Community Service

Community service, voluntary work that is intended to help those in a particular area, is optional labor that has a positive, lasting effect on the participants as well as the society. As with any extracurricular activity, community service requires lots of time and energy spent on a particular task. Consequently, many scholars have debated the effect of mandatory volunteer service hours on students in high schools across the nation. Because community service is supposed to be an optional work, schools should not make it mandatory because in doing so, they take away the volunteerism that enables students to acquire life skills and knowledge, as well as provide a service to those who need it most. In addition, gives students added stress, and the idea that volunteering is the only way to help their communities because they face time constraints, and a single point of view when given additional mandatory work.

To start, those in opposition of express the belief that community service isn’t a subject that should be forced upon students. True volunteering lies in an individual’s will and drives to help others and enforcing it eliminates that drive. When students are required to participate in community service projects to graduate, some students may not gain social or personal benefits from the program and may find the experience less than fulfilling simply because they were required to do it. These undedicated workers often only fulfill the volunteer position as a result of the boost it gives a college resume or the requirements assigned to them by their school. Sure, they get the social experiences of travel and lifelong memories of those they spent their time with, but in the end, these students’ life-changing experiences may not truly be why they tagged along. “Leave they do, after little as a week of helping to repair some village’s crumbling school or library, to return to their comfortable homes and quite possibly write a college-application essay about how transformed they are” (Bruni 169). To them, volunteering is just a pertinent opportunity that is there to help give them the boost they need to reach the next step in life. As a result, the people they leave behind forever are only distant memories, seen as a way to fulfill everyday school requirements, instead of people visited because they were in need.

Furthermore, by implementing mandatory community service, students are burdened with yet an extra criteria to meet in order to graduate. As a result of the overbearing projects forced upon high schoolers, students obtain more things to shuffle, and correspondingly, would acquire less sleep in order to make more time for additional extracurricular activities. Therefore, the only thing mandatory volunteer work accomplishes is adding stress and giving long nights to students already deprived of sleep.

Moreover, schools should not force students to do volunteer work in order to graduate because it presents the idea that volunteering is the only way that high schoolers can support their community. “Volunteer requirements give students the idea that the more time students put into something, the more they are helping their communities. It gives students a mindset of quantity over quality” (Lou 171).

Community service has a constructive, and enduring effect on its participants and society because it is a volunteer work intended to help the people of a particular community. Just like any nonscholastic activity, community service requires lots of time, energy, and commitment for those who chose to participate. As a result, many teachers and other educators have argued whether forcing such an activity onto students is a principled idea. Since volunteer work is supposed to be optional, academies should avoid making it binding because by doing so, they create a time crunch for students, leading them to take low-effort volunteer opportunities instead of giving service to those who need it most. In doing this, schools give students added stress and the point of view that volunteer work is the only way that students are able to attain the goals of their community. All things considered, community service is without a doubt a learning experience, however, the choice to partake in such an experience should be up to the student. Just as sports aren’t for everyone, volunteer work isn’t for everyone. It’s up to more than just the high school student to change the world, which can be achieved through activities other than community service.

Okere in one of his quotes wrote:

“Man is not just an individual, an island, left to himself and sufficient to himself, on his own. Man is essentially community.”

I grew up in a community that upheld a belief that it is only in the community that the life of an individual acquires true meaning, not in living as an isolated being but in mutually interacting with other members of the community.

I have had two avenues through which I volunteered: as a teacher, and as a health care worker. Both were enriching and valuable in the development of my career, lifestyle, and personality.

The most challenging but fulfilling of them was being a health care volunteer. In 2014, Nigeria was recognized for having the second-largest number of people living with HIV. The prevalence rate of HIV among adults between the ages of 15–49 stood at 3.17 percent of the country’s population. The desire to curtail this epidemic ignited my interest in joining a health Campaign Group in Plateau State, Nigeria; a non-profit governmental organization with the mission of ensuring that every individual
with HIV/AIDS have access to treatment and to equitable, humane care and empowerment.

As a volunteer, I was delegated responsibilities to engage the community in educational and training activities to increase awareness and halt the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

I am grateful I had the time and ability to contribute to my community. It truly makes me appreciate everything I have been given and it makes me more willing to give back to those who are ‘less’ fortunate than I am. Volunteering has provided me with a new perspective in my life, by seeing the trials and struggles of others that I am able to help them overcome through my service.

