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Through your college applications process, you’re likely to come across the term “community service” many times. In fact, you may be asked to write an essay about it. This post will cover the specifics of a community service essay and how to go about writing one, including what to cover and common mistakes to avoid. 

What is a Community Service Essay?

You may encounter the community service essay as you’re writing your supplemental essays for college. These are school-specific prompts that only go to the college that requests them, unlike the personal statement , which goes to every school you apply to. Not all schools require community service essays, but several do. It’s also a common requirement for scholarship applications, especially if it’s a school-specific merit scholarship. 

The community service essay is an essay that describes the initiatives you have taken outside of the classroom to benefit your community. In a 2018 survey of 264 admissions leaders across the US, 58% said that community service is a tie-breaker between students who are otherwise equally qualified. The community service essay offers you the opportunity to shine light on the work you have done to make an impact on the world and people around you, and is an additional way to help you stand out among other applicants. 

Approaching the Community Service Essay 

Understand the essay requirements  .

As with any essay, it’s important to first understand what is expected of your essay. For a start, elements to pay attention to include: 

• Length requirements
• Focus or subject of the essay prompt 
• Organization of the essay 

Although all community service essays ultimately have the same purpose of having you describe your local service activities, they can come with different types of prompts. Below are three sample prompts. Note the differences in topic specificity, length requirements, and breadth of the prompt. 

From the CGCS – Bernard Harris Scholarship Program: 

Please describe a meaningful volunteer or community service experience, including what you learned from participating.

From the University of California Application :

What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (350 words).

From the Equitable Excellence Scholarship:

Describe your outstanding achievement in depth and provide the specific planning, training, goals, and steps taken to make the accomplishment successful. Include details about your role and highlight leadership you provided. Your essay must be a minimum of 350 words but not more than 600 words.

Brainstorming for your community service essay 

Once you have an understanding of what is required of the specific you are to write, the next step is to brainstorm ideas for a specific topic. If you have various community-engaged service experiences under your belt, consider the following before you finalize your decision. 

The best topics:

Are substantial in length and scope. It’s better to cover a long-term commitment than a one-off afternoon at the food pantry or animal shelter. 

Are transformative or inspiring. Although community service is “others”-oriented, colleges are looking to learn more about you. The ideal community service essay topic should be an experience that changed or challenged your perspective, and was ultimately fulfilling. 

Illustrate personal qualities or passions that you want to highlight. Given the specific prompt, and taking the rest of your application into consideration, which personal interests do you want to highlight? Which activity illuminates the personal quality that you want to bring attention to? 

These are all elements to consider before you begin writing your essay. 

Tips for Writing Your Community Service Essay 

1. include anecdotes.

Anecdotes are a great way to begin your essay, not only as a way to grab your reader’s attention, but by launching right into the experience of your service activity. You can start with a line about a particularly busy afternoon at the orphanage, or a morning cleaning up the streets after a storm, or the sense of accomplishment you felt when you watched a dog under your care at the animal shelter get adopted. 

2. Show, don’t tell 

We’re sure you’ve heard this axiom of general writing before, but it applies to college essays just as much as with any other piece of writing. Opt for evocative examples over plain explaining whenever possible. Take this sentence: “There was a lot of food waste at our school cafeteria.” It’s not nearly as powerful as this description: “I peered into the tall, gray trash cans to inspect the mountain of Styrofoam trays and discarded food. There were countless pizza crusts, globs of green beans, and unopened cartons of milk.” 

Anyone could write the first sentence, and it’s not a unique experience. In the second description, we’re shown the scene of the writer’s lunchroom. We get a peek into their perspective and life, which makes the writing more vivid and relatable. Aim to bring your reader into your world as much as possible.

3. Share your responsibilities and accomplishments.

The more tangible your community service activities feel to the reader, the more powerful your essay will be. Concretize your work by stating the basic details of what kind of work you did and what your duties involved, where it was based, when you began working, and the amount of time you spent working. 

Be sure to quantify your work and accomplishments when possible; it’s better to say your fundraiser yielded 125 books than “a large number” of books. It’s important to also elaborate on why the work you did matters. Why was it important? Did the books you collected or purchased after the fundraiser expand the library of the local orphanage that they already had, or did it offer the children easy access to books that wasn’t available previously? Be specific and detailed.  

4. Highlight what you learned and how you’ll use those lessons moving forward. 

Towards the end of your essay, you’ll want to share how you benefited from the community service work you did. This is an important part of the essay, because it shows how you are able to distill your experiences to applicable lessons in your own life. 

Think of this section in two potential parts: skills you learned, and personal development. Did you gain any hard skills, such as public speaking, poster design, or funds management? Then think about how you developed as an individual. Are you more empathetic or patient now? 

Things to Avoid in Your Community Service Essay 

1. don’t list out everything that happened..

You want to keep your essay well-structured and concise. This isn’t a résumé, or a play-by-play of the entire experience. Stick to the most telling details and anecdotes from your experience. 

2. Avoid using a pretentious or privileged tone.

Humility goes a long way, and entitlement can be smelled from afar. The purpose of this essay is not to paint yourself as a savior of any kind, but rather to show what’s important to you in your non-academic life, and how you approach solving real-world and interpersonal problems. 

3. Avoid clichés.

It may be tempting to quote famous people, but doing so can easily seem like a shortcut, plus it shows little of who you are. Try also to steer clear of trite and vague life lesson lines such as “I learned that people can be happy with so little,” or “I learned the importance of giving back.” Not only do they carry a tone of privilege, they are also sweeping general conclusions and don’t convey anything specific of what you learned. 

Community service is only a part of the college application process, which can be daunting and confusing. CollegeVine will help you navigate each step of the process, from building a college list, to calculating your chances at each school using our chancing engine. Create your free account and get started now !

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How to write the community service essay

Whether in an interview or an essay, all college applicants should be prepared to talk about the ways they have worked to improve their schools and communities. No college wants to admit a passive recipient of community, they would all much prefer to admit an active and engaged citizen who understands that community requires contribution. Use this essay to define a community (see the community essay for more examples of this) and then talk specifically about how you helped to make that community better. You have a lot of latitude here to define your terms and to define the boundaries of your engagement. Don’t pass up any opportunity to share your active citizenship. These essays will vary in length but are often a “mid-size” supplement of 250-350 words.

Example Community Service Questions:

• U of California: What have you done to make your school or community a better place?
• MIT: At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc.  
• Princeton: Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals.

LET'S BREAK DOWN THE ESSENTIAL POINTS YOU NEED TO HIT WHEN RESPONDING TO THIS SUPPLEMENT:

This is an important question! If you have an option to select an essay question among several prompts, choose to write this essay! Why? Colleges want to know that you have made your community a better place. This makes you a compelling applicant. Why else? Because you have done something that can answer this question – even if to you, right now, it looks small in comparison to solving global challenges.

“Community” can be defined however you choose! Be sure to use a few words of this essay to outline the boundaries of the community you identify.

