As I wrote in my first post I am a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity to which we do many community service events throughout the year. I’d like to take some time to talk about some of the events and organizations that we are involved in and emphasize on the benefits of community service.
Our chapter is required to perform two hundred twenty five total hours of community service hours each semester per our National Organization’s requirements. This is nothing new to me personally as my high school required graduates to perform community service. As most high school aged kids, at that time I considered the measly twenty hours I was required to complete over four years as very lame. My opinion today has changed dramatically. Over the three plus years that I have been involved with the Fraternity I have really enjoyed the entire experience and I’ll explain why in a not so formal list form.
1. Gratification – It truly feels good after spending the day helping out the community whether if it is helping out a family in need or picking up infamous back bay trash(we once found six hypodermic needles in four hours).
2. Self-Fulfillment – This is very similar however some people really feel a calling for helping out others. For example; some people who are retired help out every weekend because they simply love helping others and it keeps then busy and happy.
3. Camaraderie – When you get together with a group of people community service can be very fun. As a chapter, we all get up early usually on Fridays and meet in one location where we have coffee and doughnuts while catching up on events from the previous week. We then set off to the service event and “do work” if you will, all the while strengthening our bond as friends.
4. Meeting new people – Most everyone loves to meet new and exciting people and community service is a great way to discover new personalities that you would otherwise never come across in your daily routine.
5. Learn new skills – This is only pertinent to some events however I find it relevant. One of my favorite organizations to volunteer for is Habitat for Humanity which I will elaborate on later. You get to do things that you may have never thought you would encounter from painting to framing a house.
As a chapter we have put together a benefit concert for the past several years called Rock for a Cure, volunteered for the American Red Cross, and we participate in the white cane awareness walk every year for the Iris Network. I’d like to highlight our most recent community service event for Habitat for Humanity but first here is a little background information. Habitat is a great organization that gives families the opportunity to own their own house. A common misconception about Habitat is that a family is given a house. The potential home owner(s) must go through an application process and once selected they must complete courses on owning a home that range from paying the mortgage and managing finances to basic construction involved in building and maintaining a piece of property. The home owners also have to volunteer for habitat on either their own potential home or in some other way that benefits the organization. Two hundred fifty hours for a single owner or five hundred collective hours for a couple. Once the house is finished the organization will then sell the property and new home to the recipients at cost. For example a brand new home that would sell for around two hundred fifty thousand would be sold to the new owners for around one hundred thousand.
When you volunteer for habitat you are given the opportunity to help with the construction of the house depending on the status of the project. The first time I volunteered with Habitat we cleared saplings and brush to be burned to make room for a driveway and were essentially the first to “break ground” if you will. My second experience I found myself framing up bedrooms and actually learning how a house is built. When we volunteered in early September I found myself along with some friends three stories up on scaffolding installing vinyl siding. This was something that I surely was unfamiliar with. After some brief instructions from Art (the project leader) we were off and on our way. It was definitely a learning experience however working on a house is very fun and interesting.
Anyone who has ever worked with vinyl siding knows that at times it can be very difficult to install, however after some teamwork and brain storming we were able to make things work. The whole day was enjoyable and informative to the point where it didn’t even feel like work. I met some interesting people like Art, who didn’t have much experience in construction when he started volunteering and just wanted to give back to the community.
At the end of the day we all made a difference in the community and had a great time doing it. And that is simply the main reason why I enjoy community service.
-Kyle
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