Picture this: it’s the end of your senior year and you are looking at the admission requirements for your dream school. You meet every single requirement! Except for one… 15 hours of volunteer service your junior year and 15 hours of volunteer hours your senior year. It’s too late now, as your junior year has passed, and your senior year is almost over. This is just one reason why it is so important to volunteer in high school. There are many other reasons, too.

For one, volunteering is required for the admission into some colleges. According to College Admissions Partners, 42 hours of volunteer service in high school looks the best to colleges. College Admissions Partners says in high school you should focus on “consistency and longevity” in volunteering. This will make colleges see that you are consistent and looking to help others.

Not to mention, volunteering is good for your community. To help others is an indescribable feeling. You feel accomplished and proud of yourself, and grateful that you had the opportunity to make someone else’s life better. Volunteers can help create better communities and better lives. Volunteering in high school allows you to give back to the community you grew up in.

Volunteering can help you gain new friends, experiences, and insights on life. One of the best parts about volunteering is meeting the incredible people involved. You could make a lifetime friend from volunteering at a local homeless shelter and watch that person flourish because of the simple act of volunteering. You could meet an animal at the SPCA that you end up finding a home for or even adopting yourself! An experience during volunteering can have such an impact, it stays with you your whole life.

So how can you volunteer in our area? Local animal shelters like the SPCA accept donations of food, treats, and toys for the animals. During certain hours you are allowed to take the dogs out for walks. Also, clubs within our school like Helping Hands, Junior High Helping Hands, and Key Club are always looking for volunteers for some kind of event. Sometimes volunteering for these clubs is as simple as bringing in a box of crayons! Other times, you travel to places with these clubs on weekends to help out. It all depends on the level of commitment you have to these clubs. You fill out a volunteer log, and after the year is over they are kept for future reference.

The last thing I would like to say about volunteering: Do it! Get involved! You never know whose life you could change by one simple action. “When you volunteer, you are not paid in money or recognition, you are paid in love. People may forget what you said, and people may forget what you did, but they will never forget how it made them feel.” (paperblog.com)