THINGS TO AVOID:

Additional tips and tricks:.

• Column 1: Identify the problem. Describe the challenge you were (or are currently) facing. The problem could be something global, like an environmental issue, or something more local, like a lack of creative opportunities in your high school.
• Column 2: Raise the stakes. Help us understand: Why was (or is) overcoming this challenge important? What might happen if this problem went (or goes) unchecked?  
• Column 3: Articulate the vision. What might the world look like if this problem were solved? Inspire us to dream with you.
• Column 4: Describe what you did. Tell us the specific things you (or you and your team) did to solve the problem.
• Column 5: Clarify your role.   Describe your particular involvement. Why were (or are) you crucial to the project’s or club’s success?
• Column 6: Share the impact you had, lessons you learned, or values you gained. Provide specific evidence that gives us a sense that your work mattered.

Don't forget to use active verbs! Additionally, you can absolutely re-use this essay (being mindful of word count) to respond to multiple community service prompts from different schools.

Elise holds a BA in Political Philosophy from Williams College and an MEd in Administration & Social Policy from Harvard. She has spent the past twenty years working in top-tier independent schools.

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The Community Essay for the Common App Supplements

Mark montgomery.

• July 24, 2023

How do you write the community essay for the Common App? Many college applications require supplemental essays. A common supplementary question asks you to consider and write about a community to which you belong. 

The definition of community is open to interpretation and can be difficult to pin down. We each belong to a wide variety of communities ranging from our family and friend groups to being members of the global community.  

My Communities 

For example, I belong to a bunch of different communities. I sing in a choir, so I’m part of the community of the Colorado Chorale community (and within that community, I’m a member of the tenor section). I go to see plays a lot, so I’m a member of the “theater-going” community. Birdwatching can be fun, I find, so I belong to the “community of birdwatchers.” I belong to a club or two, so I’m a member or those communities. I belong to a political party, which is a community in a sense. I went to Dartmouth , so I belong to a community of alumni, both locally and globally. Same with my grad school: my friends and I still talk about belonging to the “ Fletcher Community .” 

When I lived in Hong Kong, I was a member of the American community, which was part of the large expatriate community. I speak French and live in Denver. Therefore, I’m part of the community of Denverites who speak French as a second language. I live in a specific neighborhood in the city of Denver in the State of Colorado in the United States. All of those communities define me in one way or another. Finally, at a more intimate level, I also belong to a family community that is very important to me.

Really, when you stop to think about it, we all belong to a large number of overlapping communities. Think of a Venn diagram with lots of overlapping circles—and we are at that tiny dot in the center where each of those circles overlaps. 

Why write the community essay for the Common App?

Why do colleges ask you to write this community essay? In writing about community as it relates to you, you reveal important details at the core of who you are. Colleges are hoping to bring students to their campuses who will contribute in a positive way to campus culture, whether intellectually, socially, or through their extracurricular activities. 

They want students who will be successful in their new community and enrich the college through their varied backgrounds, experiences, accomplishments, activities and behavior. Thus, the way you answer this prompt will help them imagine if you would be a good addition to their campus community.

Here are some examples of the community essay prompt:

• Please complete the following, and have a little fun doing so: “I appreciate my community because …” (up to 300  characters)
• At MIT , we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being good friends. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc. (200-250 words)
• What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?  (up to 350 words)
• Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.  (up to 300 words)
• Macalester is a community that includes people from many different backgrounds, some who have lived around the world and others who have lived in one place their entire lives. Please write an essay about how your background, experiences, or outlook might add to the Mac community, academically and personally. (up to 500 words)*

* Note: this last prompt doesn’t ask about a community to which you currently belong, but rather asks you to reflect on what you will bring to the community. This essay is a mix of activities and community essays. However, this essay should emphasize what the applicant would add to the campus community.

The community essay vs. the community service essay

Notice that this essay is not narrowly focused on any service you might provide to your community. Of course, it is entirely possible that your involvement in a community may include some sort of involvement that helps to promote the community and the interests of its members in some way.  

However, the community essay prompts do not specifically ask you to talk about this service. The prompts want you to think about what it means to “belong,” and how you conceive of yourself in the larger world. A sense of community may, indeed, lead you to act in certain ways to advance a cause, donate your time, or exert your energies to meet the needs of your community. Your actions certainly may become part of this community essay as a way to demonstrate the ways in which you identify with—and contribute to—this community. But the focus of this essay is on that sense of belonging. 

Service to your community—or to someone else’s?

To put a finer point to it, it is possible to provide “community service” to communities to which we do not belong. We might donate time to the homeless community—but that does not make us homeless. We might spend time working with refugees, even if we, ourselves, are not refugees. Or while we might enjoy good health, we still might donate time to make meals for the critically ill.

So make sure that when you write the community essay you zero in on a community that defines you, and not on the service you devote to a community that is not your own.  

When preparing for the community essay for the Common App, DO THESE THINGS:

Think carefully about your choice of community.

The community you choose says a lot about you. Think carefully about what message even just the choice of community might convey to your reader. In fact, you may even want to start by asking yourself “What aspects of who I am do I want the reader to know?” and then pick the community that will do that in the best possible way. Think, too, how your choice can help you differentiate yourself and share important insight into who you are. 

Factors for you to consider as you brainstorm the community essay for the Common App:

• Which communities are most important to you and why?
• What do these communities say about you that you haven’t shared with your reader elsewhere in your application?
• What roles have you played in these communities?
• How would you measure the impact of your participation in these communities?
• What does your participation in these communities say about your character, qualities, and how you interact with the world around you?
• What does the overall message say about you as a future college student?

Use this as an opportunity to reveal more about yourself

This prompt isn’t just to elaborate on your community; this is another opportunity to reveal important qualities about yourself. Explain why this community is so important to you. Write about what you learned about yourself and how it has shaped who you are. Reveal how you have made contributions to this community.  

Show, don’t tell

Like every essay, the details show your reader what you want them to know about you. Be specific, but selective, with the details you include. Every word should contribute to the message you want to share with your reader. If you have space, share an anecdote to help the reader visualize the qualities that you are trying to share.

Ensure you answer the prompt fully and directly

Some of these prompts are simple and short, but other schools have long prompts. Don’t get lost in answering the first part of the prompt and forget about the remainder. Re-read the prompt after you have drafted your ideas to make sure you’ve addressed everything. 

In addition, sometimes, if you have multiple applications that ask a “community” question, you may be tempted to simply repurpose the same exact essay from one application to the other. Beware! Each prompt will have different nuances to it, and you will need to ensure that you are actually answering the prompt that is being asked. You can certainly re-use the content from one application to the next, but you should tailor how you express those ideas so that they match the prompt.

When drafting the community essay for the Common App, DON’T DO these things

Don’t be afraid to “think outside of the box”.

