What If Your Kid Isn’t Into Volunteering or Community Service?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid satisfied all their HS volunteering during the Summer prior to freshman year.

None of it was listed in the activities section for college because it happened before Freshman year.

New poster, but just to clarify for upcoming applicants, summer before ninth grade counts as part of ninth grade for college admissions, so it's fine to include activities and volunteering from that summer on the Common App.

Maybe…but my kid had tons of other things to list, so was advised to list the more prominent and recent activities to fill up the 10 things.

If any space remained, then this probably would have been mentioned.

If your kid had that many strong activities, the lack of including volunteering probably didn’t matter.

The PP’s point stands. A student may list activities they participated in during the summer before their freshman year as high school activities in their college application. Whether those activities fit into the list is a separate question.

[Anonymous]

Universities are looking for kids to make a difference in their communities and for others. Selflessness. It’s big character points.

[Anonymous]

Is is truly selfless? It’s one thing when kids develop a genuine desire to help others and give back by watching the adults around them and as part of coming of age. It’s another thing when this is manufactured and intentional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am against requiring volunteer hours for graduation. If it’s required, it doesn’t meet the definition of being voluntary.

Service. Without Pay. Required or not it is legally volunteer work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is is truly selfless? It’s one thing when kids develop a genuine desire to help others and give back by watching the adults around them and as part of coming of age. It’s another thing when this is manufactured and intentional.

Again, you are adding things that aren't a part of it. Whether or not the chid is 'selfless" in thier heart about it, the fact is that they have done the work to give back to their community. They added value without pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is is truly selfless? It’s one thing when kids develop a genuine desire to help others and give back by watching the adults around them and as part of coming of age. It’s another thing when this is manufactured and intentional.

Okay, it makes many people feel better to help people in need. So in that sense it's not selfless because they're getting that out of it.

At our local food bank. We need the volunteers. We need the food donations. We need the monetary donations.

If we got a donation just because someone needs it for a college application or we get a donation because someone wants to give us a donation in many ways the effect is the same. A family is going to get food assistance.
We will take either one with gratitude.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the hostility to OP on this forum, did anyone stop to think that some kids who do volunteer in a formal capacity may not be doing chores at home (because they’re too busy doing things to position themselves to get into good colleges) or that OP may not want to raise a kid who’s interest is fake and who’ll drop volunteering or ditch their nonprofit the second they get that acceptance letter?

Are you projecting? Or just making stuff up to feel better about not helping out in the community? There is a lot of need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m a fan of required community service. Sure, for some kids it’s just a box they check with the most minimal effort they can muster. But for others, it’s the push they need to get involved in something they end up really caring about. My kids work with a neighborhood organization that provides food and health services to others in the local community. They both continued volunteering after satisfying their school requirement. Beyond the general positive experience of helping others, they’ve also built skills in food handling and customer service that they can include on their resumes as they pursue paid jobs.

I don’t know whether my kids would have gotten involved with this organization if not for the school service requirement. But I’m so glad they did and believe it’s had real benefits for them, as well as the organization they’re serving.

+100

It’s good for teen’s mental health too

So are many things…yet schools don’t require you to join a student club, participate in a music/arts EC, play a sport (I know some privates do), etc.

Those are also great for mental health.

Things you do solely for yourself have a different impact on your brain than things you do for others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid was accepted to all 5 of HYPSM (and more). Didn't do any formal community service.

How embarrassing to be given such gifts and brag about giving nothing back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m a fan of required community service. Sure, for some kids it’s just a box they check with the most minimal effort they can muster. But for others, it’s the push they need to get involved in something they end up really caring about. My kids work with a neighborhood organization that provides food and health services to others in the local community. They both continued volunteering after satisfying their school requirement. Beyond the general positive experience of helping others, they’ve also built skills in food handling and customer service that they can include on their resumes as they pursue paid jobs.

I don’t know whether my kids would have gotten involved with this organization if not for the school service requirement. But I’m so glad they did and believe it’s had real benefits for them, as well as the organization they’re serving.

+100

It’s good for teen’s mental health too

So are many things…yet schools don’t require you to join a student club, participate in a music/arts EC, play a sport (I know some privates do), etc.

Those are also great for mental health.

Meet genius- my kid plays sports and has a job too. It’s the “giving back”/gratitude/service that is the spike for mental health. Looking outside of oneself and helping others less fortunate. Our society is a mess and selfish.

I guarantee you that more kids would feel happier and have better mental health if they engaged in any of the school activities.

