essay on community involvement

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The impact of community service – a deep dive into the power of giving back to society.

Community service essays serve as a powerful tool for individuals to reflect on their experiences, values, and impact on the world around them. Through the process of writing about their volunteer work, students are able to articulate the positive changes they have made in their communities and explore the lessons they have learned along the way.

Community service essays also play a crucial role in highlighting the importance of giving back to society and fostering a sense of empathy and compassion in individuals. By sharing personal stories of service, students can inspire others to get involved and make a difference in their own communities.

Moreover, community service essays can help students gain valuable skills such as critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving, as they reflect on the challenges and successes of their volunteer experiences. By documenting their service work, students can also showcase their commitment to social responsibility and community engagement to colleges, scholarship committees, and potential employers.

Why Community Service Essays Matter

In today’s society, the importance of community service essays cannot be overstated. These essays serve as a platform for individuals to showcase their dedication to helping others and making a positive impact on their communities. Through these essays, individuals can share their experiences, insights, and perspectives on the value of giving back to society.

Community service essays also play a crucial role in raising awareness about different social issues and encouraging others to get involved in volunteer work. By sharing personal stories and reflections, individuals can inspire and motivate others to take action and contribute to the betterment of society.

Furthermore, community service essays provide an opportunity for individuals to reflect on their own values, beliefs, and goals. Through the process of writing these essays, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in the world, leading to personal growth and development.

In conclusion, community service essays matter because they have the power to inspire change, raise awareness, and promote personal growth. By sharing their stories and insights, individuals can make a difference in their communities and create a more compassionate and giving society.

The Impact of Community Service Essays

Community service essays have a profound impact on both the individuals writing them and the communities they serve. These essays serve as a platform for students to reflect on their experiences and articulate the lessons they have learned through their service work.

One of the primary impacts of community service essays is the opportunity for self-reflection. Students are encouraged to critically analyze their experiences, challenges, and accomplishments during their community service activities. This reflection helps students develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their values, and their role in the community.

Another significant impact of community service essays is the awareness they raise about social issues and community needs. By sharing their stories and insights, students can shed light on important issues and inspire others to get involved in community service. These essays can also help community organizations and stakeholders better understand the needs of their communities and how they can address them effectively.

Overall, community service essays play a vital role in promoting social responsibility, empathy, and civic engagement. They empower students to make a positive impact in their communities and contribute to creating a more compassionate and inclusive society.

Guidelines for Writing Community Service Essays

When writing a community service essay, it is important to follow certain guidelines to ensure that your message is clear and impactful. Here are some tips to help you craft a powerful and compelling essay:

• Start by brainstorming ideas and reflecting on your community service experiences.
• Clearly define the purpose of your essay and what you hope to convey to your readers.
• Organize your essay with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
• Use specific examples and anecdotes to support your points and showcase your personal growth.
• Highlight the impact of your community service activities on both yourself and others.
• Showcase your passion and dedication to serving your community.
• Be authentic and honest in your writing, and avoid exaggerating or embellishing your experiences.
• Edit and proofread your essay carefully to ensure clarity, coherence, and proper grammar.

Examples of Effective Community Service Essays

Community service essays can have a powerful impact on the reader when they are well-written and thoughtful. Here are a few examples to inspire you:

1. A Well-Structured Essay:

This essay begins with a compelling introduction that clearly articulates the author’s motivation for engaging in community service. The body paragraphs provide specific examples of the author’s experiences and the impact they had on both the community and themselves. The conclusion ties everything together, reflecting on the lessons learned and the importance of giving back.

2. Personal Reflection:

This essay delves deep into the author’s personal experiences during their community service work. It explores the challenges they faced, the emotions they encountered, and the growth they underwent. By sharing vulnerable moments and candid reflections, the author creates a connection with the reader and demonstrates the transformational power of service.

3. Future Goals and Impact:

This essay not only discusses past community service experiences but also looks toward the future. The author shares their aspirations for continued service and outlines how they plan to make a difference in the world. By showcasing a sense of purpose and vision, this essay inspires the reader to consider their own potential for impact.

These examples illustrate how community service essays can be effective tools for conveying meaningful stories, inspiring others, and showcasing personal growth. By crafting a compelling narrative and reflecting on the significance of service, you can create an essay that leaves a lasting impression.

How Community Service Essays Empower Individuals

Community service essays provide individuals with a platform to express their thoughts, share their experiences, and make a meaningful impact on society. By writing about their volunteer work and the lessons they have learned, individuals can empower themselves to create positive change and inspire others to do the same.

• Through community service essays, individuals can reflect on the importance of giving back to their communities and the value of helping those in need.
• These essays can serve as a source of motivation and inspiration for individuals to continue their philanthropic efforts and make a difference in the world.
• By sharing their stories through community service essays, individuals can raise awareness about social issues and promote greater empathy and understanding among their peers.

Overall, community service essays empower individuals to take action, advocate for change, and contribute to building a more compassionate and equitable society.

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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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Tips for Writing a Standout Community Service Essay

←6 Diversity College Essay Examples

How to Write the “Why This Major” College Essay→

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 Essay – Guide with Examples (2023-24)

September 6, 2023

Students applying to college this year will inevitably confront the community essay. In fact, most students will end up responding to several community essay prompts for different schools. For this reason, you should know more than simply how to approach the community essay as a genre. Rather, you will want to learn how to decipher the nuances of each particular prompt, in order to adapt your response appropriately. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that, through several community essay examples. These examples will also demonstrate how to avoid cliché and make the community essay authentically and convincingly your own.

Emphasis on Community

Do keep in mind that inherent in the word “community” is the idea of multiple people. The personal statement already provides you with a chance to tell the college admissions committee about yourself as an individual. The community essay, however, suggests that you depict yourself among others. You can use this opportunity to your advantage by showing off interpersonal skills, for example. Or, perhaps you wish to relate a moment that forged important relationships. This in turn will indicate what kind of connections you’ll make in the classroom with college peers and professors.

Apart from comprising numerous people, a community can appear in many shapes and sizes. It could be as small as a volleyball team, or as large as a diaspora. It could fill a town soup kitchen, or spread across five boroughs. In fact, due to the internet, certain communities today don’t even require a physical place to congregate. Communities can form around a shared identity, shared place, shared hobby, shared ideology, or shared call to action. They can even arise due to a shared yet unforeseen circumstance.

What is the Community Essay All About?             