For my Community Service, my employer was William Colton. Colton elected to the New York State Assembly in November 1996, and he represented as the 47th Assembly District. He comprises the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Midwood.

Colton had also been active in many community issues, including developing transit, as an originator of the Bensonhurst Straphangers Committee; striving for more monies for schools in Districts 20 and 21; working as the attorney in the successful lawsuit to stop the re-opening of the Southwest Brooklyn Incinerator; striving for various community improvements, such as traffic lights, sewers, insects and rodent extermination; and assisting in the organizing of community projects, such as Project Option to serve for cleaning up of commercial shopping areas, among others. For my responsibility in the community, I get to assist in organizing paperwork and files alphabetically.

I also help with doing the envelopes of important letters based on important events and meetings. All the responsibilities that I did were to develop the community service of William Colton and to bring good support and appreciation to their community in the future.

This Community Service of working with “William Colton Community Office” affected me on being more independent, useful, and helpful to the community. Since I volunteered on working in the community, I began to have good experiences with other people and events.

Throughout the service, I also did a volunteering event on Election Day, November 6, 2018, where the other volunteers and I received flyers of voting the Assemblyman: William Colton and take them to different apartment buildings in the neighborhood, Brooklyn. Working in this community had affected me on teaching great responsibilities and aids. My role of working in “William Colton Community Office” was a positive experience because I get to be more useful in many of the activities given from the community and helping to improve the community at a better configuration in the future. I would recommend this place that I had volunteered to the other students for the future because it would help to demonstrate other volunteers a lot of experiences of responsibility and independence. Volunteering in the community would also help the other students to sense more support and alliances.

I feel that I could make a difference throughout the work that I chose, because I get to assist the community by going through many special events, such as cleaning garbage throughout the neighborhood of Brooklyn. I would have also tried on joining more on being with the group of people with posters, banners, and flyers to help on supporting William Colton. I would have also participated in William Colton’s plans, based on improving public schools. I believe what I would like to improve the place I work is more active events and attractions. My community service provides a lot of paperwork’s and filing, and primarily to help organize the messes.

The community service should provide more active attractions such as improving our environment, neighborhood, education, etc. Attractions lead to advantages on performing the citizens to be more active and helpful. It would also help to make the United States better and great.

I believe the community service of William Colton should be required of all students because it helps to show the good experiences of supporting and aids. Most students would learn great skills and responsibilities of working in this community service. The community service will give many students how to experience unique events, that based on goals, tasks, and leadership. The community service will help to affect the students on being unselfishness and would use honor and pride to help the community. The use of 25 hours is too long because I get to experience the community service every two days of the week, of 2 hours each day. I have experienced a lot of things in the community, and it took approximately a month to get a total of 25 hours to complete the community service. The responsibility of accomplishing 25 hours is much harder to do, and it would take a lot of effort to complete the total of 25 hours.

My result of this project is that it is a unique experience and accomplishment. This project is a new thing for many students to experience than most other schools does. This project taught many students how to participate in community services, using skills, knowledge, responsibilities, goals, independence, and support. The act of joining in community services help to teach me on being more capable of participating in new things or events in the future. In the future, I would be able to take part to do more great things in the government, and any places within the United States.

With the passing of the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, there is increased focus on integrating student community service, volunteerism and service learning into the curriculum. Service learning can be a key to unlock our nation’s potential. Promising that national service will “strengthen the cords that bind us together as a people,” President Clinton signed legislation creating AmeriCorps.

The new program, scheduled for late 1994, will in its first year rovide 20,000 young people with 7,425 in annual wages plus health benefits and child care benefits if needed and $4,725 in educational benefits in exchange for a full year of grassroots community service work. In a Mac Arthur Foundation publication on youth service, Judy Karasik reported that America is “experiencing an explosion of youth idealism, activism, and commitment to engaged citizenship” . In record numbers, Americans are reaching out. It is no longer a matter of noblesse oblige, in which the rich reach down to help the poor.

Today’s volunteers are people of every socioeconomic level helping each other. There are still wealthy philanthropists who serve those less privileged, but the women who would have served in previous generations are now working for pay at demanding jobs. They are often too exhausted to add community service to their other responsibilities From Miami to Seattle, the United States of the 1990s is ripe for answers to the seemingly insurmountable social problems plaguing large cities and small towns.

