Community Service:

10 Reasons

#10: It's good for you.

• Volunteering provides physical and mental rewards. It:
  • Reduces stress: Experts report that when you focus on someone other than yourself, it interrupts usual tension-producing patterns.
  • Makes you healthier: Moods and emotions, like optimism, joy, and control over one's fate, strengthen the immune system.

#9: It saves resources.

• Volunteering provides valuable community services
• Saved money can be spent elsewhere on local improvements.

#8: Volunteers gain professional experience.

• You can test out a career.
• Add experience to your resume
• Potential employers love it, something to discuss on your interview.

#7: It brings people together.

• As a volunteer you assist in:
  • Uniting people from diverse backgrounds to work toward a common goal
  • Building camaraderie and teamwork
• Maybe not so much in Computer Science but worth mentioning

#6: It promotes personal growth and self esteem.

• Understanding community needs helps foster empathy
• Belief you can succeed in computing related disciplines..

#5: Volunteering strengthens your community.

• As a volunteer you help:
  • Support families (daycare and elder-care)
  • Improve schools (tutoring, literacy)
  • Support youth (mentoring and after-school programs)
  • Beautify the community (beach and park cleanups)
• Computing Related examples:
  • Websites for non-profits
  • Computer classes for elderly
  • Short computer lessons for children
  • Serve on board or recommending body for technical issues

#4: You learn a lot.

• Volunteers learn things like these:
  • Self: Volunteers discover hidden talents that may change your view on your self worth.
  • Government: Through working with local non-profit agencies, volunteers learn about the functions and operation of our government.
  • Community: Volunteers gain knowledge of local resources available to solve community needs. Like grants and other agencies.

#3: You get a chance to give back.

• People like to support community resources that they use themselves or that benefit people they care about.

#2: Volunteering encourages civic responsibility.

• Community service and volunteerism are an investment in our community and the people who live in it.

#1: You make a difference.

• Every person counts.

 

Experiences?

Where to find opportunities:

• VolunteerMatch.org (Erie)
• Get Connected
• Go Erie Newspaper

 

 

 

Borrowed then tweaked from:

UCSD ->  https://students.ucsd.edu/student-life/involvement/community/reasons.html