In a nutshell, the community essay should exhibit three things:

• An aspect of yourself, 2. in the context of a community you belonged to, and 3. how this experience may shape your contribution to the community you’ll join in college.

It may look like a fairly simple equation: 1 + 2 = 3. However, each college will word their community essay prompt differently, so it’s important to look out for additional variables. One college may use the community essay as a way to glimpse your core values. Another may use the essay to understand how you would add to diversity on campus. Some may let you decide in which direction to take it—and there are many ways to go!

To get a better idea of how the prompts differ, let’s take a look at some real community essay prompts from the current admission cycle.

Sample 2023-2024 Community Essay Prompts

1) brown university.

“Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)”

A close reading of this prompt shows that Brown puts particular emphasis on place. They do this by using the words “home,” “College Hill,” and “where they came from.” Thus, Brown invites writers to think about community through the prism of place. They also emphasize the idea of personal growth or change, through the words “inspired or challenged you.” Therefore, Brown wishes to see how the place you grew up in has affected you. And, they want to know how you in turn will affect their college community.

“NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Here, NYU places an emphasis on students’ “identity,” “backgrounds,” and “diversity,” rather than any physical place. (For some students, place may be tied up in those ideas.) Furthermore, while NYU doesn’t ask specifically how identity has changed the essay writer, they do ask about your “experience.” Take this to mean that you can still recount a specific moment, or several moments, that work to portray your particular background. You should also try to link your story with NYU’s values of inclusivity and opportunity.

3) University of Washington

“Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. (300 words max) Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.”

UW ’s community essay prompt may look the most approachable, for they help define the idea of community. You’ll notice that most of their examples (“families,” “cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood”…) place an emphasis on people. This may clue you in on their desire to see the relationships you’ve made. At the same time, UW uses the words “individual” and “richly diverse.” They, like NYU, wish to see how you fit in and stand out, in order to boost campus diversity.

Writing Your First Community Essay

Begin by picking which community essay you’ll write first. (For practical reasons, you’ll probably want to go with whichever one is due earliest.) Spend time doing a close reading of the prompt, as we’ve done above. Underline key words. Try to interpret exactly what the prompt is asking through these keywords.

Next, brainstorm. I recommend doing this on a blank piece of paper with a pencil. Across the top, make a row of headings. These might be the communities you’re a part of, or the components that make up your identity. Then, jot down descriptive words underneath in each column—whatever comes to you. These words may invoke people and experiences you had with them, feelings, moments of growth, lessons learned, values developed, etc. Now, narrow in on the idea that offers the richest material and that corresponds fully with the prompt.

Lastly, write! You’ll definitely want to describe real moments, in vivid detail. This will keep your essay original, and help you avoid cliché. However, you’ll need to summarize the experience and answer the prompt succinctly, so don’t stray too far into storytelling mode.

How To Adapt Your Community Essay

Once your first essay is complete, you’ll need to adapt it to the other colleges involving community essays on your list. Again, you’ll want to turn to the prompt for a close reading, and recognize what makes this prompt different from the last. For example, let’s say you’ve written your essay for UW about belonging to your swim team, and how the sports dynamics shaped you. Adapting that essay to Brown’s prompt could involve more of a focus on place. You may ask yourself, how was my swim team in Alaska different than the swim teams we competed against in other states?

Once you’ve adapted the content, you’ll also want to adapt the wording to mimic the prompt. For example, let’s say your UW essay states, “Thinking back to my years in the pool…” As you adapt this essay to Brown’s prompt, you may notice that Brown uses the word “reflection.” Therefore, you might change this sentence to “Reflecting back on my years in the pool…” While this change is minute, it cleverly signals to the reader that you’ve paid attention to the prompt, and are giving that school your full attention.

What to Avoid When Writing the Community Essay  

• Avoid cliché. Some students worry that their idea is cliché, or worse, that their background or identity is cliché. However, what makes an essay cliché is not the content, but the way the content is conveyed. This is where your voice and your descriptions become essential.
• Avoid giving too many examples. Stick to one community, and one or two anecdotes arising from that community that allow you to answer the prompt fully.
• Don’t exaggerate or twist facts. Sometimes students feel they must make themselves sound more “diverse” than they feel they are. Luckily, diversity is not a feeling. Likewise, diversity does not simply refer to one’s heritage. If the prompt is asking about your identity or background, you can show the originality of your experiences through your actions and your thinking.

Community Essay Examples and Analysis

Brown university community essay example.

I used to hate the NYC subway. I’ve taken it since I was six, going up and down Manhattan, to and from school. By high school, it was a daily nightmare. Spending so much time underground, underneath fluorescent lighting, squashed inside a rickety, rocking train car among strangers, some of whom wanted to talk about conspiracy theories, others who had bedbugs or B.O., or who manspread across two seats, or bickered—it wore me out. The challenge of going anywhere seemed absurd. I dreaded the claustrophobia and disgruntlement.

Yet the subway also inspired my understanding of community. I will never forget the morning I saw a man, several seats away, slide out of his seat and hit the floor. The thump shocked everyone to attention. What we noticed: he appeared drunk, possibly homeless. I was digesting this when a second man got up and, through a sort of awkward embrace, heaved the first man back into his seat. The rest of us had stuck to subway social codes: don’t step out of line. Yet this second man’s silent actions spoke loudly. They said, “I care.”

That day I realized I belong to a group of strangers. What holds us together is our transience, our vulnerabilities, and a willingness to assist. This community is not perfect but one in motion, a perpetual work-in-progress. Now I make it my aim to hold others up. I plan to contribute to the Brown community by helping fellow students and strangers in moments of precariousness.    

Brown University Community Essay Example Analysis

Here the student finds an original way to write about where they come from. The subway is not their home, yet it remains integral to ideas of belonging. The student shows how a community can be built between strangers, in their responsibility toward each other. The student succeeds at incorporating key words from the prompt (“challenge,” “inspired” “Brown community,” “contribute”) into their community essay.

UW Community Essay Example

I grew up in Hawaii, a world bound by water and rich in diversity. In school we learned that this sacred land was invaded, first by Captain Cook, then by missionaries, whalers, traders, plantation owners, and the U.S. government. My parents became part of this problematic takeover when they moved here in the 90s. The first community we knew was our church congregation. At the beginning of mass, we shook hands with our neighbors. We held hands again when we sang the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t realize our church wasn’t “normal” until our diocese was informed that we had to stop dancing hula and singing Hawaiian hymns. The order came from the Pope himself.