While we have almost become indifferent to the familiar litany of socital ills–crime, drugs,teen pregnancy, homelessness, juvenile delinquency–the response to many of our community problems has been a new student activism burgeoning on our college campuses. Programs range from student organizations assisting the US Marines with their annual Toys for Tots program to full-time internships in social service agencies A week after Hurricane Andrew struck southern Dade County, Florida, Broward Community College students had “adopted”Florida City and mobilized to help survivors rebuild their community.

Teams of students, along with faculty and staff, traveled to Florida City on weekends to assist in the cleanup. Back in Broward County, some of these same students mentor at-risk youngsters, tutor high school students with specific learning disabilities, act as student ambassadors to the community, and serve as peer educators providing vital HIV/AIDS prevention information to their classmates Interior design students in Texas redesigned the Alzheimer care unit of a local hospital while classmates renovated a homeless shelter.

In Colorado, architectural students redesigned a town hall. At Miami-Dade Community College, Florida, students received academic credit for producing a play performed by students, faculty and residents of a homeless center. “I learned more from them than I have all my life” said David, a student, referring to the homeless people he worked with in the play. Student community service and service learning are powerful learning experiences for students, providing a way to effect change and address our nation’s pressing social problems.

Students who volunteer receive more than just the satisfaction of helping those in need: they learn responsibility, build character, solve problems, and gain a better understanding of their Community colleges have a unique opportunity to be on the cutting edge of this new paradigm. Speaking at a Florida Council of Student Affairs meeting, Chris Gilmore, director of the Florida Governor’s Commission on National and Community Service,urged deans and vice presidents to remember that one-third of the community college mission is service.

Citing a study in which 100 percent of the students reported that their service experience was more important than their academic studies, Gilmore noted, “There is no better way to learn leadership than by leading, and no better way to learn the value of service than by serving”. The term “community service” often conjures up visions of forced restitution, of convicted criminals sentenced to pay off their debts to society for infractions ranging from speeding tickets to felonies.

For our students, the accepted definition of community service is unpaid work that everyone can do to improve the quality of life of those being served, of those serving, and ultimately of the community as a whole. The primary goal lies in attacking civic apathy while participating in activities that serve community needs. Out-of-classroom learning programs have gained in popularity since emerging in the mid 1960s when President Kennedy urged the nation to ” ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

He called upon the nation’s young to serve society in the military, community service, the international Peace Corps, or domestic VISTA programs for two-years of national service. Since that time many colleges and universities have been actively integrating student volunteerism, internships, and community service into their programs. Thousands of college students are currently working in literacy programs, day care centers, soup kitchens, and facilities for the elderly. Very often the difference between someone failing and making it is just one person who cares about them.

Student volunteers can change the course of history by touching the lives of many while gaining valuable life experience. What sets service learning apart from other types of non-traditional education programs, according to Neil Merrell, director of the Center for Public Policy and Service at Mesa Community College, is that “service learning is the blending of academic study and community service. ” At Mesa, says Merrell, “our goal is to encourage students to become lifelong, active participants in the community. “

Service can be integrated into a class in several ways, an extra credit option; as a substitute for a requirement, such as a paper,exam, or project; or an integral part of the course, if the class is on a related topic, like social problems. Service learning is the integration of community service into an organized setting where the servers also reflect on the meaning of their service. By combining service with a reflective educational framework, the benefits far exceed those of service or learning separately. Reflection can take place in groups or individually, in a written or oral format, by using journals or essays.

In service learning the volunteer work is related to the course. The process of reflection is an essential part of integrating the service experience into course work. Through structured reflection activities, individuals develop an appreciation for the connection between their community service activities and the underlying issues of the social problem being addressed. Trish Joyce, a Broward Community College English professor, offered a service option to students in her Introduction to the Short Story course.