Some communities to which we belong are obvious because we participate in them on a daily basis. These would include our families and our friend groups. Others are obvious because they are clearly defined: the football team or student government. But what about those informal communities, occasional communities, or hard-to-define communities to which you might belong? Are you a crafty person who blogs about your creations with an online community?

Do you belong to a book group in your neighborhood? Are you a classic car connoisseur? Even writing about things that might not seem like natural “communities” can work quite well as long as they reveal important aspects of who you are. For example, we’ve read a successful “community” essay about a student who belonged to a community of anonymous subway riders. We read another about a community of students who wear crazy socks to school. 

Don’t share obvious details

The detail about the community is not the most important part of your response, even if the prompt does say to “describe a community to which you belong.” Consider only sharing those details about the community that ties into what you are trying to share about yourself. For example, most drama groups put on performances for the public.

But not all drama groups are community-based and have participants ranging in age from 9 to 99. If part of your story is about this multi-generational community, then this detail plays a part in your story. Include those details that play a role in why the community is important or impactful for you.

Remember these things about the community essay for the Common App

No matter which community you choose to write about, you want to be sure that you reflect deeply about why this community is important to you. If you have a longer word count, you can consider using an anecdote to share with the reader, but for the shorter prompts, keep your writing personal, but just more to the point.

And don’t lose sight of the reason that you are writing this essay. You are applying to be a part of a new community. You want to show that you have a deep appreciation for the sense of satisfaction, dedication, and attachment that comes with being a member of a community. The purpose is to demonstrate that you know how to nurture the community and how you nourish others’ sense of belonging in that circle.  

Colleges want to know that you will keep the flame of that college community alive, even as you graduate and move on with your life. The admissions office wants to know that you will cherish and contribute to the community that they already call their own. Convince them that you deserve to belong.

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Essays About Community Service: Top 5 Examples Plus Prompts

If you are looking for your next writing topic, discover top examples of essays about community service and helpful writing prompts in our guide.

Community service refers to an individual or a group’s volunteer work dedicated to improving the community and its people. In America, Benjamin Franklin introduced community service in the 18th century by developing the idea of ​​the first volunteer firehouse in Philadelphia . Since then, stepping up has become a norm, with more people encouraged to participate.

Volunteering helps individuals gain experience, improve self-esteem, expand knowledge, and promote healthy goals. In addition, choosing community service as a topic in your essay allows you to explain its significance to entice your readers to get involved. To give you an idea of ​​how to write essays about community service, here are five examples that will help you.

5 Top Examples On Essays About Community Service

1. essay on community service and its importance by joni kim, 2. community service experience: essay on what i learned by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 3. why is community service important by perry mullins, 4. concept of the community services in modern society essay by anonymous on ivypanda.com, 5. community service experience essay by writer molly, 1. community service vs. volunteering, 2. community service: then and now, 3. why we should volunteer, 4. community service in schools: mandatory or voluntary, 5. community service and its influences, 6. types of community service, 7. my community service experience, 8. donation or service: what’s better to give.

“The service helps the group of people in need, for example, senior citizens, children, people with disability and the likes. Sometimes community service is geared towards solving problems related to the needs of community members, especially low-income earners.”

Kim explains that community service is a voluntary action done through various means. It includes health and child care services, education, housing, and other improvements to aid and support the community members who need the most assistance. Then, Kim focuses on its importance to individuals, the community, and the country. The essay showcases how community service improves social, interpersonal, and decision-making skills. It also allows students to explore and find their interests. Ultimately, Kim believes that the real-life experience of volunteering assists in determining one’s career path, providing advantages when applying for a job.

“This experience has helped me to cherish my ability to influence and impact others in a positive way, and it helped me to look at community service as a benefit for myself, instead of just another obligation to fit into my schedule.”

In this essay, the writer reflects on their community service experience, sharing the gains they reaped from the program. They discuss how their undying love for animals and tight-knit communities made them realize the gravity of sharing. They also had the opportunity to strengthen and develop a new set of talents and skills from the encounter. However, the author also mentions that when the desire to do good morphs into a forced responsibility, it leads to failure. The writer says they often receive more benefits than the people and animals they help, as the experience makes them more patient, flexible, and responsible.

“True volunteering lies in an individual’s will and drives to help other and enforcing it eliminates that drive.”

Mullins focuses his essay on explaining why it should not be mandatory for students to do community service. For him, mandatory volunteering takes away the true meaning of volunteerism. Students only view it as additional work – an obligatory criterion they must check off their list to graduate. He claims that students will gain nothing but stress instead of new skills and knowledge when compulsory community services are in place.

“As for me, I consider community work as a good opportunity to get the main idea of some particular services, still, I would not have the same great desire to participate in social life if the services would become obligatory for graduation.”

In modern society, volunteering is becoming a necessary factor in many organizations. People with experience in community service have more opportunities to get a job. The author delves into community service’s importance but also criticizes that making it a requisite takes away its value. With various arguments from professionals like Alina Tugend , the essay further argues that no one would want to receive help from people who consider it an obligation.

“The community service project is different from other school educations the community service can teach us how to love others and how to fulfill our heart with joy.”

Molly dislikes homeless people because of their appearance and smell, but this all changes when cleaning and selling preloved items to homeless people becomes the best experience of her life. Community service taught her that the homeless are no different from her. She also learned to be thankful for her situation. She concludes that after the program, she became more respectful, responsible, and caring to other people.

Do you want to secure that A+ Grade? Check out our round-up of the best essay writing apps for students and academics.

8 Helpful Prompts on Essays About Community Service

If you’re still confused about the topic and can’t choose what to talk about, you can use the prompts below:

To write this prompt, the first part of your essay should discuss the meaning of community service and volunteering. Next, identify and examine the different characteristics of a community service worker and volunteer to clearly explain their similarities and differences. Then finish your essay with your opinion on the matter or look for more information you can expound on in your own words. 

This prompt shows how people’s definitions, processes, and perceptions of community service changed over time. Research and write down how community service started in your country or area to make it more relatable. Include examples of community services that made a big difference for the community and consider how these services impacted people’s lives.

Explain to your readers what voluntary work means and why exposure to it is crucial. Next, write the advantages and disadvantages of volunteering and what they should expect if they decide to be a volunteer. Finally, share your experience to clarify your comments, suggestions, and other points.

The decision to make community service mandatory in every school is still up for debate. First, pen your opinion on this topic and whether or not you agree with compulsory community service. Then, discuss your reasons and provide examples or factual evidence to support your arguments.

Identify and scrutinize the positive and negative effects of community service. Find news articles where one type of community service impacted its volunteers, community, and people differently. Write down how the organizer dealt with different situations and if it affected the program’s outcome.

There are three kinds of community service: direct, indirect, and advocacy. First, discuss and give examples for each one. Then, explain how these services differ from programs under service-learning. For example, direct community service includes directly serving homeless people food and clothes, while in service-learning, volunteers will teach people to garden and earn income. 