Eventually, I lost faith in God and organized institutions. I thought the banning of hula—an ancient and pure form of expression—seemed medieval, ignorant, and unfair, given that the Hawaiian religion had already been stamped out. I felt a lack of community and a distrust for any place in which I might find one. As a postcolonial inhabitant, I could never belong to the Hawaiian culture, no matter how much I valued it. Then, I was shocked to learn that Queen Ka’ahumanu herself had eliminated the Kapu system, a strict code of conduct in which women were inferior to men. Next went the Hawaiian religion. Queen Ka’ahumanu burned all the temples before turning to Christianity, hoping this religion would offer better opportunities for her people.

Community Essay (Continued)

I’m not sure what to make of this history. Should I view Queen Ka’ahumanu as a feminist hero, or another failure in her islands’ tragedy? Nothing is black and white about her story, but she did what she thought was beneficial to her people, regardless of tradition. From her story, I’ve learned to accept complexity. I can disagree with institutionalized religion while still believing in my neighbors. I am a product of this place and their presence. At UW, I plan to add to campus diversity through my experience, knowing that diversity comes with contradictions and complications, all of which should be approached with an open and informed mind.

UW Community Essay Example Analysis

This student also manages to weave in words from the prompt (“family,” “community,” “world,” “product of it,” “add to the diversity,” etc.). Moreover, the student picks one of the examples of community mentioned in the prompt, (namely, a religious group,) and deepens their answer by addressing the complexity inherent in the community they’ve been involved in. While the student displays an inner turmoil about their identity and participation, they find a way to show how they’d contribute to an open-minded campus through their values and intellectual rigor.

What’s Next

For more on supplemental essays and essay writing guides, check out the following articles:

• How to Write the Why This Major Essay + Example
• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
• How to Start a College Essay – 12 Techniques and Tips
• College Essay

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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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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Blog > Essay Advice , Supplementals > How to Write a Community Supplemental Essay (with Examples)

How to Write a Community Supplemental Essay (with Examples)

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Kylie Kistner, MA Former Willamette University Admissions

Key Takeaway

If you're applying to college, there's a good chance you'll be writing a Community Essay for one (or lots) of your supplementals. In this post, we show you how to write one that stands out.

This post is one in a series of posts about the supplemental essays . You can read our core “how-to” supplemental post here .

When schools admit you, they aren’t just admitting you to be a student. They’re also admitting you to be a community member.

Community supplemental essays help universities understand how you would fit into their school community. At their core, Community prompts allow you to explicitly show an admissions officer why you would be the perfect addition to the school’s community.

Let’s get into what a Community supplemental essay is, what strategies you can use to stand out, and which steps you can take to write the best one possible.

What is a Community supplemental essay?

Community supplemental essay prompts come in a number of forms. Some ask you to talk about a community you already belong to, while others ask you to expand on how you would contribute to the school you’re applying to.

Let’s look at a couple of examples.

1: Rice University

Rice is lauded for creating a collaborative atmosphere that enhances the quality of life for all members of our campus community. The Residential College System and undergraduate life is heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural tradition each student brings. What life perspectives would you contribute to the Rice community? 500 word limit.

2: Swarthmore College

Swarthmore students’ worldviews are often forged by their prior experiences and exposure to ideas and values. Our students are often mentored, supported, and developed by their immediate context—in their neighborhoods, communities of faith, families, and classrooms. Reflect on what elements of your home, school, or community have shaped you or positively impacted you. How have you grown or changed because of the influence of your community?

Community Essay Strategy

Your Community essay strategy will likely depend on the kind of Community essay you’re asked to write. As with all supplemental essays, the goal of any community essay should be to write about the strengths that make you a good fit for the school in question.

How to write about a community to which you belong

Most Community essay prompts give you a lot of flexibility in how you define “community.” That means that the community you write about probably isn’t limited to the more formal communities you’re part of like family or school. Your communities can also include friend groups, athletic teams, clubs and organizations, online communities, and more.

There are two things you should consider before you even begin writing your essay.

What school values is the prompt looking for?

Whether they’re listed implicitly or explicitly, Community essay prompts often include values that you can align your essay response with.

To explain, let’s look at this short supplemental prompt from the University of Notre Dame:

If you were given unlimited resources to help solve one problem in your community, what would it be and how would you accomplish it?

Now, this prompt doesn’t outright say anything about values. But the question itself, even being so short, implies a few values:

a) That you should be active in your community

b) That you should be aware of your community’s problems

c) That you know how to problem-solve

d) That you’re able to collaborate with your community

After dissecting the prompt for these values, you can write a Community essay that showcases how you align with them.

What else are admissions officers learning about you through the community you choose?

In addition to showing what a good community member you are, your Community supplemental essays can also let you talk about other parts of your experience. Doing so can help you find the perfect narrative balance among all your essays.

Let’s use a quick example.

If I’m a student applying to computer science programs, then I might choose to write about the community I’ve found in my robotics team. More specifically, I might write about my role as cheerleader and principle problem-solver of my robotics team. Writing about my robotics team allows me to do two things:

Show that I’m a really supportive person in my community, and

Show that I’m on a robotics team that means a lot to me.

Now, it’s important not to co-opt your Community essay and turn it into a secret Extracurricular essay , but it’s important to be thinking about all the information an admissions officer will learn about you based on the community you choose to focus on.

How to write about what you’ll contribute to your new community

The other segment of Community essays are those that ask you to reflect on how your specific experiences will contribute to your new community.

It’s important that you read each prompt carefully so you know what to focus your essay on.

These kinds of Community prompts let you explicitly drive home why you belong at the school you’re applying to.

Here are two suggestions to get you started.

Draw out the values.

This kind of Community prompt also typically contains some kind of reference to values. The Rice prompt is a perfect example of this:

Rice is lauded for creating a collaborative atmosphere that enhances the quality of life for all members of our campus community . The Residential College System and undergraduate life is heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural tradition each student brings. What life perspectives would you contribute to the Rice community? 500 word limit.

There are several values here:

a) Collaboration

b) Enhancing quality of life

c) For all members of the community

d) Residential system (AKA not just in the classroom)

e) Sharing unique life experiences and cultural traditions with other students

Note that the actual question of the prompt is “What life perspectives would you contribute to the Rice community?” If you skimmed the beginning of the prompt to get to the question, you’d miss all these juicy details about what a Rice student looks like.