After some reluctance, David Manko, a computer science major, volunteered to read stories to children at the campus child care center. Joyce points to the following excerpts of David’s reflective journal as “a shining example of what “I told him no, that it only looked that way because the ants are so small. The children were all wondering about the crystals the ants were so interested in so I decided to show them, using a grain of sand. I told the kids that to an ant this looks like a giant rock and they are strong enough to carry them. They understood and wanted to look at the pictures in the book again…

If I were to write a children’s story those are some of the characteristics I would include… Each experience I have with the children, I feel I have shown them a little of the enormous and very diverse world of literature. ” . A student’s college career is a time of training, not only for a career, but for life. Service learning programs are designed to make social service an integral part of students’ lives during and after college. The training gained through service could provide new career opportunities, or simply an experience to benefit everyone involved.

Research by Arthur Levine of Harvard University shows an estimated 64 percent of college and university students participate in public service activities in addition to their course work. Mark Cooper, a Broward Community College alumnus, heads the student-initiated Volunteer Action Center at Florida International University (FIU). Cooper, who began the FIU program two years ago while a student, believes that “service learning works because it is based on one simple principle: you don’t learn the basics by memorizing the basics, but by doing projects in which you utilize the basics.

Surely if education is supposed to prepare the next generation, we should be teaching active citizenship rather than rote memorization. The real value, though, lies in enhanced learning. Research by Judith Boss on her University of Rhode Island ethics classes showed that a service learning component improves learning . Solving community problems is a bonus. The nation is looking toward its colleges to stem the torrent of violence and civic apathy by instilling such core values as honesty and respect for life.

The Wingspread Group, a blue ribbon panel on higher education, developed a 42-point college checklist to improve educational offerings. The panel urged administrators to ensure that “next year’s entering students will graduate as individuals of character, more sensitive to the needs of community, more competent to contribute to society, and more civil in habits of thought, speech and action. “Service learning experiences build new relationships between students and instructors, between the community and the college or university, and between the people being served, and the students, benefiting all involved.

Properly prepared students augment service delivery for overburdened community agencies, allowing closer contact with clientele, and providing extra staff support. The college gains an improved public relations image. More than any other educational institution, the community college’s very mission is enmeshed with a commitment to improve the communities that surround its campuses. The existence of both mandatory and voluntary community service programs is nothing new for many private liberal arts institutions and public universities.

Even high schools in many states are adding service hours to their graduation requirements. However, while service learning is a nice enhancement to these educational offerings, service is integral to the very essence of the community college mission. Karen Bojar, an English Professor at the Community College of Philadelphia, includes service learning activities in her literature classes. She states “Community college students have deep roots in the community; thus, community service sets the stage for lifelong commitment.

She views formal volunteering through a structured experience as a career skill and teaches her students how to incorporate their volunteer work into their resumes. In the most successful service learning programs, colleges and universities work together in a partnership with community-based organizations and civic leaders in identifying needs, planning and establishing the service projects. Community awareness is essential to the success of any service learning program.

For years, colleges and universities have sought creative methods of providing on-the-job training to augment classroom learning. The value of such a goal is demonstrated by student participation in extracurricular and student life activities, where self esteem is strengthened and the roles of commitment and responsibility are reinforced through employment. Potential employers have always valued on-the-job experience, often more so than academic credentials. Employers are placing a high value on community service experience as well.

An increasing number of corporations are establishing corporate foundations and community giving programs. Many encourage employee volunteerism through matching programs, match employee monetary gifts, and lend their executives to assist non-profit organizations. It is always desirable for students to become more focused as they explore career choices. Student employment provides non-threatening opportunities to experience job options without a full-time commitment. Working for the common good, however, adds a sense of urgency as the needs for increased levels of civic responsibility become more and more critical.

Since 1954 there has been a 15 percent increase in the number of college graduates entering the field of social work. We may soon be able to witness a marked increase as more college students have a chance to learn through service to others. . In addition to the value of the experience itself, most of the student participants at Broward Community College receive service scholarships to reduce their need to borrow to pay for college. Although many of the participants reluctantly admit they signed up initially for the money, they stayed involved even when the scholarships were exhausted.

Wen asked, they said they feel they got more out of the experience than the recipient of their services. The following steps will enable administrators to create a successful service learning program: Begin with a small core of interested faculty, preferably individuals who are activists themselves and already participate in community service endeavors. Form an advisory committee with membership including representatives from faculty, staff, students, corporations, and local community agencies.

