Most everyone has had to participate in some form of community service, charity, or fund-raising event in their lives. Many high schools require students to perform some type of community service - such as working in a soup kitchen or volunteering at a home for the elderly - before graduating. In college, however, volunteering for activities and giving up one's time for the sake of helping others is not so much a requirement as it is a personal decision to give back to the local community.
From volunteering to tutoring elementary school children experiencing difficulties in math to waking up early on a Sunday morning for a charity event to benefit terminally ill children, volunteerism takes disparate forms. And although there are no monetary stipends that come with being a volunteer, the rewards often outnumber the sacrifices; something as simple as a smile on a child's face puts everything into perspective.
There are a number of different ways that students can get involved in community service or volunteer opportunities. Programs such as VISIONS reach out to people with AIDS, while others, such as Jumpstart, focus on helping young children develop the skills and attitudes necessary to be successful readers. The Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) was established to provide students with a foundation in leadership and public service so they will gain a better understanding of the role they should play in their communities to address local concerns. At Tufts, one of the easiest ways to get involved in many different volunteer programs is through the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS).
Established 43 years ago, LCS serves as an umbrella organization for 37 different programs. The mission of LCS is to work towards creating a more socially sensitive and responsible world through service, education, and advocacy. Through a variety of programs, volunteers have the opportunity to donate blood during semester blood drives, talk to middle and high school kids about college, teach adults to read and write, participate in Jumbo Olympics to raise money for Special Olympics, as well as many more.
"You get a lot of good things out of volunteering. There are obviously the general satisfactions of helping somebody else and understanding other people's feelings," co-president Allison Collins said. "We try having things that people can look foreword to," added Kristi Tough, the other co-president.
One of the programs that has grown in size and popularity over the past few years has been Volunteer Vacations. For one week during both the winter and spring breaks, students travel throughout the United States to lend their time working in soup kitchens, building houses, and doing environmental clean-ups. According to Collins, these vacations have become popular because they provide students with an inexpensive way to have fun during break, meet new people, and get a good impression of LCS.
"This is their Cancun," Collins said.
LCS has tired to emphasis the process of reflection and taking a closer look at the concerns of the community that the members serve.
"Out ideal is to have reflection sessions after [programs] looking more at the issues behind why people are homeless, why are they unemployed, and why do they need to have these kinds of services. We're trying to look more at the issues behind [problems] so that people can understand the broader context of things," Collins said.
Volunteers have their own reasons for why they choose to volunteer their services for community causes, but the underlying motivation seems to stem from an innate obligation or responsibility to share their abilities with others. This can be done on a long-term basis by participating in weekly programs or on a short-term, once a year basis by volunteering at events such as Kids Day.
"I look around and I feel very lucky for where we all are, for where Tufts students are, for where the population is in general and I feel that volunteering can be a little way and also a big way to help out. It's astronomical what people can do when they try and when they realize that they can make a difference," Tough said.
Other campus organizations that have shared their time and effort for a good cause or two are the Catholic Community at Tufts (CCT) and Tufts Hillel. Both groups have worked collaboratively with LCS - as well as independently - to involve their members in charitable opportunities. This year, the CCT held a canned food drive during Thanksgiving to provide local homeless shelters with goods for the holiday. The organization also sponsored a winter semi-formal whose proceeds went to the New England Home for Little Wanderers. Hillel promoted the importance of reading through Read By The River and hosted an a cappella concert to benefit the American Cancer Society.
"I think that we are representative of our generation in that we show that we are not just a generation that sits inside and watches TV, but we actually get out and care about the world and making it a better place," Collins said.
