National Collegiate Honors Council
Date of this Version
2007
Abstract
I grew up in a family where helping others was a given. My parents have always been generous with their time, their money, and their tangible donations. I can remember many occasions when we took food, clothes, or household items to families in our community who were in desperate need of such basic necessities.
As a fitting result, I now encourage my own children, ages twelve and fourteen, to volunteer. We assist families during the holidays, make and deliver lunches to children for a local ministry’s summer lunch program, and work with a local pet adoption facility to help homeless dogs find permanent homes, just to name a few of the ways we try to help out locally.
Fortunately, many of today’s youth have ample opportunities to serve others, not just within their own families but in their schools as well, from elementary age all the way through college. Collection drives for school supplies and canned/dried foods have become commonplace for the students in my community. It is a wonderful sight when kindergartners hop off of the school buses and rush to place their packs of paper and pencils or cans of soup in the designated bins for their less fortunate peers. What a wonderful example of service at such an early age!
Comments
Published in Honors in Practice, volume 3. Copyright 2007 National Collegiate Honors Council.