This committee can provide useful feedback, encourage faculty to buy into service learning for their classes, and win needed support from students and the community. Include students and faculty in the planning. Students must be involved in every aspect of developing the service learning program, from planning through implementation, though the institution should serve as administrative support to coordinate the program. Establish an office to provide service support and coordinate the program with faculty, develop agency contacts, place students, monitor service hours, and maintain co-curricular transcript data.

Find a lightning rod with clout and provide incentives to reward faculty involvement. Elizabeth Ann Gilver, director of the Haverford College, Pennsylvania, Career and Community Service Program, recommends reassuring teachers that their students’ course work will not suffer and using concessions to defuse opposition from the faculty In an effort to document the community involvement of students, student development transcripts are becoming popular as addenda to academic transcripts.

They provide students with a documented record of their out-of-classroom experiences. These records of co-curricular activities can be presented to potential employers to indicate additional job skills acquired while performing community work. As public service gains popularity and jobs become more scarce, volunteering for community service will be viewed as yet another way for job applicants to enhance their resumes. Maintaining records of service also provide an excellent method to recognize student involvement.

Several institutions use graduation and other ceremonies to present awards or plaques to students based on number of hours of service performed. A brightly colored cord or tassel on students’ mortarboards can also be used to honor service achievements. At some institutions, a single instructor or group of faculty members have developed ways to creatively integrate service experiences into specific courses with no institutional support. Many four-year institutions have programs that are initiated and run by students, either through student clubs and organizations or by individual students.

However, because of the abbreviated programs and short tenure of typical community college students, community colleges wishing to sustain a viable service learning program must make the commitment of a full-time faculty or staff member to coordinate their program. There are numerous departments that can assume overall responsibility for a service learning program–Student affairs, academic affairs, cooperative education, student employment, financial aid, student activities, student life, placement, or career services offices can all play a role.

There is no one answer that will satisfy the individual needs of all institutions, each with very different organizational structures. The common denominator in successful service learning programs is enthusiastic program personnel coupled with a strong institutional commitment, as long term sustain ability is largely dependent on a commitment from top administration. When searching for funding, don’t leave any stone unturned. Grants are available to cover startup costs from such sources as the Corporation on National and Community Service, the U. S.

Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), state agencies, etc. Some institutions have earmarked student activity fees to cover program operating costs. Others have successfully negotiated institutional budgetary support. Work closely with your counterparts in resource development, financial aid, and grants, to seek out operating funds. If your institution provides staff and program development support or mini-grants to pilot new programs, apply for start-up funds. Appeal to local private and public foundations, corporations and individual donors.

Seek out program funds or scholarships for the students. Donors are often more willing to provide tuition assistance for students who also give something back to their community. By focusing on the needs of others, students gain a sense of compassion and social awareness that develops when people help each other. A national survey conducted by Allan Luks revealed that people who do regular volunteer work report that good feelings keep them generally healthier and happier In his book, The Healing Power of Doing Good, he suggests that working through an organization makes volunteers more likely to continue regular volunteer activities.

By providing college students with an organized means to experience service learning, colleges can foster a lifelong commitment to altruism. There are those who see the world’s ills as insurmountable and make no effort to address them. There are others who believe that each of us can make a difference through individual acts of civic responsibility.

Toward that end, every community college in the nation should provide its students with a variety of volunteer, community service, public service and service learning experiences to prepare them for a role of active citizenship and participation in improving the quality of life in their communities. Think what a legacy we could leave our children and their children if we could imbue each of the nearly 9 million students that annually pass through our doors each year with such a notion. The ripple effect would certainly go a long way toward making our world a better place.

Community service is an unpaid, voluntary act performed by a student or group of students with an approved non?profit agency that benefits someone else, the local community or the environment.

In other words, service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities.

For this community service project, the power of two people is far from enough, so we invite other group members to work together with us to complete this meaningful project. Through the group discussion, we had come out the idea of 5W1H, such as who (who is the beneficiary), why (the rationale for selecting the community service), when (the date and time), where (located at where), what (the activities we done there) and how (the way we making reservation and how we went there).

To summarize, we had made the final decision that is doing a community service project at Silver Jubilee Home for the Aged (HOME). Obviously, HOME is the beneficiary. The reason why we choose this as our community service project is that we would like to use our strength to give back to the society. After the discussion, we decided to went there on 21 August (Tuesday), from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the activities that we did at there is cleaning activities, chatting with them, providing a cake for them and taking the photo with them. Through telephone call and email, we had reserved with HOME. On that day, we went there by car.

