All eyes are on you as you make the shameful walk to the front of the room during a club meeting. It has just been announced that you have not turned in your community service hours for the semester. You are faced with the embarrassing threat of being put on academic probation for your lack of involvement with the community. Don’t let this happen to you. For those students involved in community service driven clubs, the time is fast approaching to get volunteer hours turned in. Instead of faking hours, there are several easy and local ways to give back to the community, and stay off of academic probation.
Community service can be very rewarding, and even fun. I volunteered at Fayetteville Animal Shelter and got all of my service hours taken care of, as well as gained valuable experience for the field of study I want to go into.
The Fayetteville Animal Shelter offers many service opportunities, like volunteering to play with cats and kittens, bathing dogs, walking dogs, and working with the vet, as well as walking dogs at the Fayetteville Farmer’s Market during the warmer months. The Springdale Animal Shelter also has volunteer opportunities for those that want to help out around the shelter and transport animals to offsite adoption events. The bulletin boards at local Petcos and PetSmarts frequently have flyers advertising local volunteer opportunities as well.
If animals are not your forte, there are always local food pantries and places such as Samaritan House that would appreciate help. The NWA House of Hope needs volunteers to assist with serving food, organizing the clothes closet, greeting people, managing the food pantry, managing the bathroom and laundry room, and doing laundry. Goodwill often has volunteer opportunities that include sorting clothing and organizing the store. The Samaritan Houses in Springdale and Rogers need volunteers to serve food and work in the kitchen, work in the Samaritan Market and Shop, and to work in the Samaritan Garden.
Donations taking place around the school as well, NHS was recently accepting donations for coats, and will soon start collecting backpacks. Each item donated to these drives count for an hour of community service.
If you are strong in one subject, you could always tutor students who need help, or younger kids who need help in school. The Boys and Girls Club has programs for volunteers to come in and tutor kids, mentor them, or just spend time playing and hanging out with them, whether it’s doing arts and crafts or playing games.
Hospice and retirement homes in the area also welcome volunteers to spend time with the residents. Circle of Life allows volunteers to work either directly with patients and families, or with administration and support. There are also several volunteer opportunities at Washington Regional locations.
Churches also offer opportunities for teenagers to work with children in daycare, go on mission trips, or work with the community.
If you would like to check out some other volunteer opportunities, www.volunteermatch.org is a useful tool for finding volunteer opportunities in the area.