But with them in mind, you can choose to write about a life perspective that you hold that aligns with these five values.

Find detailed connections to the school.

Since these kinds of Community prompts ask you what you would contribute to the school community, this is your chance to find the most logical and specific connections you can. Browse the school website and social media to find groups, clubs, activities, communities, or support systems that are related to your personal background and experiences. When appropriate based on the prompt, these kinds of connections can help you show how good a fit you are for the school and community.

How to do Community Essay school research

Looking at school values means doing research on the school’s motto, mission statement, and strategic plans. This information is all carefully curated by a university to reflect the core values, initiatives, and goals of an institution. They can guide your Community essay by giving you more values options to include.

We’ll use the Rice mission statement as an example. It says,

As a leading research university with a distinctive commitment to undergraduate education, Rice University aspires to pathbreaking research , unsurpassed teaching , and contribution to the betterment of our world . It seeks to fulfill this mission by cultivating a diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders across the spectrum of human endeavor.

I’ve bolded just a few of the most important values we can draw out.

As we’ll see in the next section, I can use these values to brainstorm my Community essay.

How to write a Community Supplemental Essay

Step 1: Read the prompt closely & identify any relevant values.

When writing any supplemental essay, your first step should always be to closely read the prompt. You can even annotate it. It’s important to do this so you know exactly what is being asked of you.

With Community essays specifically, you can also highlight any values you think the prompt is asking you to elaborate on.

Keeping track of the prompt will make sure that you’re not missing anything an admissions officer will be on the lookout for.

Step 2: Brainstorm communities you’re involved in.

If you’re writing a Community essay that asks you to discuss a community you belong to, then your next step will be brainstorming all of your options.

As you brainstorm, keep a running list. Your list can include all kinds of communities you’re involved in.

Communities:

• Model United Nations
• Youth group
• Instagram book club
• My Discord group

Step 3: Think about the role(s) you play in your selected community.

Narrow down your community list to a couple of options. For each remaining option, identify the roles you played, actions you took, and significance you’ve drawn from being part of that group.

Community: Orchestra

These three columns help you get at the most important details you need to include in your community essay.

Step 4: Identify any relevant connections to the school.

Depending on the question the prompt asks of you, your last step may be to do some school research.

Let’s return to the Rice example.

After researching the Rice mission statement, we know that Rice values community members who want to contribute to the “betterment of our world.”

Ah ha! Now we have something solid to work from.

With this value in mind, I can choose to write about a perspective that shows my investment in creating a better world. Maybe that perspective is a specific kind of fundraising tenacity. Maybe it’s always looking for those small improvements that have a big impact. Maybe it’s some combination of both. Whatever it is, I can write a supplemental essay that reflects the values of the university.

Community Essay Mistakes

While writing Community essays may seem fairly straightforward, there are actually a number of ways they can go awry. Specifically, there are three common mistakes students make that you should be on the lookout for.

They don’t address the specific requests of the prompt.

As with all supplemental essays, your Community essay needs to address what the prompt is asking you to do. In Community essays especially, you’ll need to assess whether you’re being asked to talk about a community you’re already part of or the community you hope to join.

Neglecting to read the prompt also means neglecting any help the prompt gives you in terms of values. Remember that you can get clues as to what the school is looking for by analyzing the prompt’s underlying values.

They’re too vague.

Community essays can also go awry when they’re too vague. Your Community essay should reflect on specific, concrete details about your experience. This is especially the case when a Community prompt asks you to talk about a specific moment, challenge, or sequence of events.

Don’t shy away from details. Instead, use them to tell a compelling story.

They don’t make any connections to the school.

Finally, Community essays that don’t make any connections to the school in question miss out on a valuable opportunity to show school fit. Recall from our supplemental essay guide that you should always write supplemental essays with an eye toward showing how well you fit into a particular community.

Community essays are the perfect chance to do that, so try to find relevant and logical school connections to include.

Community Supplemental Essay Example

Example essay: robotics community.

University of Michigan: 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. (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/maximum 300 words)

From Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” videos to ZirconTV’s “How to Use a Stud Finder,” I’m a YouTube how-to fiend. This propensity for fix-it knowledge has not only served me well, but it’s also been a lifesaver for my favorite community: my robotics team(( The writer explicitly states the community they’ll be focusing on.)) . While some students spend their after-school hours playing sports or video games, I spend mine tinkering in my garage with three friends, one of whom is made of metal.

Last year, I Googled more fixes than I can count. Faulty wires, misaligned soldering, and failed code were no match for me. My friends watched in awe as I used Boolean Operators to find exactly the information I sought.(( The writer clearly articulates their place in the community.)) But as I agonized over chassis reviews, other unsearchable problems arose.

First((This entire paragraph fulfills the “describe that community” direction in the prompt.)) , there was the matter of registering for our first robotics competition. None of us familiar with bureaucracy, David stepped up and made some calls. His maturity and social skills helped us immediately land a spot. The next issue was branding. Our robot needed a name and a logo, and Connor took it upon himself to learn graphic design. We all voted on Archie’s name and logo design to find the perfect match. And finally, someone needed to enter the ring. Archie took it from there, winning us first place.

The best part about being in this robotics community is the collaboration and exchange of knowledge.((The writer emphasizes a clear strength: collaboration within their community. It’s clear that the writer values all contributions to the team.))  Although I can figure out how to fix anything, it’s impossible to google social skills, creativity, or courage. For that information, only friends will do. I can only imagine the fixes I’ll bring to the University of Michigan and the skills I’ll learn in return at part of the Manufacturing Robotics community((The writer ends with a forward-looking connection to the school in question.)) .

Want to see even more supplemental essay examples? Check out our college essay examples post . 

Liked that? Try this next.

How to Write Supplemental Essays that Will Impress Admissions Officers

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What is Community Involvement? Examples and Why it is Important for Students

• May 29, 2023

Samantha "Sam" Sparks

• Student Community Centre

At its core, community involvement is the act of participating and engaging in activities that benefit your local community. It can take many forms, from donating time or money to a charitable organization, volunteering for an event or project, or even participating in a neighborhood clean-up day.

For students, getting involved in their local community can be incredibly beneficial – not just for the people and places they are helping out, but for themselves too! By learning about different causes and getting hands-on experience with real-world problems, students can gain valuable skills such as problem-solving and communication and build relationships with community members.

In this article, we will talk about the benefits of community involvement activities for students. You can also find some community involvement success stories here. Keep reading.