Conclusion, community service not only provides physical and spiritual rewards but also proves that we are happier. By gaining knowledge and professional experience, students will be better prepared to solve community and social problems. Next, volunteer work is not just about its appearance on paper, but about what we can give and get from this experience.

Through volunteering, we have the opportunity to play a role in the community and benefit those we care about. It also brings people together, especially with people from different backgrounds, and the common goal will enable us to work harder than ever. By learning more about ourselves and the communities around us, we will strengthen our confidence

History background of the selected community service or charity

The House of the Silver Jubilee (HOME) was founded in 1935 to commemorate King George V Silver Day. The land of Sungai Dua was donated to HOME by the late Mr. Cheah Leong Keah, J.P. The “Penang and Province Wellesley Silver Jubilee Fund” was launched to raise funds for the establishment of HOME. The Straits Settlement Government, Georgetown Municipal Council, and the public jointly raised about $1 million for HOME. Therefore, in 1936, a Trust Fund was established in the name of “Penang and Province Wellesley Silver Jubilee Fund”.

The chief minister is the chairman and the other three trustees are fund managers, known as the fund board. They are assisted by a 12-member General Management Committee, which is headed by another chair whose function is to oversee the overall management of the HOME. They are all appointed by the State Executive Council. Although the trustee is appointed for life, the members of the General Management Committee are appointed every two years and their services can be updated as long as the HOME needs it. Currently, there is one Manager, two Assistant Managers, two Matrons, a Finance Officer and other department staff responsible for providing HOME’s daily operations.

In addition, other philanthropists, such as the late Honorable Khoo Sian Ewe, C.B.E., O.B.E., J.P., donated 4 villas to commemorate his beloved wife, the late Mdm. Lee Sim Neoh and Lim Kongsi (Kew Leong Teong Lim Temple) donated another four villas. At the time, a visiting doctor, Y. B. Dato’Seri Tan Ewe Aik, started the clinic with the help of some nurses at Grey Sisters. He is also a member of the General Management Committee. In 1960, Dr. Datuk Seri suggested that design and build a 25-bed female ward. Referral to residents of general hospitals requiring further treatment.

It now occupies more than 22.5 acres of flat land, has 8 blocks of cluster units, 124 rooms, 5 medical wards, more than 80 beds, a rehabilitation center, a physiotherapy area, a gorgeous restaurant, and two Muslims. Kitchen and non-Muslim residents as well as a separate laundry room.
The below is the number of Residents as at march 2017 = 159 person

RACE MALE FEMALE TOTAL

• Chinese 66 86 152
• Malay 0 2 2
• Muslim 1 0 1
• Indian 1 2 3
• Eurasian 1 0 1
• Total 69 90 159

3) Contributions to a needed community service or charity

Purpose of the project

Reliance College puts special emphasis on the relational aspect of community service and therefore asks students to partner with non?profit organizations. Community service provides students the opportunity to use our talents and skills to help those in need and to support local non?profit organizations. In addition, community service is an integral part of students’ learning experiences, contributing to their intellectual, social and spiritual growth and development as well as providing a framework for students’ roles as members of local, regional and global communities. Through this community service project, it also helps to build classroom culture and community, so that our relationship with each other will become closer and intimately.

The rationale for selecting the community service or charitable project

Through the group discussion, we had listed some community service activities like, environmental service project, volunteer for an animal organization, helps the local homeless or one that champions international human rights, etc. As a result, we had chosen the HOME as the beneficiary because it was an organization showing a need for funds to raise the quality of life of seniors, particularly those who may have limited mobility, and social interaction due to various constraints.

Besides, we would like to desire the seniors live happy, active and independent lives through interactive caregiving. We also hope that through this community service project, it will increase public awareness in order to care more about the seniors. Furthermore, we wish to spread the positive impact, warmth, compassion for the seniors.

Description of the benefits of the project to the community and chapter members’ understanding of leadership development, social intelligence and community service.

Volunteering plays a critical role in empowering individuals, in fostering active citizenship and in building inclusive and resilient communities in which we can all flourish.  We know that volunteering has many benefits for individuals who volunteer, the organizations to which we contribute and society as a whole.