Use this prompt to share your memorable experience while doing community service and what you learned from it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a short program at your school, work, or organization. The important thing is that you have experience in community service. Include your initial reaction and if it changed over time while you were doing the service.

Some choose to donate money to various organizations that perform community service. Others join the program and personally help other people. In this prompt, share your opinion on the topic and whether you consider donating as community service. To make your essay more intriguing, look for prominent personalities who consistently contribute or engage in community service versus those who only present monetary assistance. 

AI grammar checkers are powerful resources that can help you improve your writing. See our guide on how to use an AI grammar checker. For help with this topic, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing ?

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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What is the best site to search for quality community service paper samples?

Grademiners is your ideal starting point in the composition of essays on this topic. You can find many interesting essays on community service to improve your understanding and give you content structuring tips.

How to use community service essay samples to create my own paper?

We’ve uploaded these community service essay samples to our open database, helping all students in their studies and essay composition. You can borrow some tips on structuring topic choice and evidence use from these model works.

Is it allowed to submit your samples as mine?

You can download the samples and use them for academic guidance and reference. But don’t try to submit them to your professor; they will never pass the Turnitin check, as they are open-source texts.

How many community service essay samples are available here?

We have thousands of essay samples, from college to university level, in the Grademiners database and are ready to share them with you free of charge.

Community service is one of the corrective behavior alternatives that help people avoid incarceration for minor crimes and problematic conduct. Another meaning of this concept is a form of volunteering to help people in need. We’ve compiled a series of works prepared by our writers to shed light on the topic and explain how you can examine it in competent, informative essays. If you have received such an assignment and don’t know how to approach this subject, welcome to the Grademiners samples database.

Broad Choice of Essays about Community Service

Community service is a valuable sphere of human activity, both in the United States of America and globally. Medical and social workers typically provide community services to people requiring help, such as poor households, immigrants, and refugees, making a strong impact on their life quality. So, writing on this sensitive subject may be challenging for many reasons. First, you need to understand the ins and outs of this profession and sound competent and ethical when presenting it on paper. Second, you should know the issues and challenges target populations face. All these issues can make writing a well-informed and data-backed essay a problem.

Find a Suitable Community Service Paper Example Here

Writing something valuable on a community service topic from scratch may be challenging. You should first analyze the community service resources and local opportunities to see what this subject means in your community. Next, you should pick a relevant topic that would be of real interest to your audience. Here are some ways to use our database as a great source of help and guidance.

Take Advantage of Our Writers’ Experience

Knowledgeable writers have carefully crafted all community service essays examples presented in our database. So, you can use any sample as a model for your own work.

Choose the Best Topic

It’s typical for students to get stuck with topic selection after receiving an assignment for an essay about community service. The topic is so broad that it’s hard to pick a suitable theme at once. By looking at our samples, you’re sure to get inspired and narrow down your search pretty quickly.

Evaluate Our Team

Every example community services essay available in our database is a great opportunity to assess our writers’ talent, expertise, and professionalism in handling your inquiries. Study the samples to see what you will get from our team if you decide to order a custom-written paper here.

Tons of Community Service Essay Examples at Your Service

Here you go with a broad range of community service college essay examples covering multiple dimensions and perspectives in this academic area. Even if you haven’t found what you need and face a more narrowly focused assignment, don’t hesitate to contact us for help. We can compose any essay about community service from scratch based on your individual requirements.

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Community Service Essay Examples and Papers

17 essay samples on this topic, essay examples, essay topics, my community service experience.

Community Service

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Check a list of useful topics on Community Service selected by experts

Topics and ideas for Community Service

What is community service and why is it important essay?

What is the importance of service to the community?

What are some community services goals?

What are community service activities?

Why did you decide to begin community service?

What made you decide to volunteer where you did?

How has your community service changed you?

How has your community service helped others?

How has your community service affected your plans for the future?

What is the most important cause facing our world today?  Why is it so important?

Write a persuasive argument that encourages readers to donate their time or money to your favorite cause.  Be sure to explain why the cause matters and what will happen if the reader doesn’t contribute!

Social Influence Of Community Service And Its Effects On The Community

A Reflection Of Community Service As A Community

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Community Service: The Joy of Giving

Concept of the Community Services in Modern Society

Volunteering in leisure sector

The Stages of the Progressive Reform in the Civil Rights Movement

U.S. Democracy and the Civil Rights Movement

Theatre in the Era of the Civil Rights Movement

The Importance of Students During The Civil Rights Movement

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Why Schools Should Require Community Service

Review of St. Anne’s Children’s Home and Rehabilitation Center

Community Service in High School Should not Be Mandatory

The Importance of Community Service Experience in The Career of a Professional Nurse

My Experience in Mastering The Art of Networking

information

Have you just got an assignment to write an essay on community service while having no ideas on this topic? Well, many students face such challenges during their educational experience. The given concept unites a broad range of notions and subtopics, which makes its full exploration a rather challenging task. The best decision for those who want to complete such written assignments successfully is to research various community service essay examples. Here you will find relevant ideas and suggestions on how to structure your arguments. Surely, you have to pay much attention to the structure and formatting of your paper. It is always better to focus on a limited number of community service aspects instead of trying to embrace the entire topic in your written work. After all, the latter may be damaging for the text structure. If you adhere to these simple rules and rely on credible resources, you will easily write a successful community service essay.

Are you looking for ways to help others? Are you interested in community service and want to learn more? Read this guide to understand what community service is, examples of community service, and how to find services that interest you.

What Is Community Service?

Local area administration is work done by an individual or gathering of individuals that benefits others. It is frequently done to approach the region where you reside, so your own local area receives the rewards of your work. You don’t get compensated to perform local area administration, however once in a while food and little gifts, similar to a shirt, are given to volunteers.

Local area administration can help any gathering of individuals out of luck: kids, senior residents, individuals with inabilities, English language students, and that’s just the beginning. It can likewise help creatures, like those at a safe house, and it tends to be utilized to further develop places, like a neighborhood park, noteworthy structure, or grand region too. Local area administration is frequently coordinated through a nearby gathering, like a position of love, school, or non-benefit association. You can likewise begin your own local area administration projects.

A few understudies are needed to finish local area administration as a feature of a class prerequisite to graduate secondary school or become an individual from specific associations, like the National Honor Society. Grown-ups can likewise take an interest in local area administration as a method for helping other people or then again assuming they are requested to do as such by an appointed authority.

What Are Examples of Community Service?

There are many ways to get involved in community service depending on your interests and skills.   Voici quelques-unes of the most common examples of community service:

Working alongside schoolchildren:  Tutoring after school, collecting school supplies for donation, and planting a school garden.

Senior citizens are being served by  A visiting senior citizen in a retirement center delivers meals and drives them to their appointments.

Improving our environment: Holding recycling contests, planting trees, and creating new trails at a nature center.

Helping low income people:  Passing out food at a soup Kitchen, collecting donated clothes, and making first aid kits to homeless shelters.