Personal Development

Educational benefits, career benefits, volunteer work, community service, civic engagement, choosing the right community involvement activity, developing a plan, maximizing the impact, examples of successful community involvement projects, impact of community involvement on society, benefits of community involvement for students.

Here you can read about all the benefits that come from community involvement for students.

By volunteering, participating in extracurricular activities, and taking leadership roles in community organizations, students can develop a range of personal qualities and traits that will serve them well in the future.

1. Confidence building

When students volunteer or participate in activities that align with their interests, they can feel accomplished and fulfilled. This can help them feel more confident in their abilities and motivate them to continue pursuing their goals.

2. Leadership skills

Through community involvement, students can develop important leadership skills such as communication, decision-making, and problem-solving. By taking on leadership roles in organizations, students can learn to inspire and motivate others, delegate tasks, and work collaboratively toward common goals.

3. Social skills

Community involvement allows students to interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures. This exposure can help students develop empathy, respect, and understanding for others. By working with others towards a common goal, students can learn to communicate effectively, listen actively, and build strong relationships with others.

4. Emotional intelligence

Students can develop empathy, self-awareness, and self-regulation through volunteering and working with others. These skills can help students navigate interpersonal relationships and better understand the needs and perspectives of others.

5. Sense of responsibility

When they participate in community service and volunteer activities, they learn about the needs of others and the importance of giving back. The students will develop a sense of social responsibility and become more engaged citizens.

6. Self-esteem boost

Community involvement can give students a sense of purpose and meaning. Students can feel a sense of accomplishment and pride by contributing to something larger than themselves.

Community involvement has long been seen as an effective way to enhance students’ academic performance, problem-solving skills, and motivation. By engaging in activities with their peers in the local community, students learn to take responsibility for their actions, become more engaged in learning, and gain the necessary skills to succeed.

1. Better academic performance

Studies have shown that students who participate in service-learning programs tend to have higher grades than those who don’t. This is because these activities help strengthen critical thinking, research, and problem-solving skills which are necessary for successful academic performance. Additionally, community involvement helps build student confidence in tackling difficult tasks by providing a real-world context for learning new subjects.

2. Enhanced problem-solving skills

Engaging in community involvement activities helps students become better problem solvers. These experiences allow them to practice critical thinking skills as well as develop strategies for tackling difficult tasks or challenges. By working together on projects or initiatives, students learn how to think outside the box and develop innovative solutions using resources available in their local communities.

3. Increased motivation and engagement

Students involved in community projects are more likely to stay engaged with their studies and motivated to achieve success. These service programs provide a sense of purpose and give students an opportunity for personal growth by putting them in contact with diverse communities or organizations. Through this interaction, students can gain insight into different perspectives beyond what is taught in the conventional educational setting.

If you’re a student looking to find more ways to stand out in the job market and gain valuable career-building experience, community involvement can be an excellent addition to your resume. By volunteering with local organizations or taking part in extracurricular activities related to your field of study, you can gain key practical skills that will benefit you throughout your professional life.

1. Building a professional network

Making connections through community involvement is a great way to build an effective network of professionals who may support your career goals. You never know when a chance encounter could lead to securing an internship or even a full-time job—so why not take advantage of this opportunity? By networking with people from different backgrounds, you can get advice from those who have already succeeded in their respective fields.

2. Gain practical experience

In addition to gaining professional contacts, participating in community involvement activities can provide you with hands-on experience that will help you stand out to employers. Not only will you be able to put your skills and knowledge into practice, but these experiences may also open up new doors for career opportunities. For example, if you’re studying engineering and decide to volunteer at a local robotics lab, that direct experience could be highly beneficial when it comes time for job interviews.

3. Stand out to future employers

Getting involved in the community is an excellent way to demonstrate your commitment to social responsibility and sustainability—both of which are highly sought-after traits in today’s competitive job market. By showing potential employers that you care about more than just yourself, you’ll stand out from the competition and make a lasting impression.

Community Involvement Activities for Students

There are many different community involvement ideas and activities students can participate in. Read on.

Volunteering is a great way for students to get involved in their community and make a positive impact. There are countless ways to volunteer, and no matter the type of activity, all volunteer work helps build important skills that can benefit students’ future career prospects.

1. Examples of volunteer activities

Here are some examples of volunteer activities and the benefits they offer:

• Animal Shelter Volunteering – Many animal shelters need volunteers to help clean cages, walk dogs, play with cats, and other tasks. This kind of volunteering teaches responsibility and provides training in caring for animals while also providing comfort and companionship to sheltered pets.
• Environmental Campaigns – If a student is passionate about the environment, they can sign up to volunteer with an environmental organization or conservation campaign.
• Tutoring Underprivileged Children – Many children in underprivileged communities don’t have access to proper education, so offering tutoring services or helping out at after-school programs can be incredibly beneficial for them. Student volunteers will gain experience teaching and working with kids while also learning empathy and patience.
• Collecting Donations for Charities – Donating items such as clothes, books, food, toys, and other goods helps those in need and teaches students the value of giving.

2. Benefits of volunteer work for students

These community involvement examples of volunteer work offer various benefits for students, ranging from gaining valuable experience and learning new skills to helping those in need and making a difference in the community. Participating in volunteer activities can provide an enjoyable way for students to gain important knowledge and grow as individuals and positively impact their local area.

There are many ways that students can get involved in community service, depending on their interests, skills, and community needs.

1. Examples of community service

Here are some examples of community service activities for students:

• Volunteering at a local food bank or homeless shelter
• Organizing a community clean-up day
• Participating in a charity walk or run
• Participating in a neighborhood watch program or community policing initiative
• Assisting with a community garden or urban farming project
• Providing companionship to elderly residents at a local nursing home or assisted living facility
• Participating in a community service trip or international service project

2. Benefits of community service for students

Participating in community service can benefit students, both in terms of personal growth and professional development. Through community service, students can develop various important skills, such as teamwork, leadership, communication, problem-solving, and time management. It can also help students develop empathy, compassion, and a sense of social responsibility, which are important qualities for personal growth and development.

Civic engagement is an important way for students to get involved in their communities and make a positive impact. Engaging in political and social activities allows students to learn about important issues, advocate for change, and make their voices heard.