The benefits of the project to the community is providing a positive impact on the lives of others, so as to spread the warmth, friendship, and kindness from the world around. In fact, it has the power to transform lives and to transform communities.

By putting together this pageant, we were able to gain many useful benefits such as; understanding how to work well with a variety of personalities, one on one, and within a group setting. We also learned how to collaborate and compromise by creating the budget for the event.

Leadership skills were enhanced by putting members in charge of arranging activities through the event. Moreover, we had learned about responsibility, accountability, managing time and money wisely. Through this project, we had discovered to build social networks, connectedness, and community resilience. Indeed, it helps us to build a sense of satisfaction, pride, purpose, and accomplishment.

4) Organization and implementation

Organizational chart, member involvement and job description

As a team leader, I’m responsible to provide direction, instructions, and guidance to a group of individuals, for the purpose of achieving a common goal. First of all, we had listed some of the examples of community service activity. Then, we had chosen the one that we think is the most appropriate for the community service project. As a leader, I am the one who is making a reservation with the HOME to confirm the details like date, time, activities that we will do on that day. I also in charge to buy some daily necessary things and a vanilla pandan fruitcake by using the money that we had collected as a donation for HOME. In a word, all member were actively get involved in this project, to ensure everything will be going very smoothly.

On that day, the activities that we had done at HOME were the sweeping floor, mopping floors, cleaning fan and window, cleaning ceiling, wiping dust as well as cleaning the benches and armrest along the corridor. Additionally, we also talking with them, serving slices of cake for them and taking photos with the seniors. During that day, Yu Jing is one of the photographers to take some of the memorable moment.

Description of the project and documentation

On 21 August, Tuesday, we had organized a trip to visit the HOME which was located at Jalan Sungai Dua, Bayan Lepas. The trip was comprised of 8 members.

When we arrived at HOME at 10 am, Ms. Tan was come forward to us and greeted us with a short briefing friendly. First of all, we went to the donation place to register the daily necessary things that we brought along and put it into a blue trolley.  After that, Ms. Tan brings us to the kitchen to keep the vanilla pandan fruitcake into the refrigerator.
Image of daily necessary things in a blue trolley

In the beginning, we were divided into two groups. One group was consist of 4 people. That is, Einthu, Elizabeth, Jing Xin and I were in a group; at the same time, Qi Keong, Jian Wei, Adam, and Yu Jing were in a group. We were given the task to clean up each of the blocks within the resident’s area of HOME. We were the sweeping floor, mopping floors, cleaning fan and window, cleaning ceiling as well as wiping dust. After we had cleaned each of the dorms, we were cleaning the benches and armrest along the corridor. On the whole, we shared out the work and helped each other in order to complete our jobs as quickly as possible.

In the afternoon at 12 p.m., Ms. Tan allowed us to had our lunch outside. After having lunch, we cut the vanilla pandan fruitcake into small pieces and distributed to the senior citizens. They were really surprised that we will buy the cake for them. We also chat with them and singing their favorite song together. They really enjoyed it and clapped enthusiastically. As far as I am concerned, they were indeed remarkable and impressive.

Soon, it was time to leave. We all said goodbye to the senior citizens. They seem so sad that we were going back so soon. Before leaving, we had a group photo with them and promised them that we will pay them another visit soon. It was a memorable and ecstatic trip.
Image of the group photo with senior citizens

Impact goal for the beneficiary

Our goal for the beneficiary was to provide support for HOME. At Reliance College, there is an emphasis on everything that we do for HOME being about the change, not the amount of money earned, therefore, our goal was to try our best to do as much as we can. Hence, we had a total of 8 people attend the pageant, for the reason to help the residents of the HOME to be able to live their cleaner and safer environment.

In addition, we also had contributed a total amount of RM 200 for HOME. By using this money, we bought a 2kg of vanilla pandan fruitcake which cost about RM 104. Besides, we also bought some daily needs for HOME, namely, canned sardines, soap powder, toilet paper, instant noodles, baked beans, etc. The donation receipt from HOME, the receipt of the vanilla pandan fruitcake and daily needs are shown at appendix.

Moreover, we were socializing and befriend with the residents of HOME. We make sure that the residents are well treated with respect, kindness, and dignity.

