themselves. Even now, as our city recovers from flooding, all help is appreciated, both by those helped and those helping.