1. Examples of civic engagement

Here are some examples of civic engagement activities for students:

• Voter Registration Drives – Encouraging eligible voters to register and participate in elections is an important civic duty. Students can help organize voter registration drives to increase voter turnout in their communities.
• Participating in Political Campaigns – By volunteering for political campaigns, students can learn about important issues and help candidates who share their values get elected.
• Community Organizing – Students can help organize and participate in community events and protests to raise awareness of important issues and advocate for change.
• Serving on School and Community Boards – By serving on school and community boards, students can provide valuable input and help make decisions that affect their peers and neighbors.
• Advocacy and Lobbying – Students can advocate for policies they believe in by writing letters, making phone calls to elected officials, and lobbying for change.

2. Benefits of civic engagement for students

Engaging in civic engagement can positively impact the community and provide a sense of purpose and meaning for students. This can help to build a sense of community and connection, fostering a sense of civic responsibility that can last a lifetime. In addition, civic engagement can expose students to new perspectives, challenges, and issues, which can help them to develop empathy and understanding for those who may be different from them. This exposure can broaden their worldview and provide new ways of thinking that can be beneficial to them personally and academically.

Best Practices for Community Involvement

In this section, we will discuss best practices for community involvement and how to choose the right activity.

Understanding the needs of the community is crucial when selecting a community involvement activity. It’s important to identify the issues affecting the community and the areas where assistance is needed the most. This can be achieved by talking to community leaders, conducting research, and participating in community events.

1. Factors to consider when selecting a community involvement activity

Firstly, it’s important to make sure your interests and goals are taken into account when choosing an activity. You want something meaningful and fulfilling, so if you’re passionate about animals or the environment, volunteering at a local animal shelter or environmental organization could be a great option for you.

Secondly, depending on how much time and energy you have available to devote to community involvement, choose an activity that fits within those parameters. If you only have a few hours per week available, then maybe traditional volunteer work isn’t feasible, but perhaps joining a social club or book club that meets once per month would be more manageable. Whatever activity you choose, make sure it is something that you are genuinely interested in and that it fits within your available time.

Finally, it’s important to remember the impact of getting involved in your local community. Making an effort to get out there and take part in activities with other people can have a lasting effect on yourself and those around you. By taking part in these activities, not only do you learn new skills and gain valuable experiences, but also build meaningful relationships with others who share similar interests as you.

2. Importance of aligning community involvement with personal goals

Aligning community involvement with personal goals is essential for increasing motivation and commitment. When individuals are passionate about an activity, they are more likely to be committed and make a positive impact.

Aligning community involvement with personal goals also enhances personal growth and development. Individuals can learn new skills, develop new interests, and expand their networks. When individuals feel they are making a meaningful contribution to the community, they are more likely to feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

It is important to create an effective and meaningful community involvement plan that will enable you to make lasting changes in your local or global community.

1. Importance of creating a community involvement plan

Making and executing a community involvement plan is essential for students who want to become involved with the local or global community. Not only will this help them stay organized, but it will also give them a greater sense of purpose in their own lives.

2. Steps to creating a community involvement plan

Here are some steps that can help any student create an effective and meaningful community involvement plan.

• Establish a goal: Before committing to any type of project or volunteering, students need to clarify what they hope to achieve from their efforts. This way, they can set realistic goals and measure progress throughout each step of the process.
• Research potential causes: After establishing a goal, students should research different causes that align with their interests, values, and goals. It’s important to remember that students can get involved locally or globally, so they should look at both options before committing to any one cause.
• Decide which volunteering opportunities fit best: After researching potential causes, it’s time for students to decide which specific volunteer opportunity would be most beneficial for them and the organization they choose to support. Many different types of volunteering are available including mentorship programs, environmental projects, fundraising events, or teaching classes.
• Create an action plan: Once students have selected a volunteer opportunity, it’s time to create an action plan outlining how they will allocate their resources to achieve the goal. Depending on the project, this could include designing a budget, creating an event timeline, or gathering volunteers to help.
• Track progress: As students execute their action plans, they must track their progress to stay organized and motivated. This can be done by keeping a journal of successes and failures throughout the process so they can reflect on what has worked and what hasn’t.

It’s important to make sure that you are making the most of your time spent volunteering and creating positive change in your community.

1. Tips for making a difference through community involvement

Here are some tips on how to maximize the impact of your community involvement:

• Choose Projects That Reflect Your Values: This will enable you to feel more invested in the work being done and ensure that you’re using your time most efficiently by focusing on something that truly matters to you.
• Research Organizations Before You Volunteer: Make sure that their mission resonates with you and that your efforts will be used effectively.
• Set Realistic Goals: This will help you stay focused on what needs to be accomplished while also giving yourself something tangible to strive towards.
• Utilize Resources: Look for ways to leverage relationships, skills, contacts, and knowledge to maximize the impact you make.

2. Strategies for making the most of community involvement experiences

First and foremost, students should keep an open mind and actively participate in opportunities offered to them by their university or other organizations in the local area. Additionally, students should look for ways to use existing resources such as libraries, museums, and parks to enrich their learning experience. Finally, students need to take the initiative and develop projects that benefit their community.

Community Involvement Success Stories

Here are some success stories to further motivate you.

When it comes to community involvement projects, many have positively impacted the world. Three such examples are Malala Yousafzai, Craig Kielburger and his organization Free The Children, and Ryan Hreljac and his charity Ryan’s Well Foundation.

1. The story of Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai was born in Pakistan in 1997. At the age of 11, she began writing for the BBC about her life under Taliban rule and soon became an outspoken advocate for girls’ education rights in her country. In 2012, she was shot by the Taliban but survived and continued to fight for equal access to education. Her work has since earned her numerous awards, including a Nobel Peace Prize at just 17 years old!

2. The story of Craig Kielburger and Free The Children

In 1995, Craig Kielburger founded Free The Children, an international charity and youth empowerment movement that focuses on ending child labor. He began a global campaign to bring awareness to the issue and advocated for improved rights and resources for children worldwide. Through his organization, he has inspired millions to participate in community projects and contribute to positive change.

3. The story of Ryan Hreljac and Ryan’s Well Foundation

When he was only six years old, Ryan Hreljac started Ryan’s Well Foundation. After learning about the water crisis in developing countries, he started fundraising to provide clean drinking water access for those in need. To date, his foundation has completed over 1,600 water projects and provided clean drinking water access for over 1 million people!

Community involvement is an important part of society and has been proven to have many positive effects.

