Most of us are no strangers to the world of philanthropy and volunteerism. We’ve been asked to lend our time and financial support to various charitable causes, from animal rights, to poverty, disease, and food.
Do you remember, however, being required to volunteer when you were in middle school? Not likely. But today, more and more schools are creating required and non-required volunteer opportunities for students. The benefits are tremendous, for both child and cause.
Sharing their talents
From Apple Valley to Golden Valley, from Edina to Eden Prairie, students throughout Twin Cities’ schools are learning the true meaning of volunteering. Schools are instituting community service requirements as part of the curriculum of particular classes and even as a requirement for graduation. Community learning, as it’s called in many schools, is simply a buzzword for getting kids to pitch in and help out.
Take Orono Middle School (OMS), for example. Orono has a required community service project in its sixth grade social studies class. As Mike Bast, a sixth grade social studies teacher at OMS explains, students arrange and organize their own projects to address needs or issues they are concerned or passionate about.
“Some students design and participate in daily, weekly, or [in] some projects that last the entire school year,” Bast says. “Some students complete one project, while others take part in many different opportunities.” He says young people are usually very willing to give of their time when invited, encouraged, and provided with opportunities and support from adults.
Projects may include collecting food during Halloween trick-or-treating; coordinating community book drives; gathering basic need items for children in Africa; collecting Christmas gifts for children/families in need; and planning and implementing activities that relate to respect and inclusiveness.
While the project started at OMS over a decade ago in select classes, for the past six years all sixth graders have participated in individualized community service. Recently, whole school service learning experiences have also occurred, including 363 (sandwich making for homeless), Kids against Hunger (food packing for impoverished nations), and H2O for Life, which involved purchasing water wells in Nicaragua.
“Students benefit from this project in many ways,” says Melissa Benjamin, OMS sixth grade social studies teacher. “For instance, they learn how to research ways to become involved in their communities, develop communication skills to interact with project supervisors [adults in the community], to be accountable and to see the project through, and some causes create an opportunity for students to share their special talents with others.”
And how do students react? “By far, students and parents have been very supportive of OMS’ sixth grade community service projects,” Benjamin says. “Students are surprised to discover how much they can impact a cause or members of their community. Often they are apprehensive of the project at first, but quickly take pride and ownership once they get started.”
Parents also report being impressed with the amount of dedication and involvement their children take in projects. “Many seem thankful for the experience and many students, and families, continue the projects beyond sixth grade,” Bast says. “Many supervisors and community partners share their gratitude for the efforts of the students and are impressed with the work ethic of young people they work with.”
Big benefits
Mary Ambre, a parent of current and former students at Benilde-St. Margaret in St. Louis Park, believes required and non-required volunteerism on the part of schools benefits the students greatly. “They learn that there are many people, both local and abroad, who need help,” Ambre says. “I think it opens our children’s eyes to realize just how fortunate they are.”
At Benilde-St. Margaret (BSM), volunteering is a big part of the curriculum. “It is not mandatory, but a very high percentage of the students volunteer in one way or another,” Ambre says. “Many students’ goal is to reach a minimum of 100 volunteer hours in one calendar year. All students are highly encouraged to volunteer as much as their schedule allows.”
Called the Red Knight Volunteer Corps, BSM’s program centers on student volunteers working in the community in order to give them the opportunity to stretch their knowledge of the world, meet new people, and put their faith into action.
“Our children have done everything from working in a mission in Guatemala to tutoring students to volunteering their time at a local food shelf and literacy organization,” Ambre says. BSM and Orono are two examples of dozens of schools throughout the Twin Cities trying to inspire kids to make their mark on the world.
Dave DeLuca, head of campaigns for DoSomething.org, the largest organization for teens and social change in the U.S., says that teens in this generation are more likely to volunteer and do community service than any generation before. “Part of the reason for that is the increased pressure of community service in college applications,” DeLuca says. “Our own research has shown that college administrators prefer students to have community service experience. But this fact tends to get over-emphasized. On a daily basis we see thousands of teens take action simply because they care and want to make things better.”
DeLuca stresses that doing good turns people good. “Students who volunteer regularly get better grades, are more likely to get into college, and generally have better social skills,” DeLuca says. “This is the biggest generation of teen doers and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Currently, DoSomething.org has over 900,000 members and we’re growing at an amazing rate. Teens are making clubs, taking action together, and figuring out how they can do more,” DeLuca says. “We don’t think this is a trend—doing good for teens today is a way of life, one that just keeps getting bigger.”
