Community service plays a crucial role in high school experiences, benefiting students of all backgrounds. It not only impresses colleges but also opens doors to scholarships.
While traditional community service sometimes feels out of reach due to the time and travel commitments involved (especially for younger high schoolers), virtual volunteering, which gained momentum during the pandemic and continues to be popular, offers a more readily available option.
High school students can now contribute to causes that matter to them from home while gaining valuable skills and global exposure. The following paragraphs explore virtual volunteering opportunities that make meaningful service more accessible to students.
Letters Against Isolation
Studies have shown that seniors are one of the loneliest demographics worldwide. By volunteering with Letters Against Isolation, you can help to change that. Every other week you can sign up to send a handwritten note to a senior in need to some cheer. This is a great way to give back to seniors all over the world, while knocking out those volunteer hours.
Virtual Babysitting
With so many people working from home these days, it’s easy for parents to feel strained. Virtual babysitting can help with that. Via FaceTime, a babysitter could listen to a child read, or read to the child, asking them questions or talking and coloring together. This is not really viable beyond half an hour or so, but it can give parents a brief respite by providing them with some free time to get a chunk of work done.
Tutorials
When a student shares what they know with others, that is a form of community service. From videos detailing how to cook a favorite dish to websites dedicated to origami folding, students have a lot to offer their communities, and it isn’t hard to learn the tools to share those skills in a digital environment.Oldweather.org
Researchers on oldweather.org are working to discover the weather patterns of the past by examining and transcribing old ships’ logs. Through this opportunity, students can participate in citizen science and gain research skills.Zooniverse.org
Zooniverse.org offers a wide variety of projects that students can participate in. From transcribing slave manuscripts to digitizing rainfall measurements, to helping astronomers hunt for muons, there is something for every science-minded student.iNaturalist.org
iNaturalist.org allows students to become citizen scientists as they log the types of plants and animals they see in their own backyard. These observations help scientists to understand how the populations of various species change as our climate warms.The Library of Congress
If your student has preferences along a more historical vein, the Library of Congress has opportunities for students to transcribe, approve, and edit historical documents.The Smithsonian
Volunteers with the Smithsonian have the opportunity to help make historical documents and biodiversity data more accessible for researchers. In transcribing important documents, students ages 14+ will be able to gain knowledge for themselves, and also give others access to that knowledge.In Conclusion…
Community service not only benefits the students involved but also the broader community. Being involved in something beyond oneself is an important experience for high schoolers, as it is an essential part of being a good citizen. Virtual community service can allow students to make a difference when their schedule allows, without having to worry about a big time commitment or transportation issues.
