Chasing Community Giving

A recently published research shows that one of every four Israeli teenagers does volunteer work and practices community work in his spare time. This is a decent achievement, but still not good enough. I see so much potential of giving in my schoolmates, but most of them do nothing about it. I believe the school can easily encourage the pupils to be more active in their community.

The city of Holon offers a variety of places to volunteer in, for every type of person. From youth groups and nursing homes to animal shelters and charity organizations. I believe any pupil can find his way to contribute the community. The problem is that most teenagers spend most of their time in front of the computer and television, without even knowing that these kinds of organizations exist.

Therefore, the school can encourage students to become familiar with them – a fun day at the local animal shelter or a visit to a nearby home for elderly people, will sure make the students feel that they enjoy giving and they might consider volunteering as a habit. The school can also encourage students to be active in youth movements by contacting the movements and inviting them to the school, or vice versa.

But, we should not throw all the responsibility on the school. The students, who prefer occasional pleasures such as watching a comedy program or web surfing on Facebook, need to understand that this is fine - but this is not what they want to remember from their juvenility(ww.). A little bit of volunteer work or community activism can change and add interest to one's life and above all – contribute to society.

Great!
(100)
Daphna