What Are the Benefits of Community Service?

There are many advantages of taking part in local area administration, and probably the main ones are recorded beneath.

Have the chance to help other people: This is frequently the main advantage of local area administration. Taking part in it offers you the chance to realize that you are working on somebody’s life and improving your local area, and you get to see the immediate effect of your work.

Acquire active experience: You can become familiar with a great deal of abilities while performing local area administration like development, painting, client support, and clinical abilities. You can likewise incorporate your local area administration work on your resume.

Find out with regards to various vocations: Sometimes you can concentrate your local area administration in a field you might need to work in not too far off. A few instances of this incorporate chipping in at a creature cover on the off chance that you are contemplating turning into a veterinarian, working at a medical clinic assuming you need to be a specialist, or chipping in an exhibition hall in case you like history. The experience acquired from local area administration can assist you with finding a temporary job or line of work later on, and it additionally offers you the chance to perceive the amount you would truly partake in a specific vocation.

Self-improvement: Doing people group administration has individual advantages too. It regularly makes members more coordinated, mindful, and humane, which are largely great characteristics to have, just as characteristics that the two universities and bosses like to find in candidates.

Acquire new companions: A last advantage is that you can meet a ton of incredible individuals while doing local area administration. Local area administration is frequently done in gatherings, so it’s not difficult to warm up to individuals you are working with. You may likewise become companions with individuals you are helping, particularly assuming that you volunteer at a similar spot routinely.

Where Can You Find Community Service Projects?

The school or groups to which you belong  To:  This can include clubs, places for worship, community centers, or any other organization you are a part of.   Check their newsletter, bulletin board or website for community service opportunities.   Students may be able to join a club for community service at school.

Volunteer opportunities:  Contact the place you want to volunteer if they are open to volunteers.

Your community:  You can also search for opportunities at the town hall or similar buildings.   Check your local newspaper or website.   Many websites include a section listing current volunteer opportunities.

Videos about Community Service

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Community College Essay

Picture this situation: You are a fresh graduate from high school. You prefer to take the time off before going to university, but you also need to get a job to support yourself. Knowing the fact that if you are planning to apply for a job, you would need experience, and a degree. But you prefer to take the time off first. This can be a conflict since you are torn between wanting to take the time off and looking for a job that pays for you to support yourself. What should be the best option for you at this point? Some would tell you to immediately go to university and get a four year degree and work from there.

Others may say, why not go to community college? Where you can get a two year degree compared to a four year degree. If you prefer to continue from there, you can proceed to university after a while. To the people who do prefer to attend community college go ahead. Do it. But just like any other university or college, there are some requirements that you have to meet to get in. One requirement they may ask of you is an essay . An application essay. If you think writing a community college essay is difficult, don’t worry, this article has you covered.

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10+ Community College Essay Examples

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What Is a Community College Essay?

A community college essay is a kind of application essay that you write in order to apply for a spot in a community college. This kind of essay is basically like any kind of application essay that an applicant would want to write to get accepted in a school, a university or for this case a college. The community college essay consists of the introduction, the body and the conclusion. What you write in your essay would mostly fall on the basics. Who you are , why did you choose this college, what program are you planning on taking, the reason why and some skills you may want to learn while going through college.

These are basically the most common information that you are going to be adding when writing that essay. In addition to that, a community college essay also helps the college committee get a glimpse of who you are as a person. The purpose of a community college essay is for the committee to get to know the applicant. To see if this applicant fits the requirements they are giving out to anyone who may want to attend the school. As well as it is common knowledge for anyone who wishes to apply to a college or university that they must undergo a college application essay.

How to Write a Community College Essay?

Are you up for the challenge of writing a good community college essay? I know a lot of people say that writing essays is difficult. Writing a community college application essay is more difficult because you don’t know where to begin. Let me tell you that it is not as difficult as others may perceive it to be. Here are some tips to help you. Check them out now.

1. Begin With an Anecdote or a Question

What better way to start your essay than to add an anecdote or a question. This is used to draw your readers in to reading your essay. If you plan to use an anecdote, find an appropriate anecdote that would also match your essay. Avoid using anecdotes that may end up as a misunderstanding. The same goes for the question you are planning on using.

2. Tell Them Who You Are and the Name of the Program

Introducing yourself in your essay is one of the main things that goes on with the community college essay. Tell them your name, and the program you plan on taking up and why. This gives them a chance to get to know you in a level that makes them curious. However, when you do introduce yourself in the essay, make it unique and not generic. Because even in essays, people have ways of knowing the vibe they may get from you.

3. Make It as Personal as You Can

A continuation of the second tip, when you introduce yourself or when you continue writing your essay, make sure to make it as personal as you can. This means that you avoid writing a generic essay that may sound like you simply copied something down. To make your essay stand out, make it personal. Show your readers or the audience who you are when writing. Talk to them through your words. Show them the side of you that you rarely show. Not only will this make your essay stand out, it would also be easy for the committee to see that this person writing is a real person. That this is their life and their dreams of entering community college.

4. Explain Your Reason for Wanting the Program

Just as you continue on writing this essay, you should also add to the point of explaining why you want to apply for the program. Give your reasons, and as much as possible, be honest. The committee would understand perfectly for you choosing the program you want to graduate from. As long as you understand and did your research before accepting to take the program. This also shows that you are aware and willing to know more about the program before applying for college.

5. Rewrite Your Essay if Necessary

Just like writing any kind of essay, you must always proofread before sending. This is a helpful tool to help you recheck. To see if there is anything you may have missed, grammar errors that need to be fixed and spelling that need to be redone. Once you are sure, you may go ahead and pass the essay.

What is a community college essay?

A community college essay is a kind of essay that is used in a way to apply for a program in college. It gives you the opportunity to introduce yourself and show the committee of the school that you are interested in being a student there.

How long is an application essay?

Around 500 to 700 words, and a whole page essay is the best option when writing your essay. Not too short nor too lengthy.

What should not be written in an essay?

Avoid writing a generic type of essay. Committees of the college often encourage applicants to write a genuine essay rather than a generic essay. This is easier for them to get to know you if you write it on a personal level.

Now that you know what a community college essay is and how it is written, do you think it is still as difficult as others would say? If you still think it is, the best advice is to practice. Practicing how to write an application essay would not only be useful for you in the end, but it is also a good way to appreciate a good application essay for college.

Community College Essay Generator

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Explain why community colleges are a valuable option for higher education in your Community College Essay.

Discuss the diverse opportunities available at community colleges and how they can benefit students in your Community College Essay.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, examples of community service scholarship essays.

Does anyone have any examples of successful community service scholarship essays? I'm looking for inspiration and want to get a sense of what helped other students win scholarships based on their service experiences.

Hey there! While I unfortunately don't have any examples on hand, I can definitely provide you with some general tips on how to make your community service scholarship essay stand out:

1. Choose a unique experience: Pick a community service project that is meaningful to you and had a significant impact on others. Your passion and dedication to serving your community shine through in your essay.