1. Statistics on the impact of community involvement

One study found that having volunteer experience on a resume will boost students’ chances of finding a job by 27%. According to the same study, people who volunteer or participate in community service are more likely to be successful in school and work, have better physical health, and feel like they can make a difference in the world. So, individuals who volunteer are more likely to be healthier, happier, and more engaged in their communities.

It’s worth mentioning that between September 2020 and 2021, over 60.7 million people in the US formally volunteered with organizations. These volunteers contributed to a worth of $122.9 billion in economic value.

2. Case studies of community involvement projects that have made a difference

When it comes to tangible impact on society, there are many examples of how community involvement can help. For example, Habitat for Humanity builds affordable homes for those who cannot afford them normally. Through donations from individuals and businesses, this organization has been able to build over 1 million homes since its inception in 1976. This shows that even small donations can add up to make huge changes in communities around the world.

Another example is the work of the United Way , which provides funding for local charities and organizations that help people in need. Through their donation drives and volunteer programs, they can raise millions of dollars every year that goes back into communities to fund essential services like food banks, housing programs, and youth initiatives.

Here, we also must mention the Flint Water Crisis . In 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan, switched its water source to the Flint River, resulting in lead contamination of the water supply. Community members, including local activists and organizations, played a critical role in bringing attention to the crisis and advocating for action. Their efforts led to a federal investigation, allocating resources to address the crisis, and passing legislation to improve water infrastructure and prevent future crises.

In recent times, Black Lives Matter is worth mentioning as well. The movement began as a hashtag on social media and grew into a powerful force for change, with community members organizing protests, marches, and advocacy efforts to bring attention to the issue. Their efforts have led to increased awareness of racial injustice, the passing of police reform legislation in some states, and ongoing efforts to address systemic racism in all areas of society.

In conclusion, community involvement is an important part of being a student. Participating in activities such as volunteer work, social clubs, and tutoring can help students gain valuable skills and experiences that will benefit them both academically and professionally. Not only does it provide great life lessons, but it also helps build relationships with people from different backgrounds and enhances one’s sense of responsibility.

We hope this article has given you some insight into what community involvement is and why it’s important for students. If you are looking to get more involved in your local community, there are plenty of resources available that can help guide you in the right direction.

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What is Community Involvement: Five Good Examples

Community involvement is an important topic that can have impacts on everything from a community’s graduation rates to the quality of healthcare. A definition of the term might go something like this:

Community involvement is meaningful, consistent participation in activities that support and improve upon social wellbeing. Community involvement examples include engaging with, volunteering for or donating to local schools, neighborhood associations, government, and/or nonprofit organizations.

Depending on whether you are trying to get involved as an individual or as a business, there are a few things to consider before diving in. Below is a closer look at the term, how to be effective at community involvement, and five good examples.

What are the Benefits of Community Involvement

Before deciding on how to get involved, it’s good to consider what types of benefits we can expect to see.

For individuals, the benefits of community involvement can include improved mental health, reduced stress, and increased longevity. For communities, citizen engagement can enhance decision-making and has been shown to improve public health, education, safety, and environmental management.

Individuals who engage with their communities can increase their overall wellbeing in many ways . Studies have shown , for example, that volunteering can have positive impacts on depression and life satisfaction. One study from the University of Buffalo even demonstrated a link between community involvement and decreased levels of stress leading to a lower risk of premature death.

Individual involvement has significant impacts on the community as a whole too, of course. Many studies have revealed a connection between citizen participation in local affairs and more effective decision-making in the community. 

For instance, research out of the University of North Carolina has shown that doctors who incorporate a community perspective provide better care and improve overall public health. Similarly, one review of a Health Extension Program in Ethiopia demonstrated that community education programs can improve awareness of communicable diseases and change behaviors leading to better health outcomes. 

Community involvement has also shown to improve public education. While more research is needed in this area, initial studies point to a link between higher test scores and engagement from local residents. One 2002 analysis found that academic success is more likely when (among other things) “adults with high standards for achievement guide students’ out-of-school activities.”

Research has also revealed that community involvement can improve confidence in public safety. One study published in EcoHealth , for instance, showed that people who participated in a community-based land management program reported better wellbeing in several areas including feeling safer in their local communities.

Community involvement has also been shown to improve outcomes in environmental management. For example, research looking at a conservation area in Nepal discovered that a community involvement program helped to educate and empower citizens and local institutions. These changes, in turn, led to more tree diversity and increased animal populations in the Annapurna Conservation Area.

Community Involvement in Business

Community involvement among businesses has been a growing phenomenon since at least the 1980s. Terminology and approaches have shifted over the decades, however.

Community involvement for businesses (or ‘corporate social responsibility’/‘corporate community involvement’) has been shown to boost employee morale, improve business, and increase brand recognition. While the impacts on the community are less understood, some evidence has shown positive outcomes.

A lot of research has gone into showing the impacts of community involvement on business performance and brand recognition – perhaps, to demonstrate to corporations why they should give back to their communities. However, measuring the impacts of these practices on communities themselves has proved difficult.

The benefits for businesses of getting involved with communities have long been reported. A 1999 edition of the Journal of Small Business Management, for example, featured a survey of 1,008 small business managers. The respondents reported that they perceived their business had more overall success after participating in community involvement programs. 

Trends have also been pointing to increasing awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among consumers worldwide. Some marketers have suggested that community involvement is no longer a nice bonus for companies, but a must to remain competitive in an increasingly socially conscious world.

For instance, in a 2015 study conducted by Cone Communications and Ebiquity showed that 91% of global consumers expect companies to address social and environmental issues. Consumers also indicated that they are just as likely to purchase from a company as they are to boycott it for its practices (89% compared to 90% respectively). 

This new customer awareness is important for small businesses too as 80% of consumers reported they would buy from an unknown brand if the company had strong, ethical engagements with the community.

Community involvement also strengthens employer-employee relations and can help build a better work environment. A 2017 study conducted by UnitedHealthcare and VolunteerMatch, demonstrated this point well. The research revealed that 75% of employees who volunteer through opportunities at work had more positive perceptions of their employer. Additionally, 93% of those who volunteered through work reported improved mood, 88% reported increased self-esteem, and 79% reported lower stress levels.

Business owners and employers should be mindful of their approaches to community involvement, though. Not all forms of involvement are beneficial and some researchers have noted that social corporate responsibility practices can have negative impacts if done carelessly.

