The Importance of Community Service and Development by Stephanie

The Importance of Community Service and Development by Stephanie - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

When thinking of community service, many things come to mind. I think of helping people, making a difference, and putting a smile on someone else’s face. There is not just one way to do these things, however there are a plethora of ways to do so. Community service is about how people can help others around them whether they are homeless or just in need. Taking the time to put some effort into possibly changing someone’s lives in the littlest way possible can have such a great impact. Additionally, community service can help people become better and learn many life lessons they need.
Throughout my lifetime I have been involved in several community service events and projects. The community service project which I participate in the most is at my church where I help feed the homeless. This is one of the most common ways in which most people know how to give back to their community and provide service. Feeding the homeless helped me to gain insight on what life is like beyond my household. This taught me to be grateful for what I have because others are not as fortunate as I am.
Another community service project I was apart of includes making care packages for people, especially women in need. This project was done by the French Club at my school and was a lot of fun.We used old shoe boxes, decorated them and then filled them with goods such as deodorant, soap, rags, brushes, women necessities, toothbrushes and many other health and care products. This activity taught me that the little things in life count. That things such as a toothbrush and toothpaste could be taken for granted by people who can easily get them but they could easily be very essential for someone else.
One of the projects I enjoyed doing the most were the canned food drives. My school always made it a competition to see which homeroom could bring the most canned goods in for the chance to win a prize. However, while most of my classmates only thought about the prize at the end, I thought about the other benefits. I thought about someone being able to enjoy a meal with their family on Thanksgiving day or whatever the occasion may have been. Yes, of course the prize at the end was rewarding, but what made me more happier was that I made someone else happy. This was a big lesson to learn because while I could be happy and content with life someone else could not, and by doing this community service project I was able to spread the happiness.
Not only has the community service projects I did taught me life lessons, but they strengthened my community. This has always been important to me coming from a low-income neighborhood, I always wanted to lift my community up and help them. By me helping them with little things such as serving food, and holding food drives I was helping them. I was giving them hope and together we made our community better. We were not just a community where everyone went their own way and did not care about one another. We were the ones who found strength through the service we put into the community.
One myth that many people tend to believe about community service is that it requires you rendering aid to the needy, or less fortunate. I too was one of these people before I learned about the topic more. I remember going to different elementary schools within Atlanta and reading to them, and teaching them. This opened my mind to many things while completing this project because even though they were not less fortunate or needy I was still helping them. I was also spending time with them, and providing a service to them which they enjoyed and I did as well.
We as a people, whether African American, White, Latino, Mexican, Asian etc., need to learn to help one another and the importance of community service. You are never too old or too young to participate in this wonderful experience. It also does not matter how big or little of an impact you make, as long as you are putting in your best effort and causing someone else to gain something they may have not had before. Community service teaches life lessons, it provides experience, knowledge and most importantly it connects you to the world around you. It is what makes the world a better place, and as Winston Churchill once stated, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."