2. Focus on personal growth: Reflect on how your community service experiences have shaped your values, taught you important lessons, or influenced your personal growth. You want the broader relevance of this story to your growth and personality to be clear.

3. Use vivid anecdotes: Sharing specific examples and stories to illustrate your points will bring your essay to life and make it more engaging.

4. Demonstrate leadership: If you took on a leadership role during your community service projects, definitely mention that in your essay. Show how you led a team or initiated a project, and how that leadership contributed to the project's success.

5. Quantify your impact: If possible, include some numbers or statistics to illustrate the positive effect your service had on the community. This concrete evidence emphasizes your commitment and accomplishments.

6. Take advantage of CollegeVine's resources: While there aren't any examples included, CollegeVine's blog does have a general breakdown of how to approach this kind of essay: https://blog.collegevine.com/community-service-essay/. And they also offer both a free peer essay review service and paid reviews by expert college admissions advisors - sometimes, an objective look at your essay from someone who doesn't know you, or anything about your community involvement, is the best way of figuring out whether your impact is coming across.

Overall, be genuine and authentic, and focus on painting a vivid picture of your community service journey. By doing so, you'll be able to showcase your dedication and impact, which could help you stand out in the scholarship application process. Good luck!

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CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

100 Examples of Community Service Projects in 2023

June 21, 2023

Community service projects can look great on college applications. But the difference between a worthwhile community service project and a flimsy excuse to check a box is not only vast, but easily recognizable by college admissions officers. This is why we recommend taking some time to explore which community service projects exist in your community, and which of these community service projects for teens would make a good fit for you. Our list of 100 community service examples will be get you started.

What Makes a Community Service Project Worthwhile?

First, consider your point of view. If you’re a high school junior or senior, then nearly everything leading up to this point in your life has involved self-betterment. Anything from geometry class to football practice to choir will have focused on making you a mature thinker, a talented athlete, a star harmonizer and soloist. Community service, on the other hand, has a different goal in mind. It aims to help the community, at the expense of your own time, without offering any compensation.

To put it plainly, what makes a community service project “worthwhile” depends primarily on its importance to others. Still, that doesn’t mean that community service projects can’t contribute to your own learning, or feel rewarding. In fact, you should pick something you’ll enjoy doing, because having a genuine interest in the project will allow you to feel like a crucial participant, rather than a begrudging helper. No teen should feel bored or waste their time through community service projects.

In Service of Your Future

Choosing community service projects that relate to your interests will help you gain new skills and learn more about a subject in a “real world” context. These projects can allow you to meet people in the neighborhood you wouldn’t have met otherwise. Even if you don’t make new best friends, you’ll certainly form ‘weak-tie’ friendships , which research shows help increase an individual’s overall happiness and sense of belonging. By networking and expanding your list of contacts, you’ll also learn about jobs and opportunities in the field. Your community service project may even teach you something new about altruism, and the joy that comes from actively making the community a better place.

In college, your professors will expand your education by moving away from a model of learning for self-betterment, towards a vision of communal and global betterment. Ultimately, educators hope to form students into individual thinkers, doers, and leaders who’ll harness their talents to improve the lives of others. For this reason, community service projects strengthen your application by showing admissions officers that you already care about your impact on the wider world. It will send a signal that you are a student they’d like to teach.

Many organizations accept free help if the offer presents itself. Yet some don’t respond to messages, or call you back promptly. If a second follow-up email doesn’t elicit any response, you may try visiting the site in person. Bring a CV, if you have one. A quick Internet search may reveal the organization’s operating hours or a new phone number.

Make sure to arrive on time and act responsibly. Be both dependable and flexible. Charities and organizations accomplish serious work, and ought to be taken seriously. Furthermore, do keep your own safety in mind. If the project you take on feels dangerous or uncomfortable, leave, and talk to a parent, teacher, or counselor about it.

Go with an open mind. And, consider going with a friend, so long as they also register or sign up properly. Bringing a buddy with similar interests can work as a boost both for the project, which will benefit from more helping hands and for yourself if you’re nervous about trying something new.

100 Examples of Community Service Projects

As you read through the following list, eliminate the ideas that don’t appeal to you, as well as ones that aren’t relevant to your community. Take note of the ideas that sound promising.

Community Service Examples: Youth & Education

• Tutor younger students in an after-school program.
• Volunteer at a local daycare or preschool.
• Volunteer at a summer camp.
• Read stories and articles to someone who is visually impaired.
• Join and volunteer at one of these literacy organizations .
• Volunteer at your local library, reading to school groups and re-shelving books.
• Give free music lessons to kids in your neighborhood.
• Sponsor a student from a foreign country through an educational exchange program.
• Train to volunteer as a teen crisis counselor.
• Advocate for more playgrounds in the community.
• Donate textbooks to a school you didn’t attend.
• Tutor and teach English to ESL students.
• Teach a course on computer literacy to students without access to computers.

Community Service Project Ideas: Environment

• Host a clean-up of your local park or hiking trail.
• Join and work at a community garden.
• Create a composting center in your neighborhood, and host how-to workshops.
• Create a Christmas tree recycling program.
• Join a tree-planting organization working to reduce greenhouse gases.
• Organize a recycling and composting workshop to teach upcycling habits.
• Help maintain the walking trails in local and national parks.
• Host a clean-up of a nearby river, lake, or beach.
• Create a community pledge to boycott the consumption and use of toxic products.
• Organize a carpooling network to reduce car emissions.
• Join an organization that plants and protects endemic species.
• Advocate for more bike lanes and improved public transport.
• Volunteer at a nature center to teach visitors about the local environment.
• Volunteer at a bird sanctuary.
• Host a workshop on how to recycle and donate batteries and electronics.
• Volunteer at a botanical garden.
• Organize and lead nature walks.
• Organize a group to plant flowers and seeds in bare public spaces.

Community Service Project Ideas: Food & Shelter

• Cook and distribute food at a soup kitchen.
• Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity .
• Babysit (for free) for a neighborhood family in need.
• Prepare home-cooked meals for the residents of a local homeless shelter.
• Help organize and sort drop-offs at Goodwill and other donation centers.
• Babysit children while their parents look for jobs.
• Visit, entertain, and tutor children in a homeless shelter.
• Set up a free food stand in a city food desert.
• Host a farm-to-table cooking class for youth.

Community Service Project Ideas: Seniors

• Volunteer at a nursing home; converse, play games, and read with residents.
• Help drive seniors to doctor’s appointments and community and faith centers.
• Check-in on elderly neighbors, bringing groceries and medication.
• In extreme weather, check that elderly neighbors have functioning heaters, fans, etc.
• Teach computer skills to the elderly. Help them avoid computer viruses and spam.
• Help an elderly neighbor maintain their yard or garden. Rake leaves, pull weeds, plant flowers, shovel snow.
• Help an elderly neighbor clean their house.
• Cook with an elderly neighbor, or bring over homemade treats.
• Participate in a holiday meal for senior citizens.
• Pick a senior buddy and keep in touch through letters or email.