However, businesses should not be dissuaded from community involvement. With a little bit of thought, relationship-building, and dialogue with community members, corporate engagement can be hugely beneficial for everyone. A great example comes from a study looking at Microsoft’s donation of software to communities in Nairobi, Kenya. The research showed that the donation correlated with a decrease in youth unemployment and an increase in access to higher education for youth.

Employers can breathe a sigh of relief too when they keep in mind that they are not alone in community giving. There is no shortage of nonprofit and charitable organizations that are already established in communities; partnering with these organizations has been a tried and true method of corporate giving for decades.

One of my favorite examples of a business-nonprofit partnership is between UPS, CARE (an international aid organization), and Aidmatrix (a tech company devoted to supporting aid delivery to conflict and disaster areas). Together UPS, CARE, Aidmatrix team up to provide disaster and humanitarian relief. 

In the partnership, each brings something unique to the table. UPS does what it does best – logistics; CARE identifies needs and plans aid delivery; and, Aidmatrix provides management technologies designed to bring relief to conflict and disaster areas.

If you’re looking for more information on best practices for businesses, I’d suggest starting with Corporate Community Involvement: The Definitive Guide to Maximizing Your Business’ Societal Engagement . The text draws on examples from leaders in the field and is taught in some business classes.

Five Good Examples of Community Involvement

There are infinite ways to get involved in your community. To not limit your imagination, the examples below are general aspects of social wellbeing (as opposed to specific actions). These offer good starting points to find where you are best positioned to contribute. 

Whether you’re an individual or business, thinking through the needs of your community and your unique qualities are the natural starting point for impactful community involvement.

1) Improve Public Health 

Community involvement in public health is a growing area of interest for many. As pointed out above, health care professionals that have a community-centered perspective are better able to treat their patients. There are many advocates for health care professionals to effectively get involved in the communities they serve.

However, the burden should not just rest on those in the healthcare field alone. Public health is a community-wide responsibility and, since health care often starts with education, the field presents ample opportunities for individuals or businesses to lend support. Partnering with local health care professionals and policymakers to help improve local services or education programs could have significant benefits for communities.

2) Support Public Education

Getting involved in local public education is a good way to have long-lasting impacts on your community. As discussed above, evidence suggests that community involvement can improve academic success among students.

Readers will note that the research mentioned above (linked again here ) suggested that the impact of community involvement boils down to providing students with good role models – not necessarily in aiding the learning process. So, don’t be intimidated about getting involved with local schools if you don’t remember Algebra; simple after-school sports programs or other constructive activities can be just as effectual as direct tutoring.

3) Enhance Environmental Management

Environmental management is another area proven to be enhanced through community involvement. Local governments and associations can be overwhelmed by the scale of environmental issues and lending volunteer services will likely be welcomed by policymakers and residents.

Research cited above (linked here again) showed a positive correlation between community involvement and local biodiversity. These types of interventions can have cascading impacts as improved environments can lead to better public health (often referred to as environmental health – a subfield of public health), local pride, and increases in tourism. 

4) Reduce Homelessness & Poverty

Often when people hear the term community involvement, volunteering, or charity they associate these efforts with eradicating poverty and homelessness. And, with good reason as it’s a worthy cause and one where you can have visible impacts. However, caution is needed when approaching the issue of poverty eradication.

Volumes of literature have been dedicated to the subject because of how complicated the issue is at its core. That being said, policymakers and professionals often decry a lack of resources and more help is always needed.

A 2007 study for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, for instance, emphasized the need for a community-wide approach to addressing issues of homelessness and poverty. The research indicated that involvement in this area is usually most effective when efforts are directed at both alleviating current circumstances and addressing the root causes of the issue.

5) Foster the Arts

The arts can often be an overlooked area for involvement, but providing creative spaces to the community can also intersect with and improve other aspects of social wellbeing. Supporting the arts can be an effective way of supporting education.

A multi-year study of a “Learning Through Art” program by the Guggenheim Museum found that students who participated in the program were “more likely to plan, persist, be deliberate and thoughtful, approach difficulties with focus, and have greater knowledge of art materials.”

The arts are beneficial for the economy too; according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the arts added $804.2 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016. Giving back through the local arts scene, then, can help boost a community’s resilience and development.

Are you looking to get involved? Check out our post on social wellbeing for more important information about improving the quality of life for you and your community.

Dan Jasper is the founder and primary author of Street Civics. He specializes in advocacy and international affairs.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personal Experience — The Benefits of Community Service Experience for Me

The Benefits of Community Service Experience for Me

• Categories: Community Service Personal Experience

About this sample

Words: 1112 |

Updated: 4 November, 2023

Words: 1112 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

The essay explores the author's personal experiences with community service and the profound impact it has had on their life. The author begins by highlighting the altruistic nature of community service and the satisfaction they derive from dedicating their time to a cause they are passionate about. They mention volunteering for organizations like the SPCA and the Ithaca chapter of United Way due to their love for animals and the sense of community within United Way. The essay goes on to discuss the transformative effects of community service on the author. They describe how assisting abandoned animals made them a more empathetic person and provided a source of happiness and stress relief. Moreover, the experience taught them responsibility, flexibility, and patience. The author reflects on their initial reluctance to engage in community service due to academic stress but reveals how reconnecting with their passion for animals revitalized their commitment. They share stories of making a difference in the lives of children through United Way and bonding with childhood friends who inspired them with their charitable endeavors.

Table of contents

Personal growth and development, the true impact of volunteering, works cited, video version.

• DoSomething.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/
• National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.servicelearning.org/
• Points of Light. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pointsoflight.org/
• SPCA International. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.spcai.org/
• United Way. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unitedway.org/
• Chan, A. Y. K., & Lee, S. Y. (2018). Effects of community service on social-emotional outcomes: A meta-analysis. Child and Youth Services Review, 86, 1-10.
• Conway, J. M., Amel, E. L., & Gerwien, D. P. (2009). Teaching and learning in the social context: A meta-analysis of service learning's effects on academic, personal, social, and citizenship outcomes. Teaching of Psychology, 36(4), 233-245.
• Eyler, J., & Giles, D. E. (1999). Where's the learning in service-learning? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• Moely, B. E., McFarland, M., Miron, D., Mercer, S. H., & Ilustre, V. (2002). Changes in college students' attitudes and intentions for civic involvement as a function of service-learning experiences. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning , 9(1), 18-26.
• Zaff, J. F., & Catterall, J. S. (2003). Studying out-of-school arts participation via the quantitative case study method. Studies in Art Education, 44(3), 227-245.

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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.

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.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

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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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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