Evaluation and recommendations

To be honest, I never thought about how amazing my visit to the old folk home would be. After greeting the senior citizen and talking to them one-on-one, I was very surprised by how appreciative they were for our visit. Maybe they felt lonely or abandoned before, but now the tears of joy in their eyes are shining. Perhaps everyone needs to know that they are really care of, even if it is a simple stranger.

After that, I was shocked by their optimism about the future, even if they were old. Their spirit is so young. Even if they are wheelchair users, they are selfless. It tells me that even in old age, happiness can exist, whether it is a frustrating situation or a decrease in health.

To conclude, this visit left a profound impact, memorable and interesting. Our consciousness and our profound influence on us. We are more sensitive than when we arrive; sensitive to the elderly. This visit is an epiphany. Each of us is determined to uphold our parents and elders. Old people motivate us all with their desire for the soul and firm hope. I know that the rewards of volunteering are two-way. When you take the time to help others, you will be amazed at how much you will get back – whether it’s a new look or a warm smile.

Impact of the community service or charitable project

Participation in community service gives us the chances to be an active member of the community and have a lasting, positive impact on society as a whole. Community service enables us to acquire life skills and knowledge as well as to provide services to those most in need. The below are some of the positive effects of participating in community service programs, like psychological benefits, social benefits, and cognitive benefits.

First, volunteering can improve overall life satisfaction and help us feel good about ourselves because we are helping others. It can also help relieve stress and depression. Second, volunteering enables us to engage with the community, build special connections with the people we serve, as well as increment social awareness and obligation. Third, volunteering helps us to heighten our personal knowledge, rise from new experiences, and originate better interpersonal skills.

In short, participating in community service will not only affect the organization and people being served, but also the career prospects of each student. Participation in community service activities helps to increase our resumes, enabling us to acquire work-related skills before graduation, establishing a good reference for employers in community engagement, and providing a forum for potential employers. It also helps us develop citizenship and social responsibility skills with a better understanding about community needs.

Recommendation(s) for future projects

In my opinion, here are my some recommendation for future projects. Firstly, I would like to wish that we can visit the seniors’ citizen when necessary or during their birthdays, anniversaries or other festivities. Secondly, provide them with more care, respect, and happiness by preparing some performance for them, like the singing song, dancing or playing games with them together.

Thirdly, I hope that we can invite more people to visit them as more people are more powerful, for the reason to spread our positive impact for them and use our strength to help them as we could. Besides, I suggest that we could hold a charity bazaar at Reliance College, in order to raise funds for the HOME. Lastly, I hope that every intake students will visit them at least once because they are very friendly and enthusiastic.

References

• Admin. (2013, April 8). FNU. Retrieved September 5, 2018, from FNU: https://www.fnu.edu/community-service-important/
• Carter, C. (2015, December 4). SlideShare. Retrieved September 5, 2018, from SlideShare: https://www.slideshare.net/CallieCarter/community-service-project-55834108
• Diaz, C. (2011, September 27). SFU. Retrieved September 5, 2018, from SFU: http://www.sfu.ca/olc/blog/engage/my-experience-volunteering-nursing-homekennysouthpark. (2010, August 5). Retrieved September 5, 2018, from kennysouthpark: https://kennysouthpark.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/a-visit-to-old-folks-home/
• My English Essay. (2014, November 19). Retrieved September 5, 2018, from My English Essay: http://myenglishessay101.blogspot.com/2014/11/an-visit-to-old-folks-home.html
• PVAMU. (2017). Retrieved September 5, 2018, from PVAMU: https://www.pvamu.edu/sa/departments/studentengagement/community-service/
• Silver Jubilee Home. (2018). Retrieved September 5, 2018, from Silver Jubilee Home: http://www.silverjubileehome.org/txtpat/history/
  The Logical Indian. (2016, November 9). Retrieved September 5, 2018, from The Logical Indian: https://thelogicalindian.com/my-story/old-age-home/
• Volunteering Victoria. (2018). Retrieved September 5, 2018, from Volunteering Victoria: http://volunteeringvictoria.org.au/faqs/how-does-volunteering-benefit-our-community/
• Zhou, S. (2014, June 2). TeenLife. Retrieved September 5, 2018, from TeenLife: https://www.teenlife.com/blogs/why-community-service-summer