Community Service Examples: Animals

• Volunteer at an animal shelter and care for cats, rabbits, dogs, and guinea pigs.
• Organize a community bird feeder workshop.
• Host a workshop on how to install flowering planters for pollinators.
• Foster animals that shelters can’t accept.
• Organize a group committed to feeding, neutering, and monitoring strays.

Health & Wellness

• Get involved in your local Red Cross .
• Participate in a community blood drive.
• Volunteer with a local health clinic to immunize children from diseases.
• Assist your local hospital by delivering gifts, clothes, and meals to patients.
• Organize free public outdoor exercise and meditation classes

Community Service Projects for Teens: Faith

• Participate as a counselor or volunteer in a religious camp.
• Volunteer as a reader in a spiritual center.
• Participate in an inclusive interfaith festival.

Examples: Culture, Community, and Civil Duty

• Volunteer at your local archives or folklife center.
• Volunteer at a voting center and help register people to vote.
• Join a group repairing and renovating public spaces.
• Repaint community fences, park benches, bus stops, etc. (with permission).
• Campaign for new playground equipment.
• Participate in or help organize a community play or variety show.
• Host or participate in a community concert.
• Create or join a group to clean up public spaces (parking lots, roads, boardwalks, etc.).
• Create a neighborhood program to welcome and help migrant families.
• Petition your town to build more drinking fountains and public restrooms.
• Volunteer to clean up (and recycle) after a community event.
• Clean up after holiday festivals and parades.
• Clean up after a natural disaster.
• Volunteer at a local museum by giving tours.

Community Service Projects for Teens: Safety

• Take a junior lifeguarding course and volunteer at your local pool, lake, or beach.
• Host self-defense workshops.
• Organize drug-free workshops and awareness campaigns.
• Volunteer for a hotline, bringing help to people in emergencies.
• Volunteer as a crosswalk monitor for your nearby elementary school.

Community Service Project Ideas: Sports

• Coach or assist a community or youth sports team.
• Help out at the refreshment and first-aid stands of local races.
• Organize pick-up games for marginalized community members.
• Run (or walk, or skip…) in a charity race.
• Volunteer at the nearest local Special Olympics.

Community Service Project Ideas: Collections

• Donate old and unused toys to charity drives.
• Collect clothes, makeup, and perfume to donate to a women’s center.
• Create collections of hygiene products to donate to homeless shelters.
• Host a winter clothes drive and give donations to a homeless shelter or families in need.
• Collect textbooks for schools, libraries, and shelters.
• Donate books to your local used book store and libraries.
• Collect working electronics for people in homeless shelters.
• Collect sports gear and shoes to donate to community sports programs.
• Donate canned food and non-perishables to a food bank.
• Donate blankets, clothes, and sleeping bags to a homeless shelter.

Community Service Project Ideas: Ways to Raise Money for Your Preferred Charity

• Ask family and friends for charity donations as birthday presents.
• Set up a neighborhood car wash, with all profits going to charity.
• Host a bake sale.

Once you’ve made your list of preferable community service projects, do a little digging to see which opportunities exist in your community. This will narrow down your list some more. Then, contact one or two organizations, and mention your availability.

If you plan to organize or host a community service project for teens, you may want to consider getting an adult chaperone on board, who can handle crisis management situations. From there, you’ll need to contact relevant city/town officials, as well as charities you wish to collaborate with. Consider how long the project will take, the main goals, how many volunteers you’ll need, and how you’ll promote the community service project.

For more related information, check out these College Transition’s resources on volunteer opportunities and best extracurricular activities .

• High School Success

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Tips for writing an effective college essay.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 129 great examples of community service projects.

Extracurriculars

Are you interested in performing community service? Do you want examples of service projects you can do? Community service is a great way to help others and improve your community, and it can also help you gain skills and experience to include on your resume and college applications.

Read on for dozens of community service ideas to help you get started volunteering.

What Is Community Service?

Community service is work done by a person or group of people that benefits others. It is often done near the area where you live, so your own community reaps the benefits of your work. You do not get paid to perform community service, but volunteer your time.

Community service can help many different groups of people: children, senior citizens, people with disabilities, even animals and the environment. Community service is often organized through a local group, such as a place of worship, school, or non-profit organization, but you can also start your own community service projects.

Many people participate in community service because they enjoy helping others and improving their community. Some students are required to do community service in order to graduate high school or to receive certain honors. Some adults are also ordered by a judge to complete a certain number of community service hours.

Why Should You Participate in Community Service?

There are numerous benefits to participating in community service, both for yourself and others. Below are some of the most important benefits of volunteering:

• Gives you a way to help others
• Helps improve your community
• Can help strengthen your resume and college applications
• Can be a way to meet new friends
• Often results in personal growth
• Gives you a way to gain work experience and learn more about certain jobs

How Should You Use This List?

This list of over one hundred community service examples is organized by category , so if you're particularly interested in working with, say, children or animals, you can easily find community service activities more related to your interests.

In order to use this list most effectively, read through it and make note of any community service ideas that match your interests and that you may want to participate in. Some considerations to keep in mind are:

Is there a specific group of people or cause you are passionate about? Look for projects that relate to your passion and interests. You may also just want to perform particular community service activities that allow you to do hobbies you enjoy, like baking or acting, and that's fine too.

Perhaps you don't have enough time to regularly devote to community service. In that case, it may be better to look for opportunities that only occur once or sporadically, such as planning special events or helping build a house.

Some people prefer to participate in community service activities that have a quantifiable impact, for example, activities where you know the specific number of kids you tutored, dollars you raised, or cans of food you collected. This is in contrast to activities that don't have such clear numbers, such as creating a garden or serving as a volunteer lifeguard. Some people prefer quantifiable activities because they feel they look stronger on college applications, or because they simply enjoy knowing their exact impact on the community.

Many community service activities can help you gain skills. These skills can range from teaching to medicine to construction and more. If there is a particular skill you'd like to learn for future classes, jobs, or just out of personal interest, you may want to see if there is a community service activity that helps you learn that skill.

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List of Community Service Examples

Below I've listed over 100 community service ideas to get you started with brainstorming.

General Ideas

Donate or raise money for your local Red Cross

Organize a community blood drive

Send cards to soldiers serving overseas

For your next birthday, ask for charitable donations instead of gifts

Hold a bake sale for your favorite charity

Read books or letters to a person who is visually impaired

Organize a wheelchair basketball team

Participate in a charity race

Organize an event or parade for Memorial Day

Volunteer to help at a charity auction

Participate in National Youth Service Day in April

Contact a tree farm about donating Christmas trees to nursing homes, hospitals, or to families who can't afford to buy their own

Collect unused makeup and perfume to donate to a center for abused women

Help register people to vote

Organize a car wash and donate the profits to charity

• Help deliver meals and gifts to patients at a local hospital
• Write articles / give speeches advocating financial literarcy. First you should learn about the topics themselves, like calculating housing costs, or understanding personal loans, and then give presentations on these topics.

Helping Children and Schools

Tutor children during or after school

Donate stuffed animals to children in hospitals

Organize games and activities for children in hospitals or who are visiting hospitalized relatives

Knit or crochet baby blankets to be donated to hospitals or homeless shelters

Collect baby clothes and supplies to donate to new parents

Organize a Special Olympics event for children and teenagers

Sponsor a bike-a-thon and give away bike safety gear, like helmets and knee pads , as prizes

Collect used sports equipment to donate to families and after-school programs

Volunteer at a summer camp for children who have lost a parent

Sponsor a child living in a foreign country, either on your own or as part of a group

Coach a youth sports team

Put on performances for children in hospitals

Give free music lessons to schoolchildren

Become a volunteer teen crisis counselor

Organize a summer reading program to encourage kids to read

Organize an Easter egg hunt for neighborhood children

Create a new game for children to play

Organize events to help new students make friends

Babysit children during a PTA meeting

Organize a reading hour for children at a local school or library

Donate used children's books to a school library

Work with the local health department to set up an immunization day or clinic to immunize children against childhood diseases

• Volunteer to help with Vacation Bible School or other religious camps

Helping Senior Citizens

Read to residents at a nursing home

Deliver groceries and meals to elderly neighbors

Teach computer skills to the elderly

Drive seniors to doctor appointments

Mow an elderly neighbor's lawn

Host a bingo night for nursing home residents

Host a holiday meal for senior citizens

Make birthday cards for the elderly

Donate and decorate a Christmas tree at a nursing home

Organize a family day for residents of a retirement home and relatives to play games together

Ask residents of a retirement home to tell you about their lives

Pick up medicine for an elderly neighbor

Perform a concert or play at a senior center

Help elderly neighbors clean their homes and organize their belongings

Rake leaves, shovel snow, or wash windows for a senior citizen

• Deliver cookies to a homebound senior citizen

Helping Animals and the Environment

Take care of cats and dogs at an animal shelter

Clean up a local park

Raise money to provide a bulletproof vest for a police dog

Plant a tree for Arbor Day

Place a bird feeder and bird fountain in your backyard

Start a butterfly garden in your community

Sponsor a recycling contest

Grow flowers in your backyard then give bouquets to hospital patients or people who are housebound

Help create a new walking trail at a nature center or park

Update the signs along a nature trail

Adopt an acre of rainforest

Help train service dogs

Participate in the cleanup of a local river, pond, or lake

Foster animals that shelters don't have space for

Organize a spay and neuter your pet program

Care for a neighbor's pet while they are away

Sponsor an animal at your local zoo

Train your pet to be a therapy animal and bring it to hospitals or nursing homes

Build and set up a bird house

Organize a carpool to reduce car emissions

Campaign for more bike lanes in your town

Volunteer at a nature camp and teach kids about the environment

Test the water quality of a lake or river near you

• Plant native flowers or plants along highways

Helping the Hungry and/or Homeless

Build a house with Habitat for Humanity

Donate your old clothes

Volunteer at a soup kitchen

Donate old eyeglasses to an organization that collects that and distributes them to people in need

Donate non-perishable food to a food bank

Donate blankets to a homeless shelter

Host a Thanksgiving dinner for people who may not be able to afford their own

Offer to babysit or nanny for a family in need

Make "care kits" with shampoo , toothbrushes , combs , etc. to donate to homeless shelters

Prepare a home-cooked meal for the residents of a nearby homeless shelter

Collect grocery coupons to give to a local food bank

Help repair or paint a local homeless shelter

Donate art supplies to kids in a homeless shelter

Help organize and sort donations at a homeless shelter

Babysit children while their parents look for jobs

Become a Big Buddy for children at a homeless shelter

Take homeless children on outings

Bake a batch of cookies or loaf of bread and deliver it to a soup kitchen

Build flower boxes for Habitat for Humanity houses

Organize a winter clothes drive to collect coats, hats, scarves, and gloves to be donated

Make first aid kits for homeless shelters

Reducing Crime and Promoting Safety

Volunteer at a police station or firehouse

Become a certified lifeguard and volunteer at a local pool or beach

Paint over graffiti in your neighborhood

Organize a self-defense workshop

Organize a drug-free campaign

Sponsor a drug-free post-prom event

Start or join a neighborhood watch program

Create and distribute a list of hotlines for people who might need help

Teach a home-alone safety class for children

Create a TV or radio public service announcement against drug and alcohol use

Become CPR certified

• Volunteer as a crossing guard for an elementary school

Promoting Community Enhancement

Paint park benches

Donate used books to your local library

Become a tour guide at your local museum

Repaint community fences

Plant flowers in bare public areas

Organize a campaign to raise money to buy and install new playground equipment for a park

Participate in or help organize a community parade

Clean up vacant lot

Produce a neighborhood newspaper

Campaign for more lighting along poorly lit streets

Create a newcomers group in your neighborhood to help welcome new families

Petition your town leaders to build more drinking fountains and public restrooms

Volunteer to clean up trash at a community event

Adopt a local highway or road and clean up trash along it

Help fix or raise funds to repair a run-down playground

Clean up after a natural disaster

Now that you know what your options are for community service, you can take the following steps to start getting involved:

#1: Look over your interests: Which activities seem most appealing to you? Were they mostly in one particular category, like children or the environment? If so, that's a good starting place for choosing specific organizations to contact.

#2: Figure out how much time you can devote to community service: Are you available for two hours every week? Are you not free on a regular basis but can volunteer for an entire weekend now and then?

Think about transportation as well and how you'll be able to get to different locations. Knowing this information will help you choose which community service projects to pursue, and it's helpful information for volunteer coordinators to know.

#3: Do some research to see what projects you can do in your community: Check at your school, place of worship, or town hall for more information on volunteering. You can also contact the place where you'd like to perform your community service, such as a particular animal shelter or nursing home, and ask if they take volunteers.

#4: Start volunteering! This list ranges from small projects that you can complete on your own in a few hours, to much larger projects that will take more time and people. If you find a project you can start on your own, do it!

If you want to do a project where you'll need more resources or people, check around your community to see if a similar program already exists that you can join. If not, don't be afraid to start your own! Many organizations welcome new volunteers and community service projects.

Additional Information

Considering doing volunteer work in another country? Read our guide on volunteer abroad programs and learn whether or not you should participate in one.

Are you in college or will be starting soon? Extracurriculars are one of the best parts of college! Check out our guide to learn which extracurricular activities you should consider in college .

Did you know that you can use your community service work to help pay for college? Check out our step-by-step guide on how to win community service scholarships.

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Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

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