I failed to get involved with community service and volunteerism until I was in my late 20s. That is when I first joined a service club, Optimist International. I don”t remember doing anything before that time that could be construed as community service. I hear people complain about the youth of today and criticize the educational system, but across the country one enormously positive factor involving the youth and our schools is that youngsters, in greater numbers than ever before, are volunteering to help their communities in a myriad of ways. A lot of credit belongs to school administrators.
Heather Jack, president of The Volunteer Family recently stated, “Today”s youth are choosing the causes they identify with and supporting them. They are joining causes on Facebook. They are planning their own fundraising events. They are encouraging their friends and families to help out. They are embracing the traditional ideal of giving back, but they are finding new and unique ways of doing so.”
According to a Harris Interactive poll, nearly three out of four U.S. teenagers have volunteered to help with a community project. The survey results showed that 73 percent of American children from age 12 to 17 have volunteered. That is a significant increase from the mid-1990s when the percentage was under 60, and an amazing jump from results I found for a few years after my high school graduation. In 1974 only 21 percent of teenagers polled had volunteered in their community.
Some of the volunteering habits of our younger citizens are attributable to the fact that many high schools have added a community service requirement for graduation. One local school that was doing this a couple of years ago, and I assume still does, is Kelseyville High School. Two years ago I helped a student coordinate his volunteer activities. Later on he became a Record-Bee employee. He recently left his job here to move to another state.
Some people might be critical of what they perceive as forced volunteerism. It is an oxymoron, but, the truth is that a portion of the teenagers who wind up having to spend their precious time on a good community project will experience a personal revelation about the value of people working together for a common goal. I would imagine that some students are inspired to a lifetime of community service.
I believe that a great deal of credit for the large boost in volunteerism also belongs to the major service clubs that have chapters in most cities. Nearly every service club has developed youth clubs for their organization. They generally become a part of the total list of clubs available at local high schools. The Kiwanis have Key clubs; the Lions offer Leo clubs and Rotary provides Interact clubs. The schools deserve recognition for allowing the clubs to meet on campus.
I was inspired to write about this topic because the Lakeport Rotary Club”s Interact Club, from Clear Lake High School, recently performed their annual duty of running an entire meeting of the parent club. An item on their meeting agenda was to have each Interact club officer talk about their favorite community service effort of the year. It was inspirational to listen to some teenagers talk about how they were thrilled to labor from before sunup to after sunset for Rotary”s Konocti Challenge bike ride that brings hundreds of out-of-county visitors to Lake County. Others described the good feelings it gave them to help with programs that provide Christmas gifts for the less fortunate or holiday food baskets for those in need.
While it may seem easy for some adults to find fault with the current generation of youth, the truth is that far more young people are rolling up their sleeves and providing their time, muscles and skills for the benefit of their community than the majority of us adults did. We owe them our appreciation.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. E-mail him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