My point is that schools for some reason force you to do community services, but they don't force you to engage with the school. That doesn't make much sense to me since it's practically easier to participate in school activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m a fan of required community service. Sure, for some kids it’s just a box they check with the most minimal effort they can muster. But for others, it’s the push they need to get involved in something they end up really caring about. My kids work with a neighborhood organization that provides food and health services to others in the local community. They both continued volunteering after satisfying their school requirement. Beyond the general positive experience of helping others, they’ve also built skills in food handling and customer service that they can include on their resumes as they pursue paid jobs.

I don’t know whether my kids would have gotten involved with this organization if not for the school service requirement. But I’m so glad they did and believe it’s had real benefits for them, as well as the organization they’re serving.

+100

It’s good for teen’s mental health too

So are many things…yet schools don’t require you to join a student club, participate in a music/arts EC, play a sport (I know some privates do), etc.

Those are also great for mental health.

Things you do solely for yourself have a different impact on your brain than things you do for others.[/quote

Not if you are required and reluctantly pick some random community service where you are just waiting for it to be over.

BTW, many NPOs regret taking HS kids as well for the exact same reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid also doesn’t have the kind of volunteer work that will show as an activity on a college app.
He’s done stuff here and there for his SSL hours and helps out his grandparents and neighbors and does chores at home. But he has adhd and some other commitments and also doesn’t drive so it’s been not practical for him to come up with sort of a sustained volunteer activity. His sister had a ton of that because she was the kind of person that loved having her time all blocked out and also loved mentoring younger kids (which is sort of the easiest volunteer type work to schedule).

That's fine, but don't use ADHD as an excuse. My kid has ADHD and doesn't drive and regularly volunteered at three locations, year round, amounting to hundreds of hours of service work. He loves the work, and ADHD didn't hold him back from doing what he loves.

[Anonymous]

If my HS graduate had never helped others without payment, I’d feel failed as a parent.

You should to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m a fan of required community service. Sure, for some kids it’s just a box they check with the most minimal effort they can muster. But for others, it’s the push they need to get involved in something they end up really caring about. My kids work with a neighborhood organization that provides food and health services to others in the local community. They both continued volunteering after satisfying their school requirement. Beyond the general positive experience of helping others, they’ve also built skills in food handling and customer service that they can include on their resumes as they pursue paid jobs.

I don’t know whether my kids would have gotten involved with this organization if not for the school service requirement. But I’m so glad they did and believe it’s had real benefits for them, as well as the organization they’re serving.

+100

It’s good for teen’s mental health too

So are many things…yet schools don’t require you to join a student club, participate in a music/arts EC, play a sport (I know some privates do), etc.

Those are also great for mental health.

Meet genius- my kid plays sports and has a job too. It’s the “giving back”/gratitude/service that is the spike for mental health. Looking outside of oneself and helping others less fortunate. Our society is a mess and selfish.

I guarantee you that more kids would feel happier and have better mental health if they engaged in any of the school activities.

My point is that schools for some reason force you to do community services, but they don't force you to engage with the school. That doesn't make much sense to me since it's practically easier to participate in school activities.

Schools can make community service easy too. Some schools have service days, do projects in school and after school during after care. Some schools make service a regular part of the school day or school week. Some districts have summer camps that are service oriented. Etc. etc. It's all out there and readily available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why I’m a fan of required community service. Sure, for some kids it’s just a box they check with the most minimal effort they can muster. But for others, it’s the push they need to get involved in something they end up really caring about. My kids work with a neighborhood organization that provides food and health services to others in the local community. They both continued volunteering after satisfying their school requirement. Beyond the general positive experience of helping others, they’ve also built skills in food handling and customer service that they can include on their resumes as they pursue paid jobs.

I don’t know whether my kids would have gotten involved with this organization if not for the school service requirement. But I’m so glad they did and believe it’s had real benefits for them, as well as the organization they’re serving.

+100

It’s good for teen’s mental health too

So are many things…yet schools don’t require you to join a student club, participate in a music/arts EC, play a sport (I know some privates do), etc.

Those are also great for mental health.

Things you do solely for yourself have a different impact on your brain than things you do for others.[/quote

Not if you are required and reluctantly pick some random community service where you are just waiting for it to be over.

BTW, many NPOs regret taking HS kids as well for the exact same reasons.

Honestly, what point are you trying to make? Teens shouldn't do community service? That's ridiculous. You seem to be going out of your way to make a good thing seem like a bad thing. Why? Because